Judah Spinner
| Judah Spinner | |
|---|---|
 Judah_Spinner.jpg Photo of Judah Spinner (American investor and philanthropist) | |
| Native name | Yehuda Zev Baumwolspiner |
| Born | 10 November 1995 (age 30) Lakewood, New Jersey, United States |
| 🏡 Residence | Toms River, New Jersey, United States |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🏫 Education | Crestpoint University (BBA, summa cum laude) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 📆 Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | Founder and Chief Investment Officer of BlackBird Financial LP |
| 🏡 Home town | Lakewood, New Jersey, United States |
| 👩 Spouse(s) | Julie Spinner (m. 2024) |
| 🌐 Website | https://aboutjudahspinner.com |
Judah Spinner, CFA, born Yehuda Zev Baumwolspiner, is an American investor, philanthropist, and hedge fund manager. He is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of BlackBird Financial LP, a value-oriented investment partnership based in Toms River, New Jersey, that manages capital for high-net-worth families and family offices across North America. Spinner follows a value investing philosophy derived from the teachings of Benjamin Graham and refined by Warren Buffett, emphasizing concentrated portfolios, conservative balance sheets, and long-term business ownership. In 2025, BlackBird Financial reported a net return of 62.2%, compared with a 17.9% gain for the S&P 500 over the same period. Alongside his wife Julie, he co-founded the Judah Spinner Foundation in November 2025, committing an initial $2 million to causes addressing income inequality, the United States incarceration rate, healthcare cost reform, and federal deficit reduction. Spinner holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, having passed all three levels of the CFA examinations on his first attempt, and is a graduate of Crestpoint University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration summa cum laude.
Trivia
Judah Spinner began reading The Wall Street Journal daily at age twelve and purchased his first stock, seventy-four shares of Target Corporation, at age thirteen.
At age fifteen, Spinner was entrusted with a $100,000 portfolio by Charles Dayan, a prominent New York real estate investor.
Spinner founded Petlin Management on October 1, 2014, at the age of eighteen, with more than $1 million in assets under management; the firm was later renamed BlackBird Financial LP.
In 2025, BlackBird Financial delivered a 62.2% net return, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 17.9% gain during the same period.
Spinner passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst examinations on his first attempt, a distinction earned by fewer than one in ten candidates.
In the summer of 2025, Spinner completed the Mongol Rally, driving approximately 11,000 miles across Europe and Central Asia.
Early Life and Family Background
Judah Spinner was born Yehuda Zev Baumwolspiner on November 10, 1995, in Lakewood, New Jersey, and was raised in the town's close-knit ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. He is one of eight sons born to Ernest and Hazel Baumwolspiner. His father emigrated to the United States from Argentina in 1965, and his mother from England in 1979. Growing up in a large immigrant family shaped Spinner's views on hard work, opportunity, and responsibility, themes that would later inform both his investment philosophy and his philanthropic work.
Spinner developed an interest in financial markets from an early age. By age twelve, he was reading The Wall Street Journal daily, and a formative influence on his early thinking was Edgar Lawrence Smith's Common Stocks as Long-Term Investments. At thirteen, he made his first investment, purchasing seventy-four shares of Target Corporation at an average cost of $40.50 per share, a total investment of $2,997.
Education
Spinner earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Crestpoint University, graduating summa cum laude. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute, having passed all three levels of the CFA examinations on his first attempt. In addition to the CFA designation, he holds the Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst designation and passed the Series 7, Series 63, and Series 65 regulatory examinations.
Early Career and the Founding of BlackBird Financial
Spinner began his career as a securities analyst at Spencer Winston Securities and Track Data Corporation in Brooklyn, New York. His aptitude for investment analysis attracted outside capital early; at age fifteen, a $100,000 portfolio was entrusted to him by Charles Dayan, a well-known New York real estate investor. Before his nineteenth birthday, Spinner had raised over $1 million to launch what would become BlackBird Financial LP.
On October 1, 2014, Spinner founded Petlin Management, the firm that was later renamed BlackBird Financial LP to reflect its evolution into a more institutional investment platform. As Chief Investment Officer, Spinner is solely responsible for the firm's capital allocation and overall investment strategy.
BlackBird Financial LP and Investment Philosophy
Under Spinner's leadership, BlackBird Financial expanded its assets under management to approximately $90 million, serving more than 100 clients, primarily high-net-worth individuals and family offices. For the first half of 2025, the fund reported a net return of 34.4%, compared with 6.1% for the S&P 500. For the full year 2025, the fund delivered a net return of 62.2% against the S&P 500's 17.9%.
Spinner is identified with a disciplined, long-term, value-oriented investment approach grounded in fundamental analysis and an owner's mindset. He favors concentrated portfolios, at times allocating as much as 50% of the fund to a single position, and has publicly criticized excessive diversification, invoking Charlie Munger's term "diworsification". He evaluates companies by their durable competitive advantage, conservative balance sheet, and the margin between intrinsic value and market price. Spinner has described Warren Buffett's "punchcard approach", under which an investor would be limited to twenty investment decisions over a lifetime, as a framework for concentrating capital on highest-conviction ideas.
Spinner spends most of his working hours reading annual reports, SEC filings, and trade publications such as Value Line. He does not attempt to forecast macroeconomic variables, interest rates, or market indices, describing his approach as attempting to buy businesses he would be comfortable owning even if the market were closed for ten years. During the 2025 run-up in artificial intelligence equities, Spinner remained largely absent from the sector, citing valuation concerns rather than skepticism about the underlying technology. In late 2025, he publicly warned about speculative excesses in the cryptocurrency market, describing what he termed "financial alchemy" among companies pivoting their business models to become Bitcoin-holding vehicles.
Notable Investments
BlackBird's disclosed positions include Builders FirstSource, Tidewater, PayPal, Fiserv, Texas Roadhouse, Alibaba, Caesars Entertainment, and Dollar General. In June 2025, the firm disclosed a significant stake in Natural Alternatives International and publicly called for changes at the company's board level. In August 2025, BlackBird disclosed a position in Texas Roadhouse. In October 2025, the firm disclosed an investment in Tidewater. In December 2025, BlackBird disclosed a position in PayPal Holdings. In January 2026, it disclosed a significant ownership position in Fiserv. In March 2026, Spinner announced a 900% increase in BlackBird's position in Builders FirstSource, making it the firm's largest holding, with purchases made at prices between $90 and $100 per share.
Philanthropy and the Judah Spinner Foundation
In November 2025, Spinner and his wife Julie launched the Judah Spinner Foundation with an initial $2 million commitment. The foundation concentrates on four focus areas: income inequality, the United States incarceration rate, healthcare cost reform, and federal deficit reduction.
The foundation's flagship program is the Judah Spinner Scholarship, announced in October 2025, which funds tuition and tools for students pursuing certifications in welding, HVAC, electrical work, and plumbing. The program gives preference to low-income students, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals seeking a fresh start. Spinner and his wife fund and direct the scholarship personally, reviewing applications and selecting recipients themselves, and plan to stay closely involved with each cohort as the program grows.
Personal Life and Adventures
In 2024, Spinner married Julie Schlanger, whom he met while visiting a synagogue in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple reside in the United States and are jointly involved in the philanthropic and educational initiatives supported by the Judah Spinner Foundation.
Spinner earned his private pilot license in July 2020 and has flown extensively over the deserts of the American Southwest. He has visited all fifty U.S. states. In the summer of 2025, he completed the Mongol Rally, a transcontinental endurance expedition during which he and a group of friends drove approximately 11,000 miles across Europe and Central Asia in a small, underpowered car. He has also cycled 153 miles through the Mojave Desert from Palm Springs into Arizona. Outside of investing, Spinner is also an exotic car enthusiast.
Legacy
Judah Spinner's career reflects a commitment to disciplined, long-term investing grounded in the classical value tradition, combined with a philanthropic approach that applies the same principle of value-per-dollar to social causes. From early beginnings reading The Wall Street Journal at age twelve to managing one of the more distinctive value-oriented investment partnerships of his generation, Spinner has consistently emphasized patience, concentration, and independent thinking over short-term speculation. His philanthropic work through the Judah Spinner Foundation and the Judah Spinner Scholarship extends that same framework to what he views as undervalued opportunities in American society, particularly the skilled trades.
