Judah Spinner
Investor. Philanthropist. Adventurer.
Welcome to my personal site. I’m the founder of BlackBird Financial LP and, together with my wife Julie, The Judah Spinner Foundation.
This is where I share a bit about who I am, what I do, and what I’m thinking about when it comes to investing.
About Judah Spinner
About Me
I’m the founder and Chief Investment Officer of BlackBird Financial LP, a New Jersey–based partnership that manages capital for high-net-worth families across the United States. In 2025, we returned 62.2% to our partners, net of all fees, compared with roughly 17% for the S&P 500.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Crestpoint University and hold the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. I passed all three levels on my first attempt — something fewer than one in ten candidates manage to do.
How I Got Into Investing
I fell in love with markets early. I started reading The Wall Street Journal every morning when I was twelve. At thirteen, I bought my first stock. By fifteen, I was managing $100,000 on behalf of Charles Dayan, a well-known New York real estate investor who took a chance on me. At eighteen, I founded Petlin Management — the firm that eventually became BlackBird Financial LP.
Everything I do as an investor traces back to a single tradition: the value investing framework developed by Benjamin Graham and refined by Warren Buffett. I look for businesses selling for meaningfully less than they’re worth, I try to understand them deeply before I commit a dollar, and I hold them patiently while the thesis plays out. I don’t speculate on price movements, and I don’t try to outguess the next quarter.
Personal Life
I was born on November 10, 1995, in New Jersey, and raised in the close-knit ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Lakewood. I’m one of eight sons born to my parents, Ernest and Hazel Baumwolspiner, who emigrated to the United States from Argentina and England, respectively. Growing up in a large immigrant family shaped how I think about hard work, opportunity, and responsibility — it’s also why so much of what I do today is aimed at opening doors for people who weren’t born with many.
In 2024, I married Julie Schlanger. We met when I was visiting a synagogue in Las Vegas, which I still think is a pretty good story.
Adventures
Outside of investing, I like to be outside. I’m a licensed private pilot and have spent a lot of hours flying over the deserts of the American Southwest — it’s the closest thing I’ve found to true quiet. I’ve visited all fifty states. In the summer of 2025, I completed the Mongol Rally, driving 11,000 miles across Europe and Central Asia in a small, underpowered car with a group of friends. And one winter I cycled 153 miles through the Mojave Desert from Palm Springs into Arizona, mostly to see if I could.
Philanthropy
In 2025, Julie and I launched the Judah Spinner Foundation with a $2 million commitment. We built it around four causes we think matter most for the country’s future: the widening gap in income, America’s high incarceration rate, the cost and quality of our healthcare system, and the federal deficit.
As an investor, I’ve spent my career looking for places where a single dollar can do outsized work. I try to bring the same discipline to philanthropy. The Foundation’s flagship program is the Judah Spinner Scholarship, which funds tuition and tools for students pursuing certifications in welding, HVAC, electrical work, and plumbing — careers that can be launched in months rather than years and that lead to real, middle-class wages. We give priority to low-income students, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals looking for a fresh start.
I’m convinced that steady, dignified work is one of the most effective things we can invest in as a society. A dollar spent getting someone into the trades does more, in my view, than a dollar spent almost anywhere else.
You can read more about each initiative:
Life Highlights
Visiting All 50 States
Completed the ultimate American adventure by visiting all 50 states, experiencing our country unique in all its beauty. Spinner is a proud member of the All 50 Club.
Cycled 153 Miles
Cycled 153 miles through the Mojave Desert from Palm Springs, California to Arizona.
Flying as a Pilot
As a licensed private pilot, Spinner has extensive experience flying throughout the deserts of the Southwest United States.
Earning CFA Charter
Earned the prestigious CFA Charter. Spinner passed all three levels on his first attempt, a feat accomplished by fewer than 10% of candidates. Spinner is a proud member of the CFA Institute.
Completing Mongol Rally
Conquered the legendary Mongol Rally, driving 11,000 miles across challenging terrain. The Rally traversed Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
As Seen In
