Lose billions in a company like Enron and you go to jail. Lose 6 billion in a hedge fund and you get rewarded with more funds to start another fund. mmm doesnt seem fair to me ? Shouldn't they go to jail too ? What's the difference between the two?
lmao. Or 'Night Train.' This guy's going to blow up again. It's just a matter of when. Leopards don't change their spots. And any asshole that is betting billions on hurricane type events without a proper hedge is a true wanker. It amazes me that a rational human would give this guy a dime. 'Swing away, Brian.'
The parties involved in Enron didn't go to jail because they lost billions. You can do a search and find out why they went to jail. Losing money is not a crime or else lots of executives and money fund managers would be in prison.
Agreed, its fraud, accounting fraud....misleading investors with rosy pictures while the company was sinking etc etc..saw the doco. But im sure there's fraud on Brian's part as well unless he blew up overnight and did not have a chance to warn investors. But bottom line is he still blew many mum and dads nest eggs. Rich mums and dads....
Amaranth Sued by San Diego County Retirement Fund (Update2) By Jenny Strasburg March 29 (Bloomberg) -- Amaranth Advisors LLC was sued by the San Diego County retirement fund for securities fraud, the first investor lawsuit against the hedge-fund firm since it collapsed under a record $6.6 billion in losses in September. Amaranth lied about its trading strategies and made ``excessively risky and volatile investments,'' according to a complaint filed today by the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association. The pension fund expects to lose $100 million of the $175 million it invested with Amaranth, Chief Executive Officer Brian White said in an interview. ``We've had many discussions with Amaranth and its principals over the past several months trying to reach some voluntary settlement,'' White said. ``That has been unsuccessful.'' The pension plan's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, may encourage other investors to sue Amaranth, slowing the return of $630 million in remaining capital. Clients of the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm included funds run by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York Co. ``If several of these cases pop up and one investor wins, it can serve as a blueprint for showing how to strike back against hedge funds,'' said Seth Berenzweig, a lawyer with Arlington, Virginia-based Albo & Oblon, whose clients include institutional investors. He is not involved in the lawsuit. The San Diego pension fund's complaint is ``meritless litigation that will inevitably reduce its own recovery and, potentially, the recovery of other investors,'' David Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP in New York, an attorney representing Amaranth, said in an e-mailed statement. Defendants The pension fund's complaint names as defendants Amaranth founder Nicholas Maounis, Chief Operating Officer Charles Winkler, former energy trader Brian Hunter and Robert Jones, chief risk officer. It seeks at least $150 million in damages. Amaranth defrauded clients by misrepresenting itself as a fund that invested in many different assets, according to the complaint. ``The fund, against its own espoused investment policies, effectively operated as a single-strategy natural-gas fund that took very large and highly leveraged gambles and recklessly failed to apply even basic risk-management techniques and controls.'' [you don't say... italics mine] Amaranth, whose assets peaked at $9.5 billion in August, is liquidating after Hunter's bets that natural-gas prices would rise were upended by an unexpected decline. It has returned 80 percent of the $2.7 billion it held as of September. Claims Release Proposed Clients who hold about 10 percent of the fund have proposed that Amaranth be released from all potential legal claims to speed the return of their money, according to a memo sent to Amaranth by investors and obtained March 23 by Bloomberg News. The letter, which didn't disclose the group's members, said the plan would probably lower legal costs for investors and the hedge fund. Investors like the San Diego pension fund have a heavy burden of proof in such cases, Berenzweig said. ``They must show that the firm engaged in fraud and malfeasance, with direct evidence establishing more than just that someone could have done a better job with a risky investment.'' The case is San Diego County Employees Retirement Association v. Nicholas Maounis, Charles Winkler, Robert Jones, Brian Hunter and Amaranth Advisors LLC, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). Last Updated: March 29, 2007 23:05 EDT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=auj5uYPq63vs ____________ Regardless of the lawsuit's actual merits, this might put a damper on Solengo's launch and fund-raising...
This is just like back on my floor trading days, when guys would blow out spectacularly one week and then return with a new backer a few weeks later. The moral of the story: There is no shortage of idiots with too much money out there.