Trader -> Hedge fund manager -> Bum
(Chimp, 12
Points)
on 1/3/13 at 8:43am
You slog it out as a Trader for a few years and realise that you're a boss. You become a PM and realise you're a boss. Other bosses realise you're a boss and they along with all their boss friends give you some money to play with. You become a hedge fund manger and confirm to all that you're a boss. You generate good returns for a few years and find yourself sitting on a few hundred mil. You close your fund and become a bum.
With a few hundred mil, there are not an awful lot of industries which are closed off to you. Why then is it that we hear very little about hedge fund managers using their cash to become bosses in other industries? Thoughts?
With all that cash, why would
With all that cash, why would you want to spend more time working instead of doing whatever the hell you wanted to for the rest of your life?
they became a boss because
they became a boss because they loved it, not because they wanted to become a boss
Because you made millions
Because you made millions being a trader and hedge fund manager, not being a boss in another industry. Conglomerates are the best example of what you're talking about and their track record is spotty.
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But the same is true of
But the same is true of trading - you don't make money on every trade. And more importantly, if you're sitting on a few hundred mil (which you are now only managing for yourself), what stops you from say stashing half and taking on more risk outside the financial markets?
I can appreciate that these guys made it to where they were by really enjoying what they do but surely the idea of managing risk and hitting jackpot once in a while is not limited to the financial markets?
GordanBateman: But the same
But the same is true of trading - you don't make money on every trade. And more importantly, if you're sitting on a few hundred mil (which you are now only managing for yourself), what stops you from say stashing half and taking on more risk outside the financial markets?
I can appreciate that these guys made it to where they were by really enjoying what they do but surely the idea of managing risk and hitting jackpot once in a while is not limited to the financial markets?
what do you suggest? joining an oil and gas corp and proposing that they should go dig in the middle of Iraq? joining GE and telling them shut it all down and focus on teleportation? going into real estate and asking them to build the tallest building in the world out of balsa wood?
Oreos: what do you suggest?
what do you suggest? joining an oil and gas corp and proposing that they should go dig in the middle of Iraq? joining GE and telling them shut it all down and focus on teleportation? going into real estate and asking them to build the tallest building in the world out of balsa wood?
Is there sand in your vaj? I didn't mean a boss in the literal sense. Financing can be a barrier to entry in a lot of industries and that doesn't exist for you in the same way if you're sitting on a mountain of cash.
Make next topic asking why
Make next topic asking why Bill Gates doesn't start a hedge fund. He has capital and he has smart people to come up with a quant strategy, amirite?
GordanBateman: Oreos: what
what do you suggest? joining an oil and gas corp and proposing that they should go dig in the middle of Iraq? joining GE and telling them shut it all down and focus on teleportation? going into real estate and asking them to build the tallest building in the world out of balsa wood?
Is there sand in your vaj? I didn't mean a boss in the literal sense. Financing can be a barrier to entry in a lot of industries and that doesn't exist for you in the same way if you're sitting on a mountain of cash.
no need to be so defensive. But seriously, what do you suggest? What industries are there where one man with no prior experience or expertise can flourish at a level that a 'boss' would be accustomed?. Particularly baring in mind that this guy isn't a born entrepreneur (as if so, he would already be one)
Usually people who've made
Usually people who've made ridiculous amount of money do one (or a combination) of three things:
1) Keep doing what they're doing, whether in their current spot or something slightly different (new fund, different strategy, etc)
2) Work hard at something they're passionate about/interested in, like a hobby-business or a charitable endeavour
3) Live a life a leisure
I've heard of or know a handful of people who do #2-guys who run restaurants, bakeries, specialty stores, high-end manufacturers of some thing they have a passion for-but generally they're looking to switch gears or to do something they care about rather than to make a big wad of cash or build a huge business in another field.
This really isn't that surprising-as a return on effort, it's unlikely that a successful finance professional is going to do better doing something else, and despite what people on here seem to think being a good investor doesn't necessarily prepare you to build/run an operating business. That's why it's much more common to see people do something they've already been successful at (serial entrepreneurs, etc) or do something that's not economically motivated (2 or 3).
There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.