newwurldmn
Registered: Apr 2011
Posts: 2620 |
10-24-12 01:23 PM
Quote from Chausey:
If it's true he made that much, what signal does that send to high net worth investors who seek out talented managers today. Perhaps that these guys only really look out for themselves and want to walk away with your money or money made by using your money on the front lines. You take all the risk, they make the risk free money. How the hedge fund industry is still standing today is the 8th wonder of the world. Smart money is acting like dumb money these years now. There is no need to analyze or trade when the Fed does it for you. Money spent on lobbying and ensuring loose money policy is far more effective use of capital today than some trader.
Also, when will people stop fooling themselves with the whole persona of what makes a trader successful. Drinks coffee when no one is there, wears lucky tennis shoes, stays up all night. Sounds like dilusion and gives me hope that much money remains to be taken from well off people.
I think more dollars have been lost in hedgefunds than made. I agree there's a problem when any service industry makes abnormal returns.
Regarding the coffee, etc. A lot of portfolio managers have some messed up personalities. At my old firm, i would wager most PM's would qualify as insane or at least sociopathic. I guess that's what makes them good - they don't think like everyone else. Paul Tudor Jones was like this, and according to a friend who has met him many times, is still quite nutty. From my experience it's mostly the macro guys who punt a lot and have the personality to do it in big size. It's not majority of the industry but it captures the imagination the way AC/DC captures the rockstar persona.
Watch the movie Trader (if you can find it online). It's a PBS documentary about Jones in the 80s. He has worked hard to get rid of it so your best bet is a chinese site like toudou or something. He had magic tennis shoes as well.
"These shoes used were Bruce Willis's. He's a stud."
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