By Stephen Taub
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Lights, camera, action! The trading floor at Caxton’s New York headquarters
(Photographs by Chris Crisman) |
Last spring, Caxton Associates CIO Andrew Law was frustrated. Although the outlook for growth seemed okay, several exogenous shocks had hit the global economy: the rash of tornadoes in the U.S., the devastating earthquake in Japan and subsequent nuclear accident, not to mention the simmering European debt crisis and the debate in Washington over the U.S. debt ceiling. “Most people felt they were temporary growth shocks,” recalls Law, 45, who on January 1 of this year added the responsibilities of chairman and CEO of New York–based Caxton when its legendary founder, Bruce Kovner, retired.
In May the firm’s flagship macro fund, Caxton Global Investments, lost 2.36 percent. Law took drastic action. Late that month he and many of the firm’s other macro traders liquidated their entire portfolios....