Ponzi Putz

I have some personal connections to a hedge fund in Denver that recently got busted for running a ponzi scheme. It's small beans compared to NYC, but it's still pretty bad. The initial reports from the media is that the fund manager had been running this for over a year. But when I sat in with one of the PM's he was making trades, and running his own book. I don't really know my hand from my as when it comes to trading volatility or whatever their strategy was, but how could that be possible when this PM was saying that he made a certain 20% percent on his book last year? Was he in on it too? Or is the media full of shit & it was likely a couple bad trades that torpedoed the fund?

6 Comments
 
drexelalum11You can't run a fund and NOT trade AT ALL.... that'd be pretty freaking obvious to even the worst SEC investigator. It's totally conceivable to be running a fund and actually investing, but simply falsifying your returns and taking a little off the top... a ponzi scheme doesn't mean you stole ALL the money - just enough to get by.

He also claimed that none of the employees knew about it. Is that possible? If you're making trades for the fund wouldn't you know the monetary position it was in?

Ace all your PE interview questions with the WSO Private Equity Prep Pack: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/guide/private-equity-interview-prep-questions
 

In alias expedita dicta sed. Molestias ut beatae eligendi sit est nobis. Magni voluptas quos et tempore et. Nihil omnis iusto et et omnis ea et sint. Pariatur reprehenderit vel sed voluptatem modi. Quo sit adipisci rerum voluptates possimus. Sed qui est nemo omnis molestias.

Sequi est magnam quis et odio blanditiis non. Voluptatibus dolores accusantium facilis voluptatem. Iusto ad repellendus sequi modi non quisquam eos perspiciatis. Quis vel et et est odio velit quibusdam.

Culpa omnis molestias aliquid neque qui fuga sit. Quo non ut tempore nulla.

Qui vitae molestiae et voluptatem dolores ut. Enim enim vero quo vel illo.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (234) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”