So do you Surf, so do you. You never answered the argument of Victor having all those talents at his weaponry. A decent 30% annual would be a pieace of cake....
Just looking for the truth. I see that I typed Achielle's Hell, I obviously meant Achilles' Heel, but I'll let that stand ... as it must be hell to be a genius, have your fund(s) go under (twice), have to liquidate your assets, and have people think you're a fool (no smily face, I'm serious). I
whoa, insightful, thanks! who is that guy? some kinda freaking prognosticating, speculating, interviewing wizard?!
Who knows? Competing on the world's stage is something that only the most driven of human beings want to do, it usually comes from going through something when they are very young which makes them want to get out there and show the world who they are and what they can really do. If he had just kept his organization private he could have amassed an absolute fortune for himself, his family and few close friends (and of course, the mother of his children ... ). I
Surf -I have invested in hedge funds, including one run by richard dennis. As far as experience with them, neighbors, business partners and traders in my office have all either run them or worked for them. Having grown up in greenwich - I know all sorts of people involved or "married into" the industry. Your comment about needing to hit the high water mark - must be something you made up because I doubt that would come from any trader aware of his responsiblity to his investors. A high water mark has no business being on the mind of a professional exercising his fiduciary duties to his clients. While we know that some hedge fund running scumbags are actually more concerned about getting paid then doing their job - which is to trade properly - trading to hit a new high water mark in my opinion is a breach of duty. Any trader who is willing to sacrifice good trading principles in order to hit a high water mark so he can get paid. Sucks. I have told you that someone who trades for reversion to the mean and then sells fat premium is destined to blow up. I have told you anyone can do it successfully for a period of time - If you market yourself - Instead of using T/A you get yourself a data mining program, buy same data and pretend you are onto something new. VN was a fraud of a trader - he was gambler. He sold premium and he blew up - multiple times. I never blew up trading - but I will say my wife almost blew up my trading account - which was stuck in the last house we were living in. Luckily I finally sold it last month. Now I will trade again. I bet I will never lose as much money as VN. ( by the way I up significant money for my trading career.)
that's all well and good, jem, but you are missing the entire point. VN is not a fraud, but rather a risk taking speculator with a fierce competitive streak. im not talking about people with a few million who invest in hedge funds, im talking about traders of hedge funds who hold 100's in their portfolios, these are the entities who invest in someone like VN for a specific purpose. if ya don't perform in the top 1/2 or whatever of their portfolio, you lose the capital--bottom line--im talking about the big boys, the real cheese cake, the masters of the universe---not some millionaire who throws a bone to richard dennis as a proxy for a mutual fund. surf
furthermore, i hope you are not suggesting that investors in funds like VN's are ignorant. some of these entities are the most sophisticated in the financial world, they know exactly what they are buying--to suggest otherwise is foolhardy. surf
Get a clue. Can't you fathom how moronic you sound to those of us who are even quasi professionals? Vic was a FUCKING PUT SELLER!!!!! You act as if this guy was a trader/speculator/quant/value investor/matinee idol. He only sold puts. A CHIMP could manage a fund like Vic does. No analysis based on musical waves, no "Wiz" at the risk controls, nothing about quiet or no shoes-just SELLING PUTS. Real high brow stuff. He was a scumbag promoter/adulterer who's been taken out time and time again by minor moves. This guy just blew out his last chance on a 12% correction. Fraud, unsophisticated investors, returns predicated upon blind, over leveraged put selling, ZERO cred among anyone with a whiff of sophistication. Just like you in fact. Go sell a piece of Paul Jones. Enrich yourself $100 at a time.
Surf,as the ex head trader of equity derivatives and emerging market derivatives at two major investment banks,I am confident I have a "reasonably" good understanding of the so called pressure Vice is under. As for retail guys,I am not Vics personal cabana boy hocking his personal belongings on the internet...