Money Mavericks PDF EBook: Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager

249 Pages·2012·4.179 MB·English

by  Kroijer, Lars

“In a world where few understand their complexities, Money Mavericks
provides a compelling and accurate insight into the secretive workings
of a hedge fund.”
M
TeTs IshIkawa, auThor of How I Caused tHe CredIt CrunCH
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“I read this book cover to cover, and enjoyed every bit of it. The hedge
N
fund industry is not known for its modesty, yet this book is not only full
of fascinating information but is refreshing in this respect as well.” E
andreI shleIfer, Professor of economIcs, harvard unIversITy Y

M
“Without sensationalising, Lars tells it like it is – a no-holds-barred,
warts-and-all account of what it’s like to try and set up and run a hedge
A
fund.”
V
neIl wIlson, edITor, euroHedge
E
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“A compelling and demystifying chronicle of hedge funds, and of hedge
I
fund managers. Lars’ experience is by no means novel in the industry,
C
but his perspective most certainly is.”
K
drew dIckson, managIng ParTner, dIckson caPITal managemenT
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Some call them ‘grotesque’, others as ‘absolutely crazy
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bodies’, and still more refer to them as ‘hellish’ – hedge
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fund managers are stealthy, wealthy and tend to avoid I
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the spotlight. But is this fair? Read on to find out.
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£14.99
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Money Mavericks

Money Mavericks
Confessions of a hedge fund manager

Second edition
Lars Kroijer
PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED
Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.pearson.com/uk
First published in Great Britain in 2010
Second edition 2012
© Pearson Education Limited 2012
The right of Lars Kroijer to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN 978-0-273-77250-7
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kroijer, Lars.
Money mavericks : confessions of a hedge fund manager / Lars Kroijer. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-273-77250-7 (limp)
1. Hedge funds. 2. Hedge funds--Management. 3. Speculation. I. Title.
HG4530.K76 2012
332.64'52409421--dc23
20120057777
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may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form
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Typeset in 9pt Galliard by 30
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd, Dorchester, Dorset
To Puk, Anna and Sofia – my three girls

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
About the second edition x
Introduction 1
Part One Getting ready for Holte Capital 5
1 Becoming a hedgie 7
2 Taking the plunge 21
3 Starting a hedge fund 33
4 On the road 47
5 Limping to launch 55
Part Two Becoming the real deal 65
6 Mickey Mouse fund 67
7 Breaking through 75
8 Scaling up and meeting the Godfather 85
9 The real deal 93
10 Being corporate 97
11 Activist investor 105
12 A day in the life 117
Part Three On the front line 127
13 Getting fully examined 129
14 Blood in the streets 137
15 Edge 143
16 Made it? 149
17 Friends and competition 157
18 Making your commissions count 163
19 Are we worth it? 173
viii Contents
Part Four The fast road down 181
20 Feeling grim 183
21 A bad day 191
22 A bad run 199
23 Going home 205
24 Rethinking Holte Capital 211
Beyond hedge funds – portfolio tips for amateurs 219
Index 233
Acknowledgements
As a first time author I probably needed more help than the journalists
and professors that often write about finance, and I am thrilled that
such an insightful and helpful group of people helped me to finish the
book. In particular I want to thank my wife Puk Kroijer and good friend
James Hoffman for their unwavering support throughout this project.
Also, I would like to thank the team at Pearson Education for taking
on the book and helping to shape it into what it has become: my editor
(and fellow QPR supporter) Rupert Morris who wielded the knife
gently, but also Chris Cudmore, Eloise Cook, Melanie Carter, Jane
Hammett and Anna Jackson.
A number of finance and non-finance friends read through early
drafts of the book as I stumbled towards a coherent story, and gave great
and astute feedback: former officemate Edwin Datson, former colleagues
Brian O’Callaghan and Sam Morland, but also early backer Martin
Byman, and Christina Type, Oliver Emanuel, Curt Peters, Robert Sherer,
Chris Rossbach, Tets Ishikawa, Marc Sharpe and Martin Escobari. Also,
particularly in the early stages of the project while I was still debating if
there was a story here to tell, I found the encouragement and direction
from author friends invaluable, in particular Jeremy Dann, Kaleil Isaza
Tuzman, Nalini Kotamraju and Kambiz Foroohar.
Finally, I would like to thank all those in and around the hedge-
fund industry who consistently encouraged me to write about my
experiences, even if those often included themselves. Most were
content for me to use their real names, but some preferred to remain
anonymous – with the result that some names and exact circumstances
have been changed. The general feeling was that the world could do
with a better understanding of what really happens inside hedge funds
(and perhaps, just as importantly, what doesn’t). Any industry that is
this consistently open and encouraging of an introspective story about it
can surely not consist only of locusts and speculatory leeches on society.
Lars Kroijer