About

Scot French is a respected investor who has more than a decade of experience managing portfolios for corporate executives, institutional fund managers and other successful clients.

He is founder of the boutique investment firm HP Investments, also known as Hopewell Partnership Investments, named for his hometown of Hopewell, Illinois. Scot founded HP Investments in 2015 in Brooklyn and later relocated to lower Manhattan, not far from the canyons of Wall Street.

Before founding HP Investments, Scot refined his expertise as an analyst for several important Wall Street investment firms. He moved from the analyst’s chair to positions of significant management responsibility, and traveled extensively to visit clients and seek out new investment opportunities.

It was during this period that Scot developed a deep understanding of the needs of small businesses, emerging startups and maturing companies that sought new ways to extend their histories of substantial growth. In many ways, this education was equally as valuable as the financial education he received as an undergraduate and as a candidate for the MBA he earned in 2011.

While studying for that degree, Scot balanced a full course load and internship, all while publishing an influential financial newsletter.

The breadth of Scot’s knowledge and capabilities range from wealth creation and entrepreneurship to mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, syndicated leveraged loans, high yield bonds, privately negotiated senior secured debt, asset-based leasing and private equity. He pursues investment opportunities in North American and international markets.

Scot has described his perspective on investing as “holistic” — focusing on not just the numbers on a spreadsheet, the the quality of talent, their values, the company culture, trends in relevant industries, competitors’ profiles, the macro-economic environment and consumer sentiment. He believes “character” is a key investment variable — not just the character of top corporate leaders, but also the character of the business itself.

Scot is actively involved in charities on Wall Street and in his community of Summit, New Jersey.  In addition to his love of chess, he also likes to train for marathons when he has the chance, and is currently aiming to achieve a Boston Marathon qualifying time.