“He is the unfortunate combination of the god complex of a Harvard-trained surgeon and the god complex of a hedge fund manager.”
—A former FrontPoint employee on inside trader and former doctor Chip Skowron. Story
“Why do I pay more in taxes as a working New Yorker than a hedge fund manager?”
—Occupy Wall Street marcher and John Paulson protestor James Mumm, director of organizing with National People’s Action, a national network of community organizations. Story
“As one of the people who will be directly affected by the proposed new rules, let me say that I wholeheartedly endorse them.”
—George Soros on assorted proposals for higher taxes on the wealthy and investment managers. Story
“Gold gives me a headache.”
—Vermillion Asset Management’s Chris Nygaard on the commodity beloved by Vermillion’s nemesis, the macro fund. Story
“Models are a great place to start but a terrible place to finish.”
—Michael Hintze of CQS on black box investing. Story
“A year ago we were shooting fish in the barrel and pulling them out with our hands. Now we are back in the boat, looking under logs and casting into the weeds, but it’s still pretty darn good fishing.”
—David Edington, founder and president of Rimrock Capital Management on investing in credit. Story
“You can probably get what you want out of life if you can suspend your ego and take a no-excuses approach to achieving your goals with open-mindedness, determination and courage.”
—Ray Dalio in his guiding document for Bridgewater Associates, “Principles.” Story
“If a pension fund has 90% of its assets in traditional investments, in which a big chunk of them are involved in long positions on equities, what the hell are they doing funding hedge funds to short those same long positions?”
—Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, on why pension funds should not invest in hedge funds because they short stocks. Story
“It doesn’t make sense to say hedge funds can never be a problem.”
—Michael Barr, a major architect of the Dodd-Frank Act while at the Treasury Department, on hedge funds and systemic risk. Story
"I was really amazed when I got to know their investment process, because I'd really given them too much respect."
—Former Barclays Global Investors and BlackRock employee on BlackRock’s investment process. Story