Victor Niederhoffer and Nassim Nicholas Taleb: A Quick Comparison

it was a great ego trip as people foolishly gave him money.

 

So should we assume that a prostitute with 10 years of "experience" who avoided STDs and is perfectly healthy, is a better risk manager than VN? Can someone prove me wrong?

 

As long as she didn't take the money she was paid and sell naked puts then yes.

 

Potentially keeping him in the game to earn the outsized returns for as long as he did?? I really don't know.

 

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for the truly expert reply ask poster, volpunter. volly can prove you wrong if you are so inclined.

 

Sam and EP, I've been critical of VN's trading in the past. And I'm not here to defend him. I'm genuinely wondering what draws an otherwise accomplished man by any measure to his own destruction like a moth to a flame. I had even raised the matter of moral hazard in the past, as it relates to managing money: the skewed risk profile that can be a veritable playground for the amoral. But he lost his own money as well, so I think the issue goes deeper. The man is not a fool. But he made mistakes that can be described as foolish, and more than once. We all have our vulnerabilities. His seems to be hubris. But why would an intelligent man refuse to show humility in the face of risk when he knows full well that it can destroy him?

On the other hand, consider Taleb. Despite his obvious intelligence and financial acumen, he can't bring himself to take a directional position in the market. His issue appears to be the exact opposite of VN's. And apart from his literary success, has his approach to risk served him well in the markets? Are the overall returns he generated sufficiently reflective of his intelligence and his grasp of all things quantitative? (I really don't know, but the shuttering of Empirica suggests otherwise. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

That's why I think these two men are an interesting study in contrasts.

 

How long did his run last before he hired the team? How long did it last after?

(And if he still blew up and lost big, they didn't do him any favors.)

 

I really can't talk about any details, sorry.

 

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one more contrast is that taleb has groupies, female students, who follow him around to public appearances.

 

VN has a bevy of young lady fans also--- i think anyone who is unique and quasi-famous has groupies.

surf