1 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: This is Masters in Business with Barry Ridholts on Boomberg Radio. 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: This weekend on the podcast, I have an extra special guest, 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: and this was a master class in what is going 4 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: on in the alternative space. Alana Weinstein is uniquely situated 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: to understand hedge funds, venture capital, private equity, the demands 6 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: of scaling a billion dollar firm into a forty billion 7 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: dollar firm, Who is moving around from firm to firm, 8 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: Who are the most talented people in the space, What 9 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: is going on without flows from hedge funds and why. 10 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: I don't know how to describe this except to say 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: this is absolutely an incredible discussion from a person uniquely 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: situated in a one off vantage point to understand exactly 13 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: what's taking place in this space. So, with no further ado, 14 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:06,840 Speaker 1: my conversation with Alana Weinstein. This is Masters in Business 15 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: with Barry Ridholts on Bloomberg Radio. My special guest this 16 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: week is Alana Weinstein. She is the founder and CEO 17 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: of the I d W Group, a leading boutique for 18 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: hedge funds, private equity, and family offices in search of 19 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 1: top investment talent. Previously, she worked at such August firms 20 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: as Goldman Stacks and the Boston Consulting Group. She got 21 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her 22 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: MBA from Harvard Elana Weinstein, Welcome to Bloomberg Radio. And 23 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: I add that because I've seen you on Bloomberg TV 24 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: many times, but I don't recall ever hearing you on 25 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Radio. This is my first time, Barry, So, you've 26 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: been in the asset management industry for more than two decades. 27 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 1: How did you end up on the recruiting side. The 28 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,040 Speaker 1: short answer is I was really young and I was 29 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: still trying to figure or out what I wanted to 30 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: be when I grew up. Literally, Um, I had gone 31 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:10,360 Speaker 1: to HBS after a year at Goldman, So I literally 32 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: went from penn from my dorm room to my parents home, 33 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: worked a Goldman for a year, uh and then UH 34 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: and then went to HBS. And just to go back 35 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: and answer your question, I ended up going to the 36 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: Boston Consulting Group really because I felt I needed to 37 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: get a post m b A to my m b A. 38 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: I wanted to figure out, um, what path I wanted 39 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: to take, what sorts of problems I wanted to solve, 40 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: what industries were interesting to me, and um and this 41 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: is in the I was in my late twenties, this 42 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: is in the mid nineties, so the dot com because 43 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: that's of course what we called it back then, and 44 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: the dot com bubble was just bubbling. And within a 45 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: year and a half, my entire class of MBAs at BCG, 46 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: the class I entered with, was gonzo. I was literally 47 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: they'd all gone to California to seek their you know, 48 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: start the next whatever. Give me a big fat slug 49 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: of stock options and a stock that just goes up 50 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: ten percent a day, and and everybody jumped at it 51 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: and done right. And you can imagine how that ended 52 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: for most of them. It depends on if they knew 53 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: when to hit the bit or not. If they were 54 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: smart and and took off some risk, not too bad 55 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,519 Speaker 1: the people who didn't, so they had gone to try 56 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 1: to start dot com companies. And um, I that wasn't 57 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: my gig. I wasn't I realized I didn't. Really, I 58 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 1: had learned a lot of BCG. I didn't want to 59 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: be a management consultant um as a as a career path, 60 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: and I still was figuring out what do I want 61 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: to do? And before I committed to UM any particular pathway. 62 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 1: I figured I would jump into another milieu where I 63 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: could learn again more about companies and functions and just 64 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: figure out where I wanted to commit to. And so 65 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: I joined a large recruiting firm, thinking that would give 66 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: me a purview. And as it turned out, I was 67 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: really good at it, and I fell into quickly joined 68 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: their financial services practice, and uh, that's how That's how 69 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: I ended up in recruiting, and so you end up 70 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: focusing a little further along in your career on head funds, 71 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: private equity, family offices. So what happened was UM after 72 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: about a year or two, there the dot com bubble burst, 73 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: and there this is this big search firm I was at. 74 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: Their financial services practice was really focused more on investment, banking, equities, 75 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:44,600 Speaker 1: traditional asset management, sort of what i'll call older school businesses, 76 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: compared to what I really fell into and started to 77 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: focus on, which was back in the late nineties early 78 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: two thousands. As you'll remember, these were the this is 79 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: what was fueling the cell side. This is where the 80 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 1: action was. It was the prop groups, and it was 81 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: it was these new, first of their kind type financial products. 82 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,239 Speaker 1: It was called so it was credit correlation. Asset swaps 83 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: wasn't even called credit derivatives back then, highly structured first 84 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: of their kind derivativesy types of transactions. That's what we 85 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,080 Speaker 1: were focused on for the cell side clients that I 86 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: was working with, and that's where the juice was. And 87 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I developed my own business which 88 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: was on fire within this big firm, and it just 89 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: became obvious after a few years to me um to 90 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: really try to do this on my own, given um 91 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: I was acting effectively independently within a larger construct which 92 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 1: was having issues at the time. So let's talk also 93 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: about the timing. As you were explained that, I began 94 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: to think about the timing. If we go back years, 95 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: what were there two hundred four hundred hedge funds Today 96 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: there's eleven thousand. Your timing into that ramp up could 97 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: not perfect Barry, right, I planned it perfectly, right. I mean, 98 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: so so all these and Goldman sachs Is is infamous 99 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: for saying to a group of traders who they smell 100 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: might be itching to head out, Hey, why don't you 101 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 1: guys go set up a hedge fun We'll get you capital, 102 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,480 Speaker 1: will will prime broker for you, and we'll steer some 103 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: potential clients to you. And that's how they built an 104 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: immense prime brokerage business. How much was the Goldman Sacks 105 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: connection helpful or as you was an analyst, it had nothing. 106 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: I was literally just understand I started a Goldman in 107 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: the middle of my senior year of PEN. I mean 108 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: because I just was. I don't know, I was stupid. 109 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: I was like working. I just I got through all 110 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: my classes. I didn't have I didn't have enough fun 111 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: in college. At the bottom line, I'm making up for it, 112 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: trying to make up for lost time now. But I 113 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: was finished with my classes. I started middle of my 114 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: senior year and I was out within literally a year 115 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: to HBS. So think about it. I was I hadn't 116 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: even graduated from college. So this was it was. That 117 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: was not what UM really what really jump started my business. 118 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: It what it was. However, UM, you are correct in 119 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: signaling the cell side um as as a driver of 120 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,679 Speaker 1: hedge fund talent, because back then it was the prop 121 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: groups that were the precursors to hedge funds. It was 122 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: it was these you know again, high octane um and 123 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: these were the guys who got paid the most on 124 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: the cell side at the time, and I even still 125 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: felt like they weren't capturing as much of their p 126 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: m L as they wanted. Well, you know it, within 127 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,040 Speaker 1: a cell side context, they were doing as well as 128 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 1: they possibly could. Back then, you could be a superstar 129 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: prop trader and earning forty million bucks a year, which 130 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: which doesn't happen anymore. You could be earning more certainly 131 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:55,400 Speaker 1: than the CEO. But their buddies were leaving UM, many 132 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: of whom were Goldman partners or just were um just 133 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: like again, high octane prop traders from Credit Sweez, from 134 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: Deutsche Bank, from Morgan Stanley, from JP Morgan, and they 135 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,239 Speaker 1: were setting up shop. And remember back then you could 136 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: start with fifty and scale to a billion very quickly. 137 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: And so and all of a sudden, there's no headwinds 138 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: from any other part in the bank. There's no cap 139 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,160 Speaker 1: at all in terms of how you get paid. You 140 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: can do whatever you want. And if you're an entrepreneurial 141 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: person who is a great investment professional and that's your 142 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 1: passion and that's what you want to do, why be 143 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: part of a bank. There was no headwind to getting 144 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: into this business and scaling if you could produce the goods, 145 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: and back then you could do that a lot more easily, 146 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 1: quite quite fascinating. Let's let's talk a little bit a 147 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 1: lot about how your business works. Do hedge funds and 148 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: family offices come to you looking for slots to fill? 149 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: Are the traders and fund managers reaching out to you? What? 150 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: What does the structure like? So, UM, let me back 151 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: up and tell you, which I'm actually quite proud of. 152 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: We've been in business for almost seventeen years, seventeen this February. 153 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: Most of our clients we've been working with practically, if 154 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,840 Speaker 1: not since the beginning beginning, certainly within the first few 155 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: years of inception of I DW. So what that means 156 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: is we're UM, we really know their business, We've helped 157 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: them build their business. And yes they are coming to 158 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:32,040 Speaker 1: us UM for specific assignments, whether it's and the common 159 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: thread being they are all uh senior people who can 160 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,319 Speaker 1: move the needle, whether it's a someone to do VI, 161 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: a t M t PM for equities UM, someone to 162 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: run an emerging markets business, someone to build and run distress. 163 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: But at the same time, and this goes back perhaps 164 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: to my BCG background, UM, I really are our role 165 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: my firm's role is to also be an advisor to 166 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: them as well as to the market. So it's I'll 167 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: give you two assignments we're working on today. A in 168 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: the genesis of it UM each each one UM is 169 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: arguably for one of the biggest and most sophisticated hedge 170 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: funds in the world. One UM, I started talking with 171 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: the founder at the end of the summer about a 172 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 1: new business he wants to build. He runs a forty 173 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: billion dollar hedge funds, super successful, and he wants to 174 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: create something wholly other than what he does today. So 175 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: we're helping him find somebody who could oversee that and 176 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: build that. That's that's a very sophisticated person who's not 177 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: This isn't someone looking for a job. This is somebody 178 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: who has actually had great success with what they've done 179 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: in the past, and this is kind of an interesting 180 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: maybe chapter two UM and and as successful as they've been, 181 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 1: it's an opportunity for even greater wealth creation. The second 182 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 1: example I'll give you is another UM client that is 183 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: almost as big UM and again, these are two of 184 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: the most successful hedge funds in the world. Very forward 185 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 1: thinking guys. Uh, this is al we've worked with for 186 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: a long time. I came to him and I said 187 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: to him, Um, there I see an ARB in the 188 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: market right now. UM, there's a universe of people who 189 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: are really talented and our staying where they are not 190 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 1: because they're happy, but because a better option doesn't exist. 191 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,360 Speaker 1: And if you created this, I think you could capture 192 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,959 Speaker 1: that alpha right this this group of individuals that have 193 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: been phenomenal P and L generators, even in the last 194 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,800 Speaker 1: few years where it's been very difficult, he's now building 195 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: that business. So it's both UM working on UM discreet 196 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: assignments for our clients as well as coming to them 197 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,800 Speaker 1: with advice about where to take take their how to 198 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,439 Speaker 1: take their funds forward. That's that's fascinating. So if someone 199 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: comes to you and they're looking to fill a specific role, 200 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: what is your thought process like when you're trying to say, 201 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: who do I know that might be a good fit 202 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: for this? Or if I don't know anybody in particul 203 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: killer who comes to mind, how do you go about 204 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: creating UM a pool of applicants that could fill that role. Well, 205 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:13,959 Speaker 1: after again almost two decades doing this, we typically, UM, 206 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:15,719 Speaker 1: you know most of the player We kind of No, 207 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: I'm not going to go so far as to say 208 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: we have the answer before we begin, although that is 209 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,840 Speaker 1: often correct, like actually formally begin this like someone says 210 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: something and you're like, I know, in the back of 211 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,079 Speaker 1: your head, I have just the p We We've done 212 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: so much work in every conceivable asset class so many times, 213 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: um that when we start something, it's rarely truly brand 214 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,959 Speaker 1: new what it can be because certain strategies are more 215 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: cyclical than others. So for example, UM, when we did 216 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,079 Speaker 1: the here's a good example, when we did the head 217 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:49,400 Speaker 1: of Emerging markets for one of our clients, he asked 218 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: me how much work we've done in e M and 219 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: I told him we had done a fair bit of work. 220 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,040 Speaker 1: This is going back a few years. But because it's 221 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:59,839 Speaker 1: a cyclical strategy, not for a while. UM, So they're 222 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,280 Speaker 1: what we did is we threw a lasto over the 223 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: universe sort of as we knew it from when we 224 00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: last left off and when that strategy was last in vogue, 225 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: and and it was a pretty sizeable universe. But um, 226 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: and this was a global search as well, right, because 227 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: it's a head of emerging markets, it's the person could 228 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:19,200 Speaker 1: sit here or could sit in London and we just 229 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: dive in and we build a tapestry of who the 230 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: best people are, which is both by meeting people that 231 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 1: we already know to be good. But even if we 232 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 1: have no idea UM, the reality is we're doing so 233 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: much work in other areas, whether it's credit rates, macro, 234 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: and if we're doing work at a multi strat and 235 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 1: we have the credit candidates or the equities candidates some play, 236 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: they will also have perspective on who is good in 237 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 1: a m right, whether it's at their firm or they 238 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,319 Speaker 1: may or they may know someone that they respected another firm. 239 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: And and the common theme is these are people we're 240 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: reaching out to, people who have who we who we 241 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 1: view as best in class and um, talented people tend 242 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: to recommend other talented people, so we we very quickly 243 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: um form a picture of who the best people are. 244 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,439 Speaker 1: And the other thing Barry is just good old fashioned 245 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: hard work. When we do a search, any search, we're 246 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: typically going through maybe to three people, even though I 247 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: know the answer is within ten to fifteen of those. 248 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: We just want to make sure we're leaving no stone 249 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: unturned and also building our own depth and breadth of knowledge. 250 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: So when you make a final recommendation to a firm. 251 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: I imagine this varies from firm to firms. Do some 252 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: firms say find me the guy and I'll hire them. 253 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: Or do firms say give me your best on a 254 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: three choices and will interview them. What what's the range like? 255 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: It's really it's usually iterative because again there there is 256 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: there's the best three choices in its basis form, which 257 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: is people who are um who can generate Who are 258 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 1: the people who can generate consistent P and l over time? 259 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: UM that meet with with our UM with that meet 260 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: with our investing you know our investment parameters. But your 261 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: your version of who the those best three people are 262 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 1: may be different than someone else's. Part of it is 263 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: cultural fit. Part of it is just how flexible you, 264 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: as a founder are going to be with respect to 265 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,040 Speaker 1: giving them. You may say you're going to give them 266 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,840 Speaker 1: a fair degree of you know, a lot of autonomy, 267 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: but they may need more than what you're willing to 268 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,520 Speaker 1: give them. Um, they and then there were just nuances. 269 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: They may You may say you're open to somebody who 270 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,960 Speaker 1: runs in a in a manner that's quite that's concentrated, 271 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: in volatile, but their version of concentration and volatility maybe 272 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:49,680 Speaker 1: too much for you. So there's a lot of nuances 273 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: where we you and I um need to iterate on 274 00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: truly who the best quote three are. And the way 275 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: we work is I'm not gonna we're not gonna throw fifty. 276 00:15:58,120 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: We're going to do the work of meeting all the 277 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 1: bull but we're going to have you meet let's call 278 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 1: it fifteen twenty that many, and they want you as 279 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 1: well because we're talking about really good people and they're 280 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: going to learn something. They're going to learn how other 281 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: funds are set up, they're going to learn how other 282 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: um how they're going to get ideas from these people 283 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: right there. There may be um uh, let's say it's 284 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,800 Speaker 1: along short equity search. There may be things that that 285 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: that the candidates are in that are actually helpful for 286 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: the founder to know about. So if if I told 287 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: you that a search is a portal to meeting the 288 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 1: top fifty people in your universe, you would take every 289 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: one of those meetings. That's a good use of your time. 290 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 1: So this isn't just I need a guy to do this, 291 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: get me some now, this is a whole big, holistic 292 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: process that's a really a two way street with a 293 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: lot of exchange of information. That is the only way 294 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,880 Speaker 1: we work. And it's and and I will tell you, um, 295 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 1: we're doing a search right now where the founder was 296 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 1: candid with me. He may not even end up hiring someone. 297 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: He just sees um an opportunity that he may may 298 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,119 Speaker 1: being the operative word, want to capitalize upon and wants 299 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 1: to meet the smartest people who do this out there. 300 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,800 Speaker 1: And then let's iterate on what makes sense. So that's 301 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:13,600 Speaker 1: not that different than BCG, where I had to sort 302 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,960 Speaker 1: of help a CEO draw a conclusion on whether to 303 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: enter a market, and the way we went about that 304 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: was through competitive benchmarking and speaking to other really smart 305 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: people who sat in competitive companies and would help us 306 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,399 Speaker 1: to help him figure it out. So here's the obvious 307 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:32,639 Speaker 1: business question. Typically m headhunting and recruitment firms get paid 308 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 1: when the hier is placed. If someone says to you, hey, 309 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:39,200 Speaker 1: I may may not hire this person, but do all 310 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: this work, do you have to set up a different 311 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: sort of consultingly. We we are retained firm. We don't 312 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: do any work without without so it's a very different 313 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: structure than the old school. Now we we are at 314 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: the risk of being totally a modest I will tell you, 315 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: for a variety of reasons, I don't think we look 316 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: like anybody else that the most prominent one of which 317 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:05,199 Speaker 1: is um are the level we work at and the 318 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: access to the people that we have. So um It's. Yes, 319 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: there are discrete roles that founders need to fill. Yes 320 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 1: we are hired to complete those searches, but they tend 321 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: to be really important searches that will move the needle 322 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,200 Speaker 1: for the for the fund. And if it's a fund 323 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,520 Speaker 1: that's let's call it somewhere between ten and forty billion, 324 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 1: that's a really important person. Um. And and and it's 325 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: not about who's looking for a job. It's not about 326 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: um uh, you know who's available. It's that's not how 327 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: we come in things. If you think of a ven diagram, 328 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,400 Speaker 1: one bubble being best in class, and there are very 329 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:48,760 Speaker 1: few people in any asset class I'd put into that 330 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: bubble that are really that good. Again, there's all the 331 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: work we do to make sure we're leaving no stone unturned, 332 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: but I really have a firm view on who is 333 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 1: best in class. My firm does before we start at 334 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: any sorts. That's why I say, we sort of know 335 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,159 Speaker 1: the answer, but we just wanted we do all the 336 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 1: work to make sure we're not missing anybody. The second 337 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: bubble is people who are disenfranchised, miserable, looking for jobs. 338 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: If there's an overlap, and these days, for a variety 339 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: of reasons we can get into, there's probably more of 340 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 1: an overlap than ever before. That's a happy coincidence. It 341 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: makes our job a little bit easier. All we care about. 342 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: All we care about is that first bubble and really 343 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:33,439 Speaker 1: talented people who are who have accomplished something special. This 344 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 1: would not be an unusual profile of a candidate. Somebody 345 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: who oversees five billion dollars where they sit today has 346 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,159 Speaker 1: had triple digit p n L every year for the 347 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: last specifically triple digit. Yeah, it's not even double digit. 348 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: Triple digit is an actual candidate and this isn't an outlier. 349 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: This is like, this is every day what we do. 350 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,679 Speaker 1: So five billion, triple digit p n L and the 351 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: las four years have been really, really difficult. So that's 352 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,560 Speaker 1: quite an accomplishment, right, much much tougher environment, which we 353 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: can talk about um and uh uh. And compensation for 354 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: him has typically been between twenty and thirty a year. 355 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:17,439 Speaker 1: He's not looking for a job, and he's at a 356 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: great firm, by the way, which is not at all 357 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: facing the issues other firms are facing. He's coming in 358 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 1: to talk to me and my team because he wants 359 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 1: to understand given what we do, given all the smart 360 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: people we meet, and the clients we have, and everything 361 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,679 Speaker 1: we see across the entire hedge fund landscape. Am I, 362 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: what do you think about the structure of where I'm sitting? UM? 363 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: What is what else exists out there? Here's what I've built? 364 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,000 Speaker 1: Do I take my bag of tricks and do something different? 365 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: And then what does different look like? What should compensation 366 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,400 Speaker 1: look like? For me? It's it's it's it's an advisory 367 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: UM meeting, and in that it is our job to 368 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: understand everything about his firm before he walks in, which 369 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: we know. Why do we know because we've met plenty 370 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:09,679 Speaker 1: of other people at that firm UM constantly and UM 371 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 1: and also understand what all his other options look like. 372 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 1: So we have to have deep intelligence on all the 373 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: other funds that he could theoretically think about, and then 374 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 1: have a point of view on which of our clients 375 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: could make sense. And there are times there isn't although 376 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: it's rare there you know there isn't something else because 377 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: our clients tend to be very innovative and creative. To 378 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,359 Speaker 1: attract someone like that, there are times he should stay 379 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:35,159 Speaker 1: exactly where he's at, but more often than not, we 380 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:38,920 Speaker 1: can set something up that is structurally superior to where 381 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: he is. Even at that level, that's a very different 382 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: dynamic than somebody who like needs a job. Quite fascinating. 383 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:51,159 Speaker 1: Let's let's jump into something you alluded to earlier. The 384 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 1: past decade has not been especially kind to most hedge funds. 385 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: A lot of them have been struggling. First question, from 386 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: your unique vantage point, why is that? And second what 387 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: can they do to turn of things around? Okay, so 388 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: I don't know that it's been the past decade. I 389 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:15,440 Speaker 1: think it's more from twenty fifteen on. Okay, Okay, so 390 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: we could that's a whole longer. That's a whole longer discussion. 391 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,159 Speaker 1: We can talk. But it's it's been it's been a 392 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: very very tough environment. But but let's talk about what's 393 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:31,159 Speaker 1: gone on. And MO went to timing, so um, and 394 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,520 Speaker 1: let's juxtapose it to when I started, which we talked 395 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: about earlier, which was two thousand and three, that's when 396 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 1: I started my firm, uh five hundred billion of assets 397 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: under management, three thousand hedge funds. As you said, Barry, 398 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,159 Speaker 1: Now there's eleven thousand hedge funds and three and a 399 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,359 Speaker 1: half trillion of a UM. A lot of that growth 400 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,679 Speaker 1: actually came post crisis. At the time of the in 401 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight was one point four trillion, now 402 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: is three and a half. So that's a lot of growth. 403 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:02,400 Speaker 1: Actually in the last is that organic growth of assets 404 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,680 Speaker 1: or is that just capital flowing? Capital flowing in literally 405 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: especially post crisis. Right, that's when you saw the shift, right, 406 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,160 Speaker 1: And that's also you know you mentioned earlier we do 407 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,719 Speaker 1: UM which we do uh work to find investment talent 408 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: for the hedge fund industry, but we also do work 409 00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,320 Speaker 1: to find and this is when this started, was was 410 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 1: in two thousand and eight. We have a very meaty 411 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: practice looking at UM non investment talent across functions like president, CEO, 412 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: head of marketing UM meaning the non investments administrative Well yeah, 413 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:46,000 Speaker 1: but but senior UM. But what what what really drove 414 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: that was post crisis you saw all the the shift 415 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,920 Speaker 1: from fund of funds and high net worth LPs to 416 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,359 Speaker 1: institutional LPs because they realized that had they invested in 417 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,239 Speaker 1: a hedge fund, they would have done much better than 418 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: buying the market. Right, most hedge funds were down half 419 00:24:02,520 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 1: they were down, but they were down half as much 420 00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:08,160 Speaker 1: as the SMP on average. So so so institutions said, 421 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,400 Speaker 1: we'll wait a second. You know this is this is like, 422 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,359 Speaker 1: this is an asset class that we should be investing in. 423 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: And so all of a sudden, hedge funds had to 424 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,800 Speaker 1: look they had to grow up right. It was no 425 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:23,159 Speaker 1: wanting legal compliance, accounting operations. We were suddenly they couldn't 426 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: just be a fly by night sort of a couple 427 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,320 Speaker 1: of guys working, which is what it was, right, So 428 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:29,439 Speaker 1: we were brought in all these founders that we did 429 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,919 Speaker 1: work for on the investing side, said well, wait a second. 430 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,240 Speaker 1: You know, my head of marketing isn't going to cut 431 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: it anymore, my CEO isn't going to cut So we 432 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,880 Speaker 1: had to revamp these funds and make them institutional, right, 433 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,119 Speaker 1: so they would be attractive to institutional LPs. So what 434 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:47,920 Speaker 1: happened is you saw all this institutional money pouring into 435 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: the and and pouring into the hedge fund world, and 436 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,400 Speaker 1: institutional LPs were also far less sophisticated back then about 437 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,360 Speaker 1: hedge funds because it was a new asset class to them. 438 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 1: So what so where so what happened? So we went. 439 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: So you have this huge growth of funds, tremendous amount 440 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:09,360 Speaker 1: of capital pouring into the industry. UM technology became much 441 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,040 Speaker 1: more sophisticated, right, think about technology in two thousand and 442 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: three to today. So today everyone has access to the 443 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,840 Speaker 1: same information. That's why it's so, that's why scale is 444 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 1: so important in this business. To have the ability to 445 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:30,199 Speaker 1: have UM data science and quant and a machine internally 446 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:33,960 Speaker 1: that can turn that data into alphae signals. Very few 447 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: funds do that successfully, but it gives their people a 448 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:40,480 Speaker 1: tremendous leg up if if they do create that in house. 449 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,440 Speaker 1: UM so so so everyone has access to the same data. 450 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,480 Speaker 1: Information is much more transparent. Also since two thousand and three, 451 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: you know, to date, you have the platforms. When I 452 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,520 Speaker 1: say the platforms, I talk about the multi managers like 453 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: Citadel and Point seventy two and Millennium and ballet Asney. 454 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: These guys exploded, they got so much bigger. You have 455 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:05,600 Speaker 1: all these pms now sitting at these shops UM and 456 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: so many more eyes and ears at conferences UM and 457 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,000 Speaker 1: behind a shorting model that can suss out under performance. 458 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: So so if management says something squishy at a conference, 459 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:20,439 Speaker 1: it used to have three to six months to for 460 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,439 Speaker 1: that under performance to get price fully. Now that happens 461 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,840 Speaker 1: in two days. So the window of efficiency right for 462 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,520 Speaker 1: performance has gotten much smaller. And LPs, as I said, 463 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,399 Speaker 1: have gotten much more sophisticated. And so with all of this, 464 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: returns have come down because the industry is so much 465 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,280 Speaker 1: more crowded. Oh and liquidity right mutual UM funds and 466 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,200 Speaker 1: retail have shrunk, So there's far less liquidity now than 467 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: there was back then. I fewer companies are going public 468 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: right with increased UM regulation and scrutiny. CEO s or like, 469 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:52,880 Speaker 1: I don't want to go public. If I'm a tech company, 470 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: I can just go to the go to a big 471 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:58,160 Speaker 1: tech private equity firm and and get funded. That way, 472 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,280 Speaker 1: I don't have to subject myself to this. So for 473 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,000 Speaker 1: all of those reasons, UM, it's become far more difficult 474 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: to generate alpha and what you see literally the last 475 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: good year for most of these funds. And when I 476 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: say most, one other sort of clarification point we talk 477 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 1: about eleven thousand hedge funds. Most of them are single 478 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:22,880 Speaker 1: manager funds. They're not multi managers, and they're not multi strats. Although, 479 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 1: um so, the actual number of hedge funds, the individual 480 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:31,359 Speaker 1: hedge funds tend to be single manager funds, meaning six 481 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: eight thousand, what what sort of numbers? Probably yeah, I 482 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,240 Speaker 1: mean I don't know the exact number, but that's the 483 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:40,160 Speaker 1: majority of funds, just because in order to be think 484 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: about it, there aren't who else, you know, there's not 485 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 1: that many other funds you can name that are multi managers, right, 486 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:50,640 Speaker 1: um uh. And in terms of multi strats, uh, those 487 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,640 Speaker 1: would be funds like Davidson, Kempner, Golden Triangela, Gordon. These 488 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: are behe myths that are in multiple strategies and managing 489 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,679 Speaker 1: thirty billion or whatever it is dollars. There aren't that 490 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:05,400 Speaker 1: many funds that look like that. Most funds are are 491 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: actually quite small. Most hedge funds are. I think the 492 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,160 Speaker 1: two thirds of hedge funds are two fifty million or less. 493 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 1: So this is like a cottage industry of two bit 494 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: players for the most part. Um But I have to 495 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:19,959 Speaker 1: jump in and ask you this question because you you 496 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: said something previously that um, you just reminded me of, 497 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: which is it's a myth that being a hedge fund 498 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: manager is the route to personal riches. I'm paraphrasing somewhat, 499 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:39,880 Speaker 1: but you you've said that previously, your explanation of this, 500 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: that the vast majority of hedge funds are single manager 501 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: funds with a couple of hundred million dollars. Is that 502 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 1: what underlies that statement? Um quote you told the Wall 503 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:52,680 Speaker 1: Street Journal the biggest myth about working out a hedge 504 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: fund is it's a quick way to um earn great riches. 505 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,160 Speaker 1: Is that what's underlying That's absolutely part of what's underlying that. 506 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 1: And the other piece which I was getting to that's 507 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: underlying that is now the difficult the difficulty of generating alpha. 508 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: So returns have come. So yes, most funds are small, 509 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 1: they're inconsequential. You're not going to make a lot of 510 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,840 Speaker 1: money managing like a couple hundred million, and many of 511 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: them are even smaller than that um and they're not 512 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,640 Speaker 1: going to exist. Most of these guys in in or 513 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:26,600 Speaker 1: or they'll just be okay, managing a little bit of money. 514 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: And that's that's a different business model. That's not what 515 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 1: you and I are talking about. Right, that's not our 516 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: client base, and that's typically and those small guys they're 517 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: lucky if they're in our office because what we're doing 518 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,920 Speaker 1: with them is we're popping them into bigger funds. We 519 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: do a lot of acquisition of hedge funds as well, 520 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: so they'll get gobbled up by the bigger players if 521 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,040 Speaker 1: there are any good and they should be thankful for 522 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 1: that because they'll have now a lot more capital, resources 523 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: and um artillery for lack of a better word, to 524 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,080 Speaker 1: be successful. Are they being gobbled up because of their 525 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: alpha generation or is it because of their assets? Is 526 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 1: more of an a A fund like UM Citadel doesn't 527 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: need the assets of a two d and fifty million 528 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: dollar funds far from that two hundred and fifty million 529 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: dollar fund needs Citadel because they can't grow, they don't 530 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: have scale, they can compete for resources, talent, capital. They 531 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 1: are they are inconsequential. However, if they've had good returns, 532 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,320 Speaker 1: that's a great place for them to be because now 533 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: they can scale that business. So that becomes an aqua 534 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: hier Is that a fair tech term to aqua higher? Yeah, 535 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: it's an acquisition. We're effectively you're hiring, Yes, that's exactly 536 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,440 Speaker 1: what it is. Um So there's a lot of that 537 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: that we do as well. But but let me, because 538 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: this is an important point come back to why um 539 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,720 Speaker 1: to where we are today? Okay, because we are in 540 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: a very different place today than we were when this 541 00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 1: industry first started, when we when I DW first started 542 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:54,800 Speaker 1: um so, so, UH, when you look at returns for 543 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 1: most funds, again, single manager funds, it's like you look 544 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:04,280 Speaker 1: at UH fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen, the last four 545 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: full years, it's a it's really bad. If you add 546 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,320 Speaker 1: up the cumulative return, it's a sea of red and 547 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: pointing to not even positive negative returns for a great 548 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:16,959 Speaker 1: number of them. Yes, it's like if you add them up, 549 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: it's basically flat to down. So I look, I think 550 00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,320 Speaker 1: it's just again it's a more difficult environment. It's harder 551 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:28,520 Speaker 1: to generate alpha UM And also if when returns come down, 552 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 1: when we're talking about fees, if returns come down, it's 553 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: very difficult to justify that two and twenty fee structure. 554 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: I'll give you a discrete example. If I'm a fund 555 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:44,960 Speaker 1: that historically generated in the good old days returns and 556 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,760 Speaker 1: by the way, these guys love to quote inception to 557 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,960 Speaker 1: date returns, which is like nonsense. I mean you you 558 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:52,880 Speaker 1: have to they have to say that's great. Now let's 559 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:56,160 Speaker 1: talk about words, okay, and then they like go quiet, 560 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: it's not good. So if you look at the return 561 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,640 Speaker 1: turns of these funds again very bad for the last 562 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,480 Speaker 1: four years, and you look at UM asset flows in 563 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:10,160 Speaker 1: the industry, they are reflective of what is going on. 564 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:17,360 Speaker 1: The total amount of net outflows in eighteen was UM 565 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,880 Speaker 1: thirty seven billion. Do you know where we're at to 566 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:24,640 Speaker 1: date in terms of net outflows? Go ahead over six 567 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:28,320 Speaker 1: and was a year we saw a lot of big 568 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:32,400 Speaker 1: fun shutdown, right. We saw high Fields chose to shut down, 569 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 1: URBIOND shutdown, Criterion Ivory, fold your Hill, Glen Hill, three Bays. 570 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: I'm it can go on and on and on. And 571 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: yet we are fifty percent higher this year than last 572 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:45,600 Speaker 1: year in terms of net outflows to the industry. So 573 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:50,600 Speaker 1: LPs are pretty um disappointed in terms of where things 574 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:53,080 Speaker 1: are at. And so back to my example. If I'm 575 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: a fund which UM returned, let's say the let's just 576 00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 1: say I know it's up higher, but let's say the 577 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:02,080 Speaker 1: s m P is up fifteen percent and I'm a fund, 578 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,600 Speaker 1: a long short equity fund that runs UM fifty percent 579 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:09,600 Speaker 1: net long. That means fifty percent of my return one 580 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,480 Speaker 1: could get an LP could get from just buying the SMP. 581 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 1: And let's say I'm up in line with the SMP 582 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:19,640 Speaker 1: this year, So fifty percent is beta. Right when you're 583 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,400 Speaker 1: a long short, your your risk parameters are very different. 584 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,040 Speaker 1: And no, but if if if, if fifth, If I'm 585 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:30,280 Speaker 1: running net fifty percent long, that means that UM fifty 586 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 1: percent is correlates to the SMP. That's what that means. 587 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 1: So fifty percent is beta and fifty percent is alpha. 588 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,760 Speaker 1: So if I'm up fifteen and the SMP is up 589 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:44,960 Speaker 1: fifteen percent, only seven and a half percent is alpha. 590 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,840 Speaker 1: Yet I'm charging two and twenty and that tent is 591 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 1: on both alpha and beta, So um fifteen So of 592 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: fifteen percent is three percent three plus two is five. 593 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:00,400 Speaker 1: I'm charging five p on a U m uh five 594 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: percent divided by seven and a half percent. Just follow 595 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:05,960 Speaker 1: me with the math, and you know, um, your your 596 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:11,080 Speaker 1: your listeners can uh yeah, I'm sure they can kind 597 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: of work this out for themselves. It's a Mathew group. 598 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: That means two thirds of the alpha. By that equation 599 00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:22,520 Speaker 1: is going to me, the hedge fund manager, and one 600 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,759 Speaker 1: third to the LPs. That's not a winning construct. But 601 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,759 Speaker 1: then you have hedge funds like the multi managers, where 602 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: it's all alpha. Everything they generated alpha. It's uncorrelated, it's 603 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,960 Speaker 1: low volatility. That's why. And and so that's a totally 604 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:40,320 Speaker 1: defensible business model. And jumping onto another subject, the startup environment. 605 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:44,040 Speaker 1: While so few funds can scale, and we have so 606 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 1: we have more closures than startups these days. The exception 607 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 1: to that rule are funds that splinter off from the 608 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,880 Speaker 1: successful multi managers. That's why we saw Exodus Point have 609 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,359 Speaker 1: the biggest launch and hedge fund history last year at 610 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,480 Speaker 1: eight billion. That's why this year you see Woodline and 611 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:07,520 Speaker 1: Candlestick Um to Citadel spinouts launched with anywhere somewhere between 612 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: one and three billion UM. Candlestick I think was between 613 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: one and two and will be and uh Woodline is 614 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: between two and three. These are exceptions that prove the 615 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,960 Speaker 1: rule and also shine a light on the efficiency of 616 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,960 Speaker 1: this of the hedge fund universe. You have hedge funds 617 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: that are struggling to come up with a fee structure 618 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,560 Speaker 1: that can address the lack of value creation and then 619 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 1: you have funds like Element that are charging two and forty. Again, 620 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: it's it's it's efficiency. Our last time, when you discussed 621 00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:41,320 Speaker 1: all sorts of really fascinating things, I wanted to circle 622 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 1: back to UM in particular about the shifts and where 623 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 1: institutions are putting their money and the fee structure. So 624 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:53,200 Speaker 1: so let's start with with the fees. One of the 625 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:56,000 Speaker 1: things I've seen that's been kind of interesting, and you 626 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:01,480 Speaker 1: explained earlier why institutions hate to pay alpha prices for 627 00:36:01,600 --> 00:36:05,320 Speaker 1: beta is the rise of a so called Falkrum fee 628 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:10,879 Speaker 1: where there's a very modest fee on assets and the 629 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:16,080 Speaker 1: actual profit sharing fee the typical two and twenty. Part 630 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:19,960 Speaker 1: of the fee is not on what the SMP provides, 631 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,120 Speaker 1: but only on the excess performance, so it might be 632 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,239 Speaker 1: instead of two and twenty five basis points and thirty. 633 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: What what do you think of those sorts of fee 634 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:34,279 Speaker 1: structures that they have any longevity? I think that we 635 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:38,120 Speaker 1: need to UM. We need to move to a model 636 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:40,799 Speaker 1: which is closer for if you're if funds are going 637 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:46,280 Speaker 1: to charge what they charge whatever, which is sizeable, UM, 638 00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:49,880 Speaker 1: we need to move to a structure where LPs are 639 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,080 Speaker 1: paying for alpha. That's the bottom line. So whether it 640 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:56,560 Speaker 1: is they lower their fees UM or the just charge 641 00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,439 Speaker 1: on alpha that has to be where the industry is going. 642 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:03,880 Speaker 1: Or and or here's another thought. There are hedge funds 643 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 1: which UM really and this is true of a of 644 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: a lot of the single manager long short equity cubs 645 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:14,239 Speaker 1: long short equity funds, whether Tiger cubs or related. Some 646 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,960 Speaker 1: of these guys are really best at generating long alpha. 647 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:20,719 Speaker 1: They're really not that good on the short side, and 648 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,680 Speaker 1: if you look closely at the composition of their return, 649 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:29,279 Speaker 1: the shorts are actually volatility enhancers and alpha detractors. But 650 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,799 Speaker 1: they have to short because they're hedge funds, right. They 651 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 1: can't charge two and twenty without with just having a 652 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,160 Speaker 1: long only model. And it's very hard to short when 653 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,759 Speaker 1: the market has, at least for the first half of 654 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:43,760 Speaker 1: this bullmarket just rampage straight up from O nine to twenty. 655 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,719 Speaker 1: Let's called it's just it's not there. It's they're not 656 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,719 Speaker 1: it's not what they do best. There are UM and 657 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 1: they're also not set up UM to do it as 658 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:58,920 Speaker 1: well as the multi managers that have much broader and 659 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:02,680 Speaker 1: deeper resource. Is UH to help these guys be successful. 660 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:07,440 Speaker 1: UM with respect to with respect to managing factor volatility 661 00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:10,239 Speaker 1: and coming up with single name alpha shorts. So the 662 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:15,880 Speaker 1: best thing these more concentrated directional managers could do would 663 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: be to say, Okay, I'm best degenerating long alpha. Therefore 664 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:26,319 Speaker 1: let me set myself up in a way where I 665 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:31,239 Speaker 1: maybe they create an alternative long only fund where and 666 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:34,680 Speaker 1: I think this is the way of this is how 667 00:38:34,719 --> 00:38:37,280 Speaker 1: a lot of these funds are going to go UM. 668 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,080 Speaker 1: I mean you recently saw in the last year so 669 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:44,320 Speaker 1: a band even it really converted most of their assets 670 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,440 Speaker 1: to long only. And so the idea being, UM, if 671 00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,200 Speaker 1: I'm best degenerating long alpha and I'm not that good 672 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:54,680 Speaker 1: at managing short term volatility and coming up with UH 673 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:59,360 Speaker 1: with alpha with alpha shorts, alpha alpha generating single name shorts, 674 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:03,000 Speaker 1: but I need two to three or four years to 675 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,279 Speaker 1: let my thesis play out. Then you know what, you know, 676 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:08,400 Speaker 1: maybe you just charge on alpha at the end of 677 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:11,560 Speaker 1: that time period, and so you have to and it's 678 00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:14,279 Speaker 1: a totally different structure, but that's the point. You need 679 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,040 Speaker 1: to figure out what you're best at. It's so hard 680 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:20,560 Speaker 1: now UM to generate consistent alpha, and you need to 681 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:25,040 Speaker 1: figure out what UM structure is going to enable you 682 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:29,080 Speaker 1: to be competitive, and that may mean locking up capital 683 00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,560 Speaker 1: for a longer period of time and charging less or 684 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:35,280 Speaker 1: just charging on alpha. But the idea that one size 685 00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:37,799 Speaker 1: fits all when it comes to fees, no matter what 686 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:42,360 Speaker 1: you're investing style is or how much beta you employ 687 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,400 Speaker 1: um is ridiculous. You know, the guy charging to the 688 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:47,760 Speaker 1: same it's the same fee structure for the guy running 689 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:51,160 Speaker 1: NET thirty and running NET sixty. So I think there 690 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,839 Speaker 1: should be a hurdle um with respect to how much 691 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:56,279 Speaker 1: is alpha and how much is beta. You mentioned how 692 00:39:56,320 --> 00:40:01,160 Speaker 1: many hedge fund closings that were in eighteen. Typically when 693 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:05,360 Speaker 1: a fund shuts down, does that money leave the space 694 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:07,920 Speaker 1: or does it just rotate to a different hedge fund? 695 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:12,680 Speaker 1: Um at least from an institutional perspective, Well, given the 696 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,560 Speaker 1: trend line I shared with you earlier, which is we 697 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:18,680 Speaker 1: have now sixty billion of net outflows to the industry, 698 00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:22,520 Speaker 1: that's that's net outflows, UM, I think money is actually 699 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:25,080 Speaker 1: leaving the industry. That's where I think things are going. 700 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:27,319 Speaker 1: And so it could go to another fund, But the 701 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,440 Speaker 1: problem is there are so few good options where it 702 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,879 Speaker 1: doesn't want to go to another fund that has had 703 00:40:32,880 --> 00:40:36,520 Speaker 1: the same me or crappy performance. A lot of the 704 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:41,320 Speaker 1: better funds candidly are closed. That's the truth, um so. 705 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,879 Speaker 1: And that's why you see when when guys splinter off 706 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 1: from the funds that are closed and LPs are salivating 707 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:50,920 Speaker 1: for access to they they're the ones that scale overnight. 708 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:52,960 Speaker 1: And there're only so many of those. So that's why 709 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,600 Speaker 1: I think we're seeing the the aggregate amount of net 710 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,680 Speaker 1: outflows and also the trend line. The thing on the 711 00:40:59,719 --> 00:41:02,880 Speaker 1: trend line is the only other year in hedge fund 712 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,880 Speaker 1: history where we had four consecutive quarters of net outflows 713 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:10,040 Speaker 1: was two thousand and eight to two thousand million. We 714 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:14,880 Speaker 1: are probably Q one was the only other time in 715 00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:18,080 Speaker 1: hedge fund history we saw four consecutive quarters and that 716 00:41:18,200 --> 00:41:22,400 Speaker 1: was and and Q one. This year we had fifteen 717 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:24,960 Speaker 1: billion of net outflows, where now at sixties something, so 718 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:28,200 Speaker 1: I guarantee you we're now in our sixth quarter of 719 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,799 Speaker 1: net outflows. That is first time ever in hedge fund history. Wow, 720 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:34,520 Speaker 1: that's amazing. So the I don't want to call it 721 00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:36,680 Speaker 1: the flavor of the month, which it's a little too 722 00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 1: uh glib, but it's clear that private equity is the 723 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:44,720 Speaker 1: shiny new thing. Lots of money seems to be flowing 724 00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:48,640 Speaker 1: in that direction. Is that who is the beneficiary of 725 00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:52,879 Speaker 1: the outflows from hedge funds As if you're an institution 726 00:41:52,920 --> 00:41:55,279 Speaker 1: and you know you expected returns for equity is going 727 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,399 Speaker 1: to be five or six percent and bonds yielding less 728 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:03,359 Speaker 1: than two percent and alter enoughers are promising. Do these 729 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:07,480 Speaker 1: outflows end up going to private equity? UM? They do. 730 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:10,480 Speaker 1: But you know, interestingly, and and it's true that in 731 00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:12,960 Speaker 1: the last four or five years, while hedge funds have 732 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:17,040 Speaker 1: suffered because their returns have come down UM, and for 733 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:19,200 Speaker 1: most of them, fees have had to readjust or in 734 00:42:19,239 --> 00:42:24,080 Speaker 1: the process of readjusting, private equity was was had the 735 00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:27,560 Speaker 1: hot hand because rates were low and UH, and it 736 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:32,239 Speaker 1: was you know, it was easier to to buy companies. UM. 737 00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:35,080 Speaker 1: I think that. But it's but you know, I think 738 00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:39,760 Speaker 1: what we're seeing now is the merge merging of UM 739 00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:42,440 Speaker 1: public in private. You see private equity firms trying to 740 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:46,440 Speaker 1: get into the public markets. You see UM hedge funds 741 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:52,080 Speaker 1: UH developing their private investing expertise, and so I think 742 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:55,880 Speaker 1: each one is trying to capitalize upon the other's revenue stream. 743 00:42:55,920 --> 00:42:59,239 Speaker 1: That that's quite interesting. UM. One of the things I 744 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:04,200 Speaker 1: read about you that I thought was pretty amusing. There 745 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:07,520 Speaker 1: was a event, a gala that you helped put together 746 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:10,560 Speaker 1: earlier this year, and one of the co producers of 747 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:14,160 Speaker 1: the gala was Stevie Cohen of Now Point seventy two, 748 00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:18,440 Speaker 1: and he discussed what a challenge it's been for so 749 00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:21,680 Speaker 1: many hedge funds and basically said, no one's winning the 750 00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:26,520 Speaker 1: hedge fund game. There's this recruitment process where people go 751 00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:29,480 Speaker 1: from one fund to another to another, and the only 752 00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:32,319 Speaker 1: one who wins is you. He kind of dragged you 753 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:35,040 Speaker 1: a little. No, it was just to be clear. The 754 00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:38,480 Speaker 1: gallo was in honor of me. I was so we 755 00:43:38,760 --> 00:43:40,920 Speaker 1: So it was a little bit of roasting, takeing bit 756 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:42,920 Speaker 1: of roasting, I think, I hope. I think it was. 757 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,920 Speaker 1: He was introducing me. I was the honoree. So I 758 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:48,680 Speaker 1: think it was mentioned it was good nature and okay, 759 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 1: because when you read it, it's like, Wow, Stevie Cohen's 760 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:53,719 Speaker 1: really dragging a lot, but it's nothing. I think it 761 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:56,600 Speaker 1: was seen that way. I think his point was, um, 762 00:43:56,640 --> 00:43:59,840 Speaker 1: there is a war for talent because they're so little 763 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:02,279 Speaker 1: of it right there. Only I said it myself, there 764 00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:04,000 Speaker 1: are only so many people I put in that first 765 00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:07,000 Speaker 1: bubble of best in class in the JASSA class. That 766 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:09,520 Speaker 1: is true. Um, and you see it with the returns 767 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:11,920 Speaker 1: of funds. Are only so many funds that are performing 768 00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:15,360 Speaker 1: and only so many people within those funds. P and 769 00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:17,800 Speaker 1: L doesn't lie. That's what I love about this industry. 770 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:20,000 Speaker 1: It's real time. It's mark to market. You know where 771 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:25,520 Speaker 1: you stand at all times. Um. Uh. But um, you 772 00:44:25,560 --> 00:44:28,399 Speaker 1: know the so and we so that is true. It's 773 00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:31,200 Speaker 1: there's an intense competition to attract the best. It is 774 00:44:31,239 --> 00:44:33,760 Speaker 1: also true we tend to be in the mix of it. Um. 775 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,879 Speaker 1: But the the other thing that's true is as much 776 00:44:36,920 --> 00:44:40,600 Speaker 1: as there are only so many good people, they're also 777 00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:43,399 Speaker 1: so there are only so many places those people are 778 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:46,560 Speaker 1: going to be attracted to. And Steve runs a great shop. 779 00:44:46,800 --> 00:44:49,920 Speaker 1: Point seventy two is one of them. Um. Other places 780 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:54,720 Speaker 1: like Citadel, Millennium, Davidson, Kempner, Golden Tree, you know there 781 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:58,360 Speaker 1: are there are there are places that have built something 782 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:01,800 Speaker 1: unique and are going to be able to do something 783 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:06,320 Speaker 1: special to attract talent and make them more successful because 784 00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:09,239 Speaker 1: of the very fact that they are on those at 785 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,600 Speaker 1: those funds or on those platforms. And that's what creates 786 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:16,839 Speaker 1: a symbiotic relationship between talent and the best places that 787 00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:19,520 Speaker 1: exist and myself. At the end of the day, we 788 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:24,040 Speaker 1: I d W has been very deliberate about who we 789 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:25,960 Speaker 1: choose to work with. I mean, I'm not going to 790 00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:28,759 Speaker 1: name names, but there are places plant no no no 791 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:30,879 Speaker 1: in terms of the ones we choose not to work 792 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:34,600 Speaker 1: but because we need it is as good as I'd 793 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:37,240 Speaker 1: like to think we are at the end of the day. 794 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,400 Speaker 1: The people we are dealing with on the talent side, 795 00:45:40,600 --> 00:45:44,680 Speaker 1: they are very sophisticated, they are very smart and and 796 00:45:44,680 --> 00:45:48,600 Speaker 1: and um, They're not going to go someplace that isn't 797 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:52,160 Speaker 1: a market step up from where they are today with 798 00:45:52,239 --> 00:45:55,239 Speaker 1: a pathway that is unique, and nor would I feel 799 00:45:55,239 --> 00:45:59,120 Speaker 1: good about trying to convince them to do that. So UM, 800 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:03,759 Speaker 1: I have tremendous conviction around the I have to have 801 00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:09,240 Speaker 1: tremendous conviction around the um um what around our clients 802 00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:11,440 Speaker 1: and what they've built and what they can provide for 803 00:46:11,520 --> 00:46:15,360 Speaker 1: talent and um and and so again. I think it 804 00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:17,320 Speaker 1: was a joke, but at the end of the day, 805 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:19,799 Speaker 1: there are only so many places that also talent really 806 00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:22,080 Speaker 1: wants to go. Can you stick around a bit? I 807 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:25,239 Speaker 1: have so many more questions. We have been speaking with 808 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:29,480 Speaker 1: Alana Weinstein. She is the founder and CEO of the 809 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:33,400 Speaker 1: I d W Group, a leading boutique for hedge funds, 810 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:37,680 Speaker 1: family offices, and private equity, starching out top talent. If 811 00:46:37,719 --> 00:46:40,120 Speaker 1: you enjoy this conversation, we'll be sure and come back 812 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:42,840 Speaker 1: for the podcast AFTRAS, where we keep the tape rolling 813 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:47,680 Speaker 1: and continue discussing all things hedge fund and alternatives. You 814 00:46:47,719 --> 00:46:51,960 Speaker 1: can find that at iTunes, Google Podcasts. That's your Spotify, 815 00:46:52,040 --> 00:46:55,880 Speaker 1: wherever your finer podcasts are sold. We love your comments, 816 00:46:55,880 --> 00:46:59,960 Speaker 1: feedback and suggestions right to us at m IB podcast 817 00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:02,040 Speaker 1: us at Bloomberg dot net. Give us a review on 818 00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:06,759 Speaker 1: Apple iTunes. Check out my weekly column on Bloomberg dot com. 819 00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:10,279 Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter at ripolts. I'm Barry Hults. You're 820 00:47:10,320 --> 00:47:16,840 Speaker 1: listening to Masters and Business on Bloomberg Radio. Welcome to 821 00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:20,640 Speaker 1: the podcast, Alanta. Thank you so much, um for doing this. 822 00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:24,760 Speaker 1: I've been looking forward to this. You really are somebody 823 00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:29,240 Speaker 1: who is maybe in one of the most unique spots 824 00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:33,879 Speaker 1: in the entire alternative space. You see everything, you know everybody, 825 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:37,160 Speaker 1: your perspective as to what's going on in hedge funds, 826 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:40,920 Speaker 1: private equity, and maybe not quite as much venture capital, 827 00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:43,359 Speaker 1: but I know that's certainly an area that is not 828 00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:49,719 Speaker 1: outside your UM observations. Is unique too strong a word. 829 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:53,719 Speaker 1: I don't think anybody else has the vantage point that 830 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:57,000 Speaker 1: you do about what's going on in the industry. I 831 00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:03,160 Speaker 1: I I mean, yes, it's it's completely accurate. Means it's 832 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:08,959 Speaker 1: accurate precisely because what we do every day is meet 833 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:12,000 Speaker 1: with the most talented people in the industry, not because 834 00:48:12,040 --> 00:48:15,080 Speaker 1: they're looking for jobs, but because they want our perspective. 835 00:48:15,120 --> 00:48:17,600 Speaker 1: And it's a virtuous loop. All If all you do 836 00:48:17,680 --> 00:48:20,240 Speaker 1: is meet with really smart people that are best in class, 837 00:48:20,719 --> 00:48:24,800 Speaker 1: you build a picture, a composite of what is driving 838 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:28,600 Speaker 1: the industry and what the opportunity said is and where 839 00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:32,440 Speaker 1: it's going and UM and so we have so we 840 00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:36,120 Speaker 1: have insight into what is going on at every single fund, 841 00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:39,880 Speaker 1: who is making money, how lumpy the pool of talent is, 842 00:48:40,239 --> 00:48:46,239 Speaker 1: how how precarious each fund is, like what situation they're in, 843 00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:49,919 Speaker 1: UM like I mean, I often say, if LPs knew 844 00:48:49,960 --> 00:48:53,759 Speaker 1: what we know, UM, you know, they'd be pulling capital left, 845 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:56,960 Speaker 1: right and center and reallocating to the places that we 846 00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,640 Speaker 1: tell them too. I have a very clear sense, as 847 00:48:59,719 --> 00:49:03,799 Speaker 1: does team on what's what? And And you know, I 848 00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:07,000 Speaker 1: don't think anyone else does because the level we're recruiting at, 849 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:12,440 Speaker 1: both in terms of breath um and uh and and 850 00:49:12,480 --> 00:49:14,920 Speaker 1: just the sheer talent that we have coming in the 851 00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:19,399 Speaker 1: door across every assa class and every geography I think, 852 00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:21,640 Speaker 1: I think is second to none. And it does give 853 00:49:21,719 --> 00:49:25,520 Speaker 1: us insight into what to look for and what differentiates 854 00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:28,760 Speaker 1: the bs from the non bs, the good from the great. 855 00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:31,680 Speaker 1: There's there really specific things we're looking for. So let 856 00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:33,960 Speaker 1: me ask you a little bit about something related to that. 857 00:49:34,400 --> 00:49:38,120 Speaker 1: You know, when when I look at different funds, and 858 00:49:38,200 --> 00:49:40,120 Speaker 1: I've spoken to a lot of people from a lot 859 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:44,120 Speaker 1: of different funds, very different personalities, who founded them, who 860 00:49:44,160 --> 00:49:48,560 Speaker 1: are running them, the corporate cultures seem to very dramatically 861 00:49:49,440 --> 00:49:53,400 Speaker 1: oak Tree Capital very different than Bridgewater, very different than 862 00:49:53,480 --> 00:49:57,520 Speaker 1: point seventy two. How important when you are looking to 863 00:49:57,760 --> 00:50:01,960 Speaker 1: match somebody for a very in your position is that 864 00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:09,239 Speaker 1: corporate culture? Um, it's definitely important, But I don't know 865 00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:16,040 Speaker 1: that there's um is much variability as you as you 866 00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:21,359 Speaker 1: might think. UM, I might over emphasizing Bridgewater because it's 867 00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:24,239 Speaker 1: such a unique I mean, yeah, that's sort of an 868 00:50:24,239 --> 00:50:27,880 Speaker 1: outlier into itself, right, So let's just full full disclosure. 869 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:30,600 Speaker 1: I've had ray On three times. I love him, I'm 870 00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:34,439 Speaker 1: fascinated by him. He's a brilliant um guy. Some people 871 00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:37,640 Speaker 1: find him quirky. I just find him really fascinating. But 872 00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:40,960 Speaker 1: there there can be no doubt that Bridgewater is not 873 00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:44,160 Speaker 1: the typical So let's let's put that sort of to 874 00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:50,560 Speaker 1: the side. Um. I think the biggest differentiators are um 875 00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,239 Speaker 1: how much it's look, no one wants to work in 876 00:50:53,280 --> 00:50:56,080 Speaker 1: a jerky culture, so it neither do I want to 877 00:50:56,080 --> 00:50:59,800 Speaker 1: work with jerky founders. That's not I'm using intentionally, and 878 00:50:59,840 --> 00:51:06,480 Speaker 1: I sir word, I'm thinking really right, So that's consistent, 879 00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:09,440 Speaker 1: that's not you know, and and people. And at the 880 00:51:09,560 --> 00:51:11,440 Speaker 1: end of the day, what's really interesting to me is 881 00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:14,920 Speaker 1: there are certain founders who are dear clients and friends 882 00:51:14,920 --> 00:51:18,200 Speaker 1: of mine who you know, there's this perception that they're 883 00:51:18,280 --> 00:51:22,359 Speaker 1: like big bad wolf and really just tough and and 884 00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:26,120 Speaker 1: make crazy decisions and like, you know, I can be 885 00:51:26,160 --> 00:51:28,680 Speaker 1: there one day and blown out the next, And the 886 00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:33,600 Speaker 1: reality is these are some of the most measured down 887 00:51:33,640 --> 00:51:37,000 Speaker 1: to earth and I will say it good people I know, 888 00:51:37,560 --> 00:51:40,839 Speaker 1: but they also have great commercial instincts. And are not 889 00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:44,560 Speaker 1: afraid to make tough decisions. And if you're really talented, 890 00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:47,160 Speaker 1: you want to be an environment where you can shine 891 00:51:47,560 --> 00:51:50,160 Speaker 1: and aren't going to be dragged down by a bunch 892 00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:53,919 Speaker 1: of deadwood around you, where your your your compensation gets 893 00:51:53,960 --> 00:51:57,520 Speaker 1: netted every year because the founders just like too wimpy 894 00:51:57,560 --> 00:51:59,799 Speaker 1: to make tough decisions. You know, So let me push 895 00:51:59,840 --> 00:52:01,759 Speaker 1: back on you a little bit there. I won't even 896 00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:05,480 Speaker 1: say the funds because we'll see if you have a 897 00:52:05,520 --> 00:52:08,480 Speaker 1: sense of what I'm talking about. There are funds where 898 00:52:08,560 --> 00:52:11,600 Speaker 1: people get hired at and they know from the day 899 00:52:11,640 --> 00:52:15,279 Speaker 1: they're hired, I will eventually be fired for either good 900 00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:18,680 Speaker 1: cause or not, because that's the way this manager operates. 901 00:52:19,040 --> 00:52:24,000 Speaker 1: Is that a fair assessment about some funds? No, I don't. 902 00:52:24,120 --> 00:52:26,480 Speaker 1: I mean, I don't. I there may be funds that 903 00:52:26,560 --> 00:52:29,200 Speaker 1: fall in that category. That's not my client base. It's 904 00:52:29,239 --> 00:52:33,719 Speaker 1: really not. Um uh, there are I come back to 905 00:52:33,960 --> 00:52:36,759 Speaker 1: there are there are. I think the best founders are 906 00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:40,439 Speaker 1: also great business builders, and when they look at their 907 00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:44,920 Speaker 1: investment talent, they don't view it differently than a portfolio. 908 00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:47,760 Speaker 1: They double down on their winners and they cut their losers. 909 00:52:48,160 --> 00:52:51,040 Speaker 1: And and that's what I want if I am a 910 00:52:51,080 --> 00:52:55,400 Speaker 1: talented investment professional, because the biggest issue in this industry 911 00:52:55,560 --> 00:53:02,799 Speaker 1: from talents perspective is UM is not confidence compensation deflation. 912 00:53:03,040 --> 00:53:06,400 Speaker 1: It's it's if a fund does poorly and I did poorly. 913 00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:09,359 Speaker 1: It's a pay for performance industry. I get that I'm 914 00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,200 Speaker 1: not going to get paid, and I'm okay with that. 915 00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:14,600 Speaker 1: The biggest issue is when I said at a fund 916 00:53:14,680 --> 00:53:17,960 Speaker 1: and this is not exceptional what I'm telling you, this 917 00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:20,200 Speaker 1: is par for the course. I said, at a fund 918 00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:24,399 Speaker 1: that is eight billion of a UM or ten billion. Okay, 919 00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:28,680 Speaker 1: these are big, these are big funds UM. And I 920 00:53:28,719 --> 00:53:32,160 Speaker 1: am one of two or three people that consistently drive 921 00:53:32,280 --> 00:53:35,239 Speaker 1: P and L every single year. And remember, the last 922 00:53:35,280 --> 00:53:38,600 Speaker 1: three or four years have been really tough. Present year excluded, 923 00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,239 Speaker 1: but again a lot of beata in the returns for 924 00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:42,960 Speaker 1: this year, and also snap back from being down last year, 925 00:53:43,120 --> 00:53:45,400 Speaker 1: right right, just riding the market back up. So you 926 00:53:45,480 --> 00:53:48,680 Speaker 1: look for the last four years excluding this year, and 927 00:53:48,719 --> 00:53:51,120 Speaker 1: even this year, I am the I am one of 928 00:53:51,160 --> 00:53:53,920 Speaker 1: two or three primary P and L drivers at a 929 00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:57,160 Speaker 1: fund which has sizeable assets. And what are the other 930 00:53:57,200 --> 00:54:01,080 Speaker 1: people doing year after year? They're noting their weight, They're 931 00:54:01,080 --> 00:54:04,120 Speaker 1: not really contributing, and I'm getting netted because the founder 932 00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:06,680 Speaker 1: having to take from my pocket to pay them, right, 933 00:54:06,719 --> 00:54:08,760 Speaker 1: so those guys have to head out the door stroke. 934 00:54:09,080 --> 00:54:12,560 Speaker 1: So so this idea of like, I have job security, 935 00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:15,600 Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, um well, I said, 936 00:54:15,640 --> 00:54:17,640 Speaker 1: you know, of course you do. You're the star within 937 00:54:17,680 --> 00:54:20,239 Speaker 1: the fund. And the bigger question is why do the 938 00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:22,719 Speaker 1: other people have job security? They should be like the 939 00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:26,200 Speaker 1: founder has a fiduciary duty to Hale's LPs to be 940 00:54:26,719 --> 00:54:29,720 Speaker 1: retiring and retaining the best people. And part of retaining 941 00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:32,480 Speaker 1: them is getting rid of the ones that aren't performing 942 00:54:32,480 --> 00:54:35,080 Speaker 1: and making room for you know, better people. Am i 943 00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:38,080 Speaker 1: am I hearing you say that people think hedge funds 944 00:54:38,080 --> 00:54:40,960 Speaker 1: are cut throat, and you're suggesting some of them aren't 945 00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:44,759 Speaker 1: cut throat enough, then order or say it less emotionally 946 00:54:44,840 --> 00:54:50,840 Speaker 1: less um inflammatory Lee, there are a lot of funds 947 00:54:50,880 --> 00:54:55,640 Speaker 1: that simply aren't acting as a meritocracy. I think that 948 00:54:55,800 --> 00:54:59,560 Speaker 1: founders are often very loath to make tough decisions, and 949 00:54:59,560 --> 00:55:02,640 Speaker 1: we can all that not acting as a meritocracy, or 950 00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:05,279 Speaker 1: not being cut throat, or just candidly being whimps. I 951 00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:07,719 Speaker 1: think that there's an element of the optics of what 952 00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:10,280 Speaker 1: are LP's going to think if I fire these three people. 953 00:55:10,760 --> 00:55:13,960 Speaker 1: LPs would be very smart when they do their all 954 00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:16,959 Speaker 1: their operational due diligence. If I was an LP, here's 955 00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:19,120 Speaker 1: what I would be asking. I'd want to know that's 956 00:55:20,280 --> 00:55:22,880 Speaker 1: the way. Okay, what so let me ask you the 957 00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:26,239 Speaker 1: question what should LPs be doing and what aren't they 958 00:55:26,280 --> 00:55:30,200 Speaker 1: doing today? So UM, and everybody knows LPs limited partners, 959 00:55:30,239 --> 00:55:34,920 Speaker 1: not the fund managers or the actual general partnership. I 960 00:55:34,960 --> 00:55:38,399 Speaker 1: think that they should UM, they should find out from 961 00:55:38,400 --> 00:55:41,040 Speaker 1: the founder. And you know, it's hard because if it's 962 00:55:41,040 --> 00:55:45,319 Speaker 1: a single manager fund, the founder at the end of 963 00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:47,680 Speaker 1: the day is the ultimate decision maker, right if what 964 00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:50,440 Speaker 1: goes into the portfolio and how the portfolio is constructed. 965 00:55:50,719 --> 00:55:53,160 Speaker 1: But ask him, and I'm going to use along short equities, 966 00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:56,360 Speaker 1: one because it's the hedge fund universe, and two just 967 00:55:56,440 --> 00:56:01,040 Speaker 1: to be illustrative, it's an easy example to understand. Ask him, Okay, 968 00:56:01,120 --> 00:56:03,759 Speaker 1: where did your winners come from this year? In what industry? 969 00:56:04,040 --> 00:56:06,920 Speaker 1: Was it industrials? Was it t MT? Was it healthcare? Uh? 970 00:56:07,080 --> 00:56:09,520 Speaker 1: It was healthcare? What about last year? What drove pan 971 00:56:09,640 --> 00:56:12,719 Speaker 1: l oh Again? It was healthcare and industrials? What about 972 00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:15,080 Speaker 1: the year before, what about the year before? And we 973 00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:16,800 Speaker 1: get that at the end of the day, the founder 974 00:56:16,840 --> 00:56:20,560 Speaker 1: again is the ultimate decision maker, but again just behind 975 00:56:20,600 --> 00:56:23,640 Speaker 1: the scenes that's more gray than you. Those people have 976 00:56:23,800 --> 00:56:27,080 Speaker 1: tremendous influence if they're senior and they're good on the portfolio, 977 00:56:27,520 --> 00:56:31,320 Speaker 1: so UM the so LP should also be asking where 978 00:56:31,360 --> 00:56:33,560 Speaker 1: did where were your biggest losers? And you're gonna see 979 00:56:33,560 --> 00:56:36,640 Speaker 1: patterns across the biggest winners and across the biggest losers. 980 00:56:36,719 --> 00:56:39,200 Speaker 1: And then they should be asking the founder, what are 981 00:56:39,200 --> 00:56:41,000 Speaker 1: you doing about getting rid of the guys who are 982 00:56:41,040 --> 00:56:44,359 Speaker 1: covering the three sectors that actually have been a net 983 00:56:44,400 --> 00:56:47,680 Speaker 1: drain on pan L. What are you doing about um 984 00:56:47,840 --> 00:56:52,799 Speaker 1: developing the three sector heads that have generated the most 985 00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:55,239 Speaker 1: pan L. How do you manage paying those guys when 986 00:56:55,239 --> 00:56:56,719 Speaker 1: you have to when you have these other guys that 987 00:56:56,760 --> 00:56:59,400 Speaker 1: you have to pay like these are the tough questions 988 00:57:00,080 --> 00:57:04,879 Speaker 1: that founders really need to be held accountable for. And 989 00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:07,520 Speaker 1: and also LP should be looking at who left Were 990 00:57:07,520 --> 00:57:10,120 Speaker 1: those people that were p m L generators to the 991 00:57:10,120 --> 00:57:13,240 Speaker 1: fund or were those people that were that were pushed 992 00:57:13,280 --> 00:57:15,279 Speaker 1: out right because they didn't do well? And if what 993 00:57:15,320 --> 00:57:17,360 Speaker 1: they're seeing as a trend line of the best people 994 00:57:17,440 --> 00:57:19,080 Speaker 1: leaving and they have to figure out a way to 995 00:57:19,160 --> 00:57:21,520 Speaker 1: get it that. We know that because we're interviewing these 996 00:57:21,520 --> 00:57:24,200 Speaker 1: people and we see the compositive the entire p l 997 00:57:24,240 --> 00:57:26,400 Speaker 1: of the fund and who did what. If the best 998 00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:29,080 Speaker 1: people are leaving, you should be pulling capital. And if 999 00:57:29,320 --> 00:57:33,360 Speaker 1: and if the people who um did not make money 1000 00:57:33,360 --> 00:57:36,040 Speaker 1: are the ones who were leaving and being managed out, 1001 00:57:36,080 --> 00:57:38,600 Speaker 1: then you should deploy because that's a founder who understands 1002 00:57:38,880 --> 00:57:42,480 Speaker 1: how to manage his team and is managing them again 1003 00:57:42,680 --> 00:57:46,040 Speaker 1: like a portfolio, unemotionally and making decisions in their best 1004 00:57:46,040 --> 00:57:49,040 Speaker 1: in you're really answering a question I was about to 1005 00:57:49,080 --> 00:57:52,080 Speaker 1: ask you, which is what should founders do to retain 1006 00:57:52,080 --> 00:57:55,760 Speaker 1: their best people? And what you're effectively saying is pay 1007 00:57:55,840 --> 00:58:00,600 Speaker 1: and bonus the high high performers and cut the people 1008 00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:02,840 Speaker 1: in the night. And I'll go one further. I think 1009 00:58:02,880 --> 00:58:07,040 Speaker 1: that founders need to be willing to go to zero 1010 00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:12,800 Speaker 1: for themselves in times where they don't have much of 1011 00:58:12,840 --> 00:58:15,000 Speaker 1: a performance fee. And that has been true for the 1012 00:58:15,080 --> 00:58:17,800 Speaker 1: last four years. Even this year, a lot of funds 1013 00:58:17,840 --> 00:58:19,560 Speaker 1: may be doing better, but they have a high water 1014 00:58:19,640 --> 00:58:21,560 Speaker 1: mark from the previous year or a group of year, 1015 00:58:21,600 --> 00:58:24,800 Speaker 1: meaning that what you've took as a profit um as 1016 00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:30,120 Speaker 1: a profit distribution. Once we fall off of those market highs, 1017 00:58:30,360 --> 00:58:33,200 Speaker 1: you don't take another profit distribution until you get back 1018 00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:35,360 Speaker 1: over that you lost money last year. You first have 1019 00:58:35,440 --> 00:58:38,640 Speaker 1: to make that back up before you start to get paid. Right. So, 1020 00:58:38,800 --> 00:58:41,000 Speaker 1: if I'm a guy who for the last three or 1021 00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:44,840 Speaker 1: four years is generated tremendous pan L for the firm, 1022 00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:46,480 Speaker 1: and there are guys who come in to meet with 1023 00:58:46,560 --> 00:58:49,880 Speaker 1: us who literally are of the pm L of the 1024 00:58:49,880 --> 00:58:53,040 Speaker 1: fund for a hundred of the p L, other people 1025 00:58:53,040 --> 00:58:56,840 Speaker 1: are a dragon exactly, if the founder would be wise 1026 00:58:56,880 --> 00:58:59,760 Speaker 1: to go into his pocket, go into his management fee 1027 00:59:00,200 --> 00:59:03,280 Speaker 1: and and pay that person right so that they don't 1028 00:59:03,360 --> 00:59:05,920 Speaker 1: that's what they need to do, and and and also 1029 00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:08,360 Speaker 1: be clear about how they're coming up with the number. 1030 00:59:08,360 --> 00:59:10,560 Speaker 1: For many of these guys, if they're not sitting at 1031 00:59:10,560 --> 00:59:14,000 Speaker 1: a multi manager which is formulaic, or they don't have 1032 00:59:14,480 --> 00:59:16,520 Speaker 1: even if they have points in the fund a lot 1033 00:59:16,560 --> 00:59:19,360 Speaker 1: of the times, how UM there's a jump bowl which 1034 00:59:19,400 --> 00:59:23,040 Speaker 1: is discretionary if they don't. If the if the absolute 1035 00:59:23,160 --> 00:59:25,840 Speaker 1: number is disappointing because times are not good and there 1036 00:59:25,840 --> 00:59:28,480 Speaker 1: isn't much of a performance fee, and also assets have dwindled, 1037 00:59:28,520 --> 00:59:32,040 Speaker 1: so the management fee is smaller. Founders need to give 1038 00:59:32,080 --> 00:59:35,320 Speaker 1: people insight into how they're coming up with the numbers, 1039 00:59:35,360 --> 00:59:38,920 Speaker 1: so it's not this black box. Um they they again 1040 00:59:38,960 --> 00:59:42,120 Speaker 1: it comes back to running a business, not just managing 1041 00:59:42,120 --> 00:59:43,840 Speaker 1: a p n L. And that's a mind shift for 1042 00:59:43,880 --> 00:59:46,720 Speaker 1: a lot of founders because they grew up. What they 1043 00:59:46,840 --> 00:59:50,720 Speaker 1: know best is investing, right, not managing people. They need 1044 00:59:50,760 --> 00:59:54,480 Speaker 1: to manage their fun like a business, not because not 1045 00:59:54,600 --> 00:59:57,040 Speaker 1: like a cliptocracy, which is how a lot of these 1046 00:59:57,040 --> 00:59:59,840 Speaker 1: guys view it, that that work the cliptocracy. So let 1047 00:59:59,840 --> 01:00:01,880 Speaker 1: me lip the question from what founders need to do 1048 01:00:01,880 --> 01:00:05,440 Speaker 1: to retain their best people to some of those best 1049 01:00:05,480 --> 01:00:09,040 Speaker 1: people that talent. What are they looking for? What makes 1050 01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:12,720 Speaker 1: them decide not only that I'm ready to move, but 1051 01:00:12,800 --> 01:00:15,520 Speaker 1: I'm going to go there or here? What What are 1052 01:00:15,560 --> 01:00:18,280 Speaker 1: they looking for? So the most important So the things 1053 01:00:18,280 --> 01:00:21,160 Speaker 1: they're looking for having change, they're just more difficult today 1054 01:00:21,160 --> 01:00:24,000 Speaker 1: to come by. They're looking for stability right when you 1055 01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:27,720 Speaker 1: see funds like big funds back and we started with 1056 01:00:27,800 --> 01:00:30,200 Speaker 1: Eaton Park and Perry going out of business and then 1057 01:00:30,240 --> 01:00:32,320 Speaker 1: all the others I mentioned last year, and they'll be 1058 01:00:32,360 --> 01:00:35,600 Speaker 1: more to come. Um that means that there's no more 1059 01:00:35,680 --> 01:00:38,680 Speaker 1: terra firma under their feet. And by the way, you 1060 01:00:38,720 --> 01:00:41,680 Speaker 1: even look at funds that are still that are big, 1061 01:00:41,760 --> 01:00:45,440 Speaker 1: that that are well known names, they're still existing today. 1062 01:00:45,680 --> 01:00:47,960 Speaker 1: It may be interesting for your listeners to look at 1063 01:00:48,000 --> 01:00:51,200 Speaker 1: the a U M drops of these funds. Green Light, Okay, 1064 01:00:51,200 --> 01:00:52,840 Speaker 1: and this is by the way, I'm going back to 1065 01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:56,439 Speaker 1: not circle two thousand and three or two thousand and set. 1066 01:00:56,480 --> 01:00:58,960 Speaker 1: Let let's say right before the crisis two and seven 1067 01:00:59,080 --> 01:01:01,520 Speaker 1: or two. I'm talking about in the last few years. 1068 01:01:01,520 --> 01:01:03,720 Speaker 1: So this is how precipitous the a U M drops were. 1069 01:01:04,080 --> 01:01:06,880 Speaker 1: Green Light was twelve billion now it's sub three billion. 1070 01:01:06,960 --> 01:01:10,120 Speaker 1: Corvis was seven billion, now it's two billion. Discovery was 1071 01:01:10,200 --> 01:01:13,640 Speaker 1: fifteen billion, now it's three billion. For Tree was thirteen billion, 1072 01:01:13,680 --> 01:01:17,080 Speaker 1: now it's five billion. Scopia a year ago, one year 1073 01:01:17,080 --> 01:01:20,320 Speaker 1: ago was almost seven billion. You know what it is 1074 01:01:20,400 --> 01:01:24,560 Speaker 1: today under two billion. So these are again like only 1075 01:01:24,640 --> 01:01:28,200 Speaker 1: so many funds even get into the billion dollar territory, right, 1076 01:01:28,240 --> 01:01:30,680 Speaker 1: So these are the these are the sort of the 1077 01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:33,320 Speaker 1: bigger names, the bigger guys, and they are a shell 1078 01:01:33,480 --> 01:01:37,640 Speaker 1: of their former selves. So stability is like very hard 1079 01:01:37,680 --> 01:01:39,760 Speaker 1: to come by these days. And you may think, oh, 1080 01:01:39,800 --> 01:01:43,120 Speaker 1: that's a well known fund that's stable. NA. Not not 1081 01:01:43,240 --> 01:01:47,200 Speaker 1: the case. Um. The second thing that's really important is netting, 1082 01:01:47,320 --> 01:01:49,680 Speaker 1: which we talked about not being in a construct where 1083 01:01:49,680 --> 01:01:52,680 Speaker 1: you're not going to continuously get netted, right, I mean 1084 01:01:52,760 --> 01:01:56,360 Speaker 1: went by netted. You mean your payment is a little 1085 01:01:56,360 --> 01:01:59,800 Speaker 1: bit of a kibbutz where you're not necessarily well winning 1086 01:02:00,040 --> 01:02:03,480 Speaker 1: all of your uh, your pan l. It gets spread around. 1087 01:02:04,400 --> 01:02:06,439 Speaker 1: As a guy just said to me the other day, 1088 01:02:06,440 --> 01:02:08,160 Speaker 1: and I love this phrase, and I told him I'm 1089 01:02:08,160 --> 01:02:11,000 Speaker 1: going to steal it. He said, I feel like labor arbitrage. 1090 01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:14,640 Speaker 1: That's that's what's got your high performer. They're a low performer. 1091 01:02:14,680 --> 01:02:17,880 Speaker 1: And everybody I'm generating all this pan L, no one 1092 01:02:17,920 --> 01:02:21,160 Speaker 1: else around here is pulling their weight. And every year 1093 01:02:21,400 --> 01:02:23,400 Speaker 1: I'm paid a fraction of what I should be paid. 1094 01:02:24,080 --> 01:02:28,720 Speaker 1: So that's a guy right to be pent. And does 1095 01:02:28,800 --> 01:02:32,560 Speaker 1: management not understand the frustration of a high performer, like 1096 01:02:32,640 --> 01:02:38,600 Speaker 1: we are not talking about um a low octane sort 1097 01:02:38,640 --> 01:02:42,320 Speaker 1: of people work on an hourly basis. This is these 1098 01:02:42,320 --> 01:02:45,840 Speaker 1: are people who are willing to live and die on 1099 01:02:46,120 --> 01:02:52,720 Speaker 1: eating what they kill. And it's it's a really um 1100 01:02:52,760 --> 01:02:57,120 Speaker 1: aggressive industry. It sounds like some firms are sort of 1101 01:02:57,160 --> 01:03:00,240 Speaker 1: trying to soften it and make it more of a group. 1102 01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:03,400 Speaker 1: I think there's a look, there's a lot of inertia 1103 01:03:03,440 --> 01:03:05,960 Speaker 1: in this industry. We saw this with LPs, to this 1104 01:03:06,120 --> 01:03:09,080 Speaker 1: pace of net al flows is only just picking up now. 1105 01:03:09,120 --> 01:03:11,720 Speaker 1: For a long time LPs were sort of just hoping 1106 01:03:11,760 --> 01:03:14,800 Speaker 1: things would get better. Well, the consultants always say to them, hey, 1107 01:03:14,840 --> 01:03:17,280 Speaker 1: this is an off year. Just given another two or 1108 01:03:17,320 --> 01:03:19,400 Speaker 1: three years and we'll be fine. And if to ten 1109 01:03:19,480 --> 01:03:21,760 Speaker 1: years of hearing that people finally figured out and it 1110 01:03:21,880 --> 01:03:24,800 Speaker 1: ain't gonna be fright right, so um So I think 1111 01:03:24,840 --> 01:03:28,600 Speaker 1: there's an element of hoping that things change, hoping that 1112 01:03:28,640 --> 01:03:32,680 Speaker 1: the performance gets better. Um And and and you know, 1113 01:03:32,720 --> 01:03:35,320 Speaker 1: you have to understand, these senior people that we're speaking 1114 01:03:35,360 --> 01:03:38,160 Speaker 1: to have been where they've been for in many cases 1115 01:03:38,200 --> 01:03:40,720 Speaker 1: over a decade. They have a real relationship with the founder, 1116 01:03:40,760 --> 01:03:43,800 Speaker 1: they helped build the fund um they are partners where 1117 01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:47,800 Speaker 1: they're sitting, so it's not as transactional, you know, as 1118 01:03:47,840 --> 01:03:51,240 Speaker 1: one might think. And I and they feel loyal, they 1119 01:03:51,280 --> 01:03:54,440 Speaker 1: feel embedded. But at a certain point, the chickens do 1120 01:03:54,560 --> 01:03:56,640 Speaker 1: come home to roost. And I think we're kind of 1121 01:03:56,680 --> 01:03:59,040 Speaker 1: at that tipping point. We really are at a tipping 1122 01:03:59,080 --> 01:04:02,680 Speaker 1: point in the industry, both with respect to frustration on 1123 01:04:02,720 --> 01:04:07,720 Speaker 1: the part of talent, frustration on the part of LPs, UM, 1124 01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:11,520 Speaker 1: UH and UM. You know, I think that it's it's 1125 01:04:11,640 --> 01:04:14,760 Speaker 1: the shakeout. Is it's happening. We see we see money 1126 01:04:14,800 --> 01:04:18,080 Speaker 1: leaving the industry and the guys who figured it out 1127 01:04:18,360 --> 01:04:21,160 Speaker 1: are the absolute clear winners, and they're going to gobble 1128 01:04:21,240 --> 01:04:25,680 Speaker 1: up the best talent and UM that's they've represent stability, 1129 01:04:26,040 --> 01:04:28,280 Speaker 1: they don't net their talent. And the other few things, 1130 01:04:28,320 --> 01:04:31,320 Speaker 1: just to answer your question, are that these guys do 1131 01:04:31,400 --> 01:04:34,800 Speaker 1: best the winners UM talent. Also what you asked me, 1132 01:04:34,840 --> 01:04:36,959 Speaker 1: what talents looking for? They want to be made better, 1133 01:04:37,240 --> 01:04:40,440 Speaker 1: They want to improve. So, you know, in an environment 1134 01:04:40,440 --> 01:04:42,960 Speaker 1: where returns are so hard to come by, how can 1135 01:04:43,040 --> 01:04:45,240 Speaker 1: I be better at shorting? How can I be better 1136 01:04:45,320 --> 01:04:49,880 Speaker 1: at managing UM volatility? UM? How do I how do 1137 01:04:49,920 --> 01:04:52,600 Speaker 1: I improve? And the and the best places, which are 1138 01:04:52,600 --> 01:04:59,280 Speaker 1: typically UM that have really sophisticated UH technology and data 1139 01:05:00,080 --> 01:05:03,960 Speaker 1: UM and risk management are the best multi managers. They 1140 01:05:03,960 --> 01:05:07,640 Speaker 1: give these guys an unbelievable feedback loop. So they say 1141 01:05:07,640 --> 01:05:10,840 Speaker 1: to them, listen, let's look at your P and L um, 1142 01:05:10,960 --> 01:05:16,080 Speaker 1: you are a lot of it came from um you know, 1143 01:05:16,200 --> 01:05:18,479 Speaker 1: it's actually not like a lot of it came from 1144 01:05:18,720 --> 01:05:22,720 Speaker 1: beta or came from factor exposure. That's not repeatable. So 1145 01:05:22,960 --> 01:05:26,560 Speaker 1: giving them transparency into how they make money sets them 1146 01:05:26,600 --> 01:05:29,440 Speaker 1: up for better success in the future. And and there 1147 01:05:29,440 --> 01:05:31,960 Speaker 1: are very few places that have the same tools and 1148 01:05:32,040 --> 01:05:35,120 Speaker 1: resources um as some of the guys that I mentioned, 1149 01:05:35,440 --> 01:05:39,200 Speaker 1: all the big scalable giant shops that that are not 1150 01:05:39,240 --> 01:05:41,560 Speaker 1: afraid to spend them, but ones. But that's the last 1151 01:05:41,560 --> 01:05:43,840 Speaker 1: part of your sentence is key. There are funds. It's 1152 01:05:43,880 --> 01:05:47,200 Speaker 1: amazing how few funds use scale to their competitive advantage. 1153 01:05:47,280 --> 01:05:49,160 Speaker 1: There's a fun time thinking of which is north of 1154 01:05:49,240 --> 01:05:54,280 Speaker 1: twenty billion. They have nothing internally. They basically they have 1155 01:05:54,360 --> 01:05:57,240 Speaker 1: two people that manage half the a U M. Those 1156 01:05:57,280 --> 01:06:00,560 Speaker 1: two people literally have like two people in beneath them, 1157 01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:04,720 Speaker 1: and there's no infrastructure. There's no there's like five data 1158 01:06:04,760 --> 01:06:08,480 Speaker 1: scientists at the entire firm. There's no real They haven't 1159 01:06:08,520 --> 01:06:12,200 Speaker 1: built the fund in a way which bestows competitive advantage 1160 01:06:12,200 --> 01:06:15,120 Speaker 1: on its people. And the problem with that construct is 1161 01:06:15,480 --> 01:06:20,160 Speaker 1: if the two golden geese leave the fund, there's no interest, 1162 01:06:20,240 --> 01:06:23,800 Speaker 1: there's nothing there after that, So you you hinted at 1163 01:06:23,840 --> 01:06:27,640 Speaker 1: something earlier. I want to get explicit about regarding partnerships. 1164 01:06:28,080 --> 01:06:32,479 Speaker 1: How should these firms be thinking about succession planning? Not 1165 01:06:32,640 --> 01:06:34,760 Speaker 1: just if the founder is hit by a bus, but 1166 01:06:35,200 --> 01:06:37,480 Speaker 1: what happens when they retire, what happens when they want 1167 01:06:37,480 --> 01:06:40,840 Speaker 1: to spend more time away from the office. What should 1168 01:06:40,920 --> 01:06:43,960 Speaker 1: firms be doing about that? Well, you know, the industry 1169 01:06:44,040 --> 01:06:48,080 Speaker 1: is still relatively young, so we haven't had that much 1170 01:06:48,160 --> 01:06:51,520 Speaker 1: succession that's gone on. Right, So the same way I'm 1171 01:06:51,560 --> 01:06:54,000 Speaker 1: still running I DW and I'd like to think I'm 1172 01:06:54,040 --> 01:06:57,920 Speaker 1: still young, right, thank you. Many of these funds that 1173 01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:01,160 Speaker 1: started about the same time, there's no succession going on. 1174 01:07:01,200 --> 01:07:04,320 Speaker 1: These guys are in their forties, right but for but 1175 01:07:04,440 --> 01:07:07,360 Speaker 1: for the But there are some um that have done 1176 01:07:07,360 --> 01:07:09,560 Speaker 1: it successfully, and I think we can look to them 1177 01:07:09,920 --> 01:07:13,440 Speaker 1: for how to do this one. It can't just be 1178 01:07:13,480 --> 01:07:17,000 Speaker 1: a found one founder in his brain that LPs are 1179 01:07:17,000 --> 01:07:20,280 Speaker 1: investing in right and and and a like a bunch 1180 01:07:20,320 --> 01:07:25,440 Speaker 1: of UH investment analysts around him. They have to feel 1181 01:07:25,520 --> 01:07:31,680 Speaker 1: like there is um UH an infrastructure there which will 1182 01:07:31,720 --> 01:07:33,920 Speaker 1: continue to do as well with or without him. And 1183 01:07:33,960 --> 01:07:36,200 Speaker 1: I think there are two models that lend themselves to it. 1184 01:07:36,600 --> 01:07:39,720 Speaker 1: One is the multi manager construct, where there are multiple 1185 01:07:39,800 --> 01:07:44,040 Speaker 1: pms right that have autonomy and are managing capital, and 1186 01:07:44,120 --> 01:07:49,120 Speaker 1: there's also sophisticated risk management in house to help them 1187 01:07:49,360 --> 01:07:52,120 Speaker 1: be as successful as possible. That's not the founder every 1188 01:07:52,200 --> 01:07:55,600 Speaker 1: day walking the floor making sure these guys are thinking 1189 01:07:55,640 --> 01:07:58,640 Speaker 1: about the world in the right way and and sifting 1190 01:07:58,680 --> 01:08:01,600 Speaker 1: through their ideas and say this is interesting, this isn't 1191 01:08:01,720 --> 01:08:04,520 Speaker 1: let's size this, let's short that this is. This is 1192 01:08:04,520 --> 01:08:06,960 Speaker 1: the car that sort of you know, runs on its 1193 01:08:06,960 --> 01:08:10,480 Speaker 1: own UM. And then the other model would be the 1194 01:08:10,560 --> 01:08:14,960 Speaker 1: multi strategy model UM. And we saw this very recently 1195 01:08:15,080 --> 01:08:18,240 Speaker 1: with UM Tom Kempner stepping down name on the door, 1196 01:08:18,360 --> 01:08:21,679 Speaker 1: Davidson Kempner one of the original founders and turned over 1197 01:08:21,720 --> 01:08:24,200 Speaker 1: the reins to Tony use Off and they did not 1198 01:08:24,320 --> 01:08:26,160 Speaker 1: miss a beat. And the reason they were able to 1199 01:08:26,200 --> 01:08:30,160 Speaker 1: do this is it's a real partnership with fourteen engage 1200 01:08:30,240 --> 01:08:34,640 Speaker 1: partners UM. Decision making is done in unison. This is 1201 01:08:34,720 --> 01:08:37,559 Speaker 1: it's not like partnership a lot of hedge funds. Partnership 1202 01:08:37,640 --> 01:08:39,280 Speaker 1: is a nice thing to put on the business card, 1203 01:08:39,320 --> 01:08:41,240 Speaker 1: but at the end of the day, it's still this 1204 01:08:41,280 --> 01:08:45,320 Speaker 1: sort of partner there. It's exactly so this is. This 1205 01:08:45,439 --> 01:08:47,920 Speaker 1: operates kind of like I think it was modeled in 1206 01:08:47,960 --> 01:08:50,960 Speaker 1: some ways after the old Goldman Sachs partnership. It really 1207 01:08:51,600 --> 01:08:55,519 Speaker 1: UM is a group of engage people who make the 1208 01:08:55,560 --> 01:08:59,240 Speaker 1: important investing and operating decisions for the firm. And when 1209 01:08:59,240 --> 01:09:02,360 Speaker 1: they when Tony moved up, they very wisely took two 1210 01:09:02,360 --> 01:09:05,120 Speaker 1: of their people of that group of fourteen and made 1211 01:09:05,120 --> 01:09:08,840 Speaker 1: them um CO deputy managing partners, signaling to l P 1212 01:09:09,040 --> 01:09:11,519 Speaker 1: S there's already a plan in place when and if 1213 01:09:11,560 --> 01:09:15,200 Speaker 1: Tony retires, and the place operates again in a way 1214 01:09:15,400 --> 01:09:19,479 Speaker 1: where the strength of the firm and its secret sauce 1215 01:09:19,640 --> 01:09:21,559 Speaker 1: is not just one guy at the top. So I 1216 01:09:21,600 --> 01:09:23,080 Speaker 1: have to ask you a question, because you and I 1217 01:09:23,120 --> 01:09:27,280 Speaker 1: are both talking about this guy and that guy. Guys, guys, guys, 1218 01:09:28,200 --> 01:09:31,960 Speaker 1: what is to be said? I'm going to man splain 1219 01:09:32,280 --> 01:09:34,280 Speaker 1: the lack of women and hedge funds to you would 1220 01:09:34,280 --> 01:09:37,680 Speaker 1: be pretty hilarious. Why are there such a lack of 1221 01:09:37,680 --> 01:09:41,959 Speaker 1: women in the industry? UM? Generally speaking, it's true in finance, 1222 01:09:42,040 --> 01:09:46,519 Speaker 1: but it is really acute in hedge funds. Why is 1223 01:09:46,600 --> 01:09:50,680 Speaker 1: that and is that ever gonna change in our lifetimes? 1224 01:09:51,200 --> 01:09:56,400 Speaker 1: I have thought about this question a lot. UM So 1225 01:09:56,600 --> 01:09:59,600 Speaker 1: there are a couple of things. One is, there is 1226 01:09:59,640 --> 01:10:04,600 Speaker 1: a twenty two at work where look, people are attracted 1227 01:10:04,640 --> 01:10:08,320 Speaker 1: to industries and into roles where they see people like 1228 01:10:08,400 --> 01:10:11,160 Speaker 1: themselves having success. Has to be a role model somewhere. 1229 01:10:11,200 --> 01:10:14,680 Speaker 1: There isn't right now. So are there any high profile 1230 01:10:14,920 --> 01:10:21,639 Speaker 1: women hedge fund managers? Um, there is really hardly Annie. 1231 01:10:21,760 --> 01:10:25,840 Speaker 1: There's Leader Braga who spun out of Blue Crest, and 1232 01:10:25,960 --> 01:10:31,360 Speaker 1: there is um uh Dawn Fitzpatrick, who's the c I 1233 01:10:31,479 --> 01:10:35,559 Speaker 1: O of Soros. But those are really the only two 1234 01:10:36,000 --> 01:10:39,040 Speaker 1: that come to mind that runs scale businesses, and Dawn 1235 01:10:39,040 --> 01:10:43,400 Speaker 1: didn't found Soros, right, that's so that's a different I think. 1236 01:10:43,439 --> 01:10:48,519 Speaker 1: So yeah, like General Custer's white horse? Right? Um? What 1237 01:10:48,720 --> 01:10:53,439 Speaker 1: what color was that? Uh so? Um? Uh so, so 1238 01:10:53,640 --> 01:10:56,839 Speaker 1: you know there are women quote unquote air quotes running funds, 1239 01:10:56,840 --> 01:10:59,479 Speaker 1: but there are two bit players like they don't you 1240 01:10:59,520 --> 01:11:03,240 Speaker 1: know they It just it's not influential funds and so 1241 01:11:03,400 --> 01:11:06,160 Speaker 1: and and again think about the fact that back in sixteen, 1242 01:11:06,360 --> 01:11:08,840 Speaker 1: ten of the a u M, which was around two 1243 01:11:08,920 --> 01:11:13,200 Speaker 1: point nine trillion back then, was controlled, So ten percent 1244 01:11:13,240 --> 01:11:16,679 Speaker 1: of hedge funds controlled the u M. So that's even 1245 01:11:16,680 --> 01:11:19,479 Speaker 1: smaller now it is very much a fat headlong tail. 1246 01:11:19,560 --> 01:11:23,000 Speaker 1: It is not the normal distribution, right, So back to women, 1247 01:11:23,120 --> 01:11:26,479 Speaker 1: so the one they don't really have role models to. Again, 1248 01:11:26,560 --> 01:11:29,200 Speaker 1: the industry is still fairly young. When you compare it 1249 01:11:29,240 --> 01:11:33,320 Speaker 1: to finance, like investment banking or UM. You compare it 1250 01:11:33,360 --> 01:11:35,760 Speaker 1: to consulting, or you compare it to medicine. Those are 1251 01:11:35,800 --> 01:11:38,599 Speaker 1: all industries that have been around much longer, so they've 1252 01:11:38,600 --> 01:11:40,719 Speaker 1: had more of a chance to catch up to for 1253 01:11:40,960 --> 01:11:44,080 Speaker 1: you know, to make it for for women to UM 1254 01:11:44,240 --> 01:11:47,320 Speaker 1: have a bigger percentage. But when when we look at 1255 01:11:47,320 --> 01:11:51,879 Speaker 1: things like law and medicine and consulting, women are forty 1256 01:11:52,080 --> 01:11:54,840 Speaker 1: plus percent. When we look at finance, there's been a 1257 01:11:54,840 --> 01:11:58,160 Speaker 1: lot of gains in the past decade, but it's still 1258 01:11:59,040 --> 01:12:03,599 Speaker 1: really tilted towards the male side. UM. I can name 1259 01:12:03,720 --> 01:12:08,960 Speaker 1: two dozen chief economists, uh market strategists. I mean, there's 1260 01:12:09,040 --> 01:12:13,240 Speaker 1: tons of women in very visible places today that didn't 1261 01:12:13,280 --> 01:12:17,639 Speaker 1: exist twenty years ago. But find it's still very It's 1262 01:12:17,680 --> 01:12:20,040 Speaker 1: still so much better than the hedge fund industry. It 1263 01:12:20,120 --> 01:12:23,519 Speaker 1: really is. So that the hedge fund industry is worse 1264 01:12:23,560 --> 01:12:27,599 Speaker 1: than finance. So finance is bad, right, So fine, So 1265 01:12:28,000 --> 01:12:30,479 Speaker 1: that's my man explaining about the lack of women. If 1266 01:12:30,560 --> 01:12:33,439 Speaker 1: I always find my always laugh at myself when I'm like, 1267 01:12:33,640 --> 01:12:35,720 Speaker 1: are you man explaining this too harsh? And know it's 1268 01:12:35,760 --> 01:12:38,320 Speaker 1: more about this stuff than you ever will, but it's 1269 01:12:38,360 --> 01:12:40,680 Speaker 1: true there are so few women. So we need to 1270 01:12:40,720 --> 01:12:43,439 Speaker 1: do a better job of pulling women in earlier and 1271 01:12:43,520 --> 01:12:47,920 Speaker 1: explaining to them that this is an industry that is 1272 01:12:47,920 --> 01:12:51,120 Speaker 1: not just hospitable to women, we are dying for women. 1273 01:12:51,200 --> 01:12:54,479 Speaker 1: It is rare that I do a search, um where 1274 01:12:54,520 --> 01:12:58,080 Speaker 1: the client at some point does not say to me, 1275 01:12:58,560 --> 01:13:01,240 Speaker 1: you know, we love for the a successful candidate to 1276 01:13:01,280 --> 01:13:03,599 Speaker 1: be a woman and and the problem but the problem 1277 01:13:03,720 --> 01:13:07,759 Speaker 1: is we have a fiduciary duty to hire the best person, 1278 01:13:08,360 --> 01:13:11,200 Speaker 1: not the best woman. And so by the time we 1279 01:13:11,240 --> 01:13:14,000 Speaker 1: get involved, which is really at the most senior end 1280 01:13:14,000 --> 01:13:16,439 Speaker 1: of the industry. If you think about a mountain, if 1281 01:13:16,479 --> 01:13:19,760 Speaker 1: at the base there are so few, you know, it's 1282 01:13:19,800 --> 01:13:23,320 Speaker 1: the pool you start out with, and then by the 1283 01:13:23,360 --> 01:13:27,439 Speaker 1: time we get there very much against right. And so 1284 01:13:27,560 --> 01:13:30,800 Speaker 1: I think that that, um, that's the issue as well 1285 01:13:30,840 --> 01:13:34,080 Speaker 1: as UM the fact that there's something about the P 1286 01:13:34,280 --> 01:13:36,240 Speaker 1: and L and the volatility of the P and L 1287 01:13:36,320 --> 01:13:40,000 Speaker 1: that is that is um. You know, it's it's you 1288 01:13:40,040 --> 01:13:42,400 Speaker 1: can't control it. Even in private equity, you have more 1289 01:13:42,439 --> 01:13:44,360 Speaker 1: control than you do in the public markets. You have 1290 01:13:44,439 --> 01:13:47,120 Speaker 1: ten uere money, you have full information, you're one of 1291 01:13:47,160 --> 01:13:49,840 Speaker 1: eight on a deal team. Trump tweets something that portfolio 1292 01:13:49,920 --> 01:13:55,759 Speaker 1: isn't going to go. Hey, you can be the darling 1293 01:13:55,800 --> 01:13:58,000 Speaker 1: of the industry one moment and be out of business 1294 01:13:58,040 --> 01:14:01,640 Speaker 1: the next. And that is not that all so um, 1295 01:14:01,680 --> 01:14:04,800 Speaker 1: you know, can be scary. So I don't know, UM, 1296 01:14:04,840 --> 01:14:07,200 Speaker 1: I don't know if that is less appealing to women, 1297 01:14:07,400 --> 01:14:10,680 Speaker 1: but maybe that factors into it as well. Huh. That 1298 01:14:10,920 --> 01:14:16,639 Speaker 1: that's that's quite fascinating. So in terms of coming trying 1299 01:14:16,640 --> 01:14:20,200 Speaker 1: to bring women into the industry earlier on last week, 1300 01:14:20,600 --> 01:14:22,400 Speaker 1: and I am trying to you know, I'm doing what 1301 01:14:22,479 --> 01:14:26,600 Speaker 1: I can. Last week, I actually um went out to 1302 01:14:26,920 --> 01:14:30,840 Speaker 1: the University of Michigan to be the keynote speaker for 1303 01:14:30,960 --> 01:14:34,360 Speaker 1: the their Undergraduate Investment Conference, which is like the sound 1304 01:14:34,439 --> 01:14:38,479 Speaker 1: conference for for exactly for undergrads, and uh really to 1305 01:14:38,600 --> 01:14:41,519 Speaker 1: signal to them that this is an industry that wants 1306 01:14:41,560 --> 01:14:44,360 Speaker 1: women and try to encourage all these undergrads to come 1307 01:14:44,400 --> 01:14:47,240 Speaker 1: if they're interested, Like this is a this is a 1308 01:14:48,120 --> 01:14:52,480 Speaker 1: um uh play, this is an industry that is salivating 1309 01:14:52,520 --> 01:14:57,280 Speaker 1: for talent and UM, it is totally meritocratic and if 1310 01:14:57,320 --> 01:15:00,920 Speaker 1: you're talented, nobody cares if you're a man, woman or otherwise. 1311 01:15:01,040 --> 01:15:04,439 Speaker 1: It's just this is like, you know, it's that's a uh, 1312 01:15:05,040 --> 01:15:07,600 Speaker 1: that's what the focus is on. And one of the 1313 01:15:07,640 --> 01:15:10,400 Speaker 1: women towards the end when we had the Q and A, 1314 01:15:10,400 --> 01:15:14,960 Speaker 1: asked me the question of what can women do? How 1315 01:15:14,960 --> 01:15:19,320 Speaker 1: do we become more, UM, fearless? How do we go 1316 01:15:19,479 --> 01:15:21,920 Speaker 1: for it? How do we set ourselves up to be 1317 01:15:22,000 --> 01:15:24,400 Speaker 1: more successful in life? And I, you know, I answered 1318 01:15:24,400 --> 01:15:29,400 Speaker 1: the question in terms of just UMU having you know, 1319 01:15:29,439 --> 01:15:31,479 Speaker 1: you may not have the confidence early on, but that 1320 01:15:31,520 --> 01:15:35,559 Speaker 1: comes with success and UM building it over time and 1321 01:15:35,600 --> 01:15:37,920 Speaker 1: just sort of not you know, going for it. That's 1322 01:15:37,960 --> 01:15:41,559 Speaker 1: the bottom line. But I but I UM. What bothered 1323 01:15:41,560 --> 01:15:43,880 Speaker 1: me about the question is I do think that there 1324 01:15:44,080 --> 01:15:50,000 Speaker 1: is a UM sometimes a little bit of a orientation 1325 01:15:50,080 --> 01:15:53,639 Speaker 1: of like, how do we how can we be UM, 1326 01:15:53,680 --> 01:15:56,360 Speaker 1: how can we set ourselves up better for success? How 1327 01:15:56,400 --> 01:15:59,360 Speaker 1: can we be more as you put it, fearless? Why 1328 01:15:59,360 --> 01:16:02,440 Speaker 1: are we at the world as though we have a handicap. 1329 01:16:02,560 --> 01:16:05,280 Speaker 1: Everybody's scared when they're young, everybody's scared to make a 1330 01:16:05,320 --> 01:16:08,479 Speaker 1: mistake every you know, but you just whether whether you're 1331 01:16:08,520 --> 01:16:11,040 Speaker 1: a man or a woman, you have to sort of 1332 01:16:11,240 --> 01:16:14,000 Speaker 1: buck up and and as I said, go for it. 1333 01:16:14,080 --> 01:16:19,080 Speaker 1: And this idea that, um, because we're female, we're somehow 1334 01:16:19,160 --> 01:16:22,800 Speaker 1: disadvantage by our very nature pisces me off. And I 1335 01:16:22,840 --> 01:16:24,640 Speaker 1: sort of said that to her. I said, there's, like, 1336 01:16:25,040 --> 01:16:27,559 Speaker 1: you know, this sort of cont impacted idea that you 1337 01:16:27,600 --> 01:16:31,280 Speaker 1: need special handling or there's something about you that we 1338 01:16:31,320 --> 01:16:34,479 Speaker 1: need to treat differently. Why. I mean, you know, as 1339 01:16:34,520 --> 01:16:38,000 Speaker 1: long as we're all being good actors and behaving correctly, 1340 01:16:39,360 --> 01:16:41,360 Speaker 1: why should we Why do why do we need sort 1341 01:16:41,400 --> 01:16:44,000 Speaker 1: of a different way of treating you? That as that 1342 01:16:44,160 --> 01:16:47,559 Speaker 1: as long as is a loaded phrase because I recall 1343 01:16:47,640 --> 01:16:50,200 Speaker 1: the early days in my career on a trading desk. 1344 01:16:50,720 --> 01:16:53,880 Speaker 1: It was horrific. That can't go on anymore. And it doesn't. 1345 01:16:53,920 --> 01:16:56,800 Speaker 1: You see ken foot happen with ken Fisher's contra, right, 1346 01:16:56,920 --> 01:17:00,559 Speaker 1: So it's my good business, it's not good business. It's 1347 01:17:00,600 --> 01:17:03,840 Speaker 1: not gonna lead to a successful outcome. And come back 1348 01:17:03,880 --> 01:17:05,840 Speaker 1: to at the end of the day, there's so few 1349 01:17:05,880 --> 01:17:08,880 Speaker 1: talented people. If that person happens to be a woman, 1350 01:17:09,360 --> 01:17:12,040 Speaker 1: There is no hedge fund manager in his right mind 1351 01:17:12,080 --> 01:17:15,920 Speaker 1: that will do anything to make the environment inhospitable to her. 1352 01:17:15,960 --> 01:17:17,640 Speaker 1: Not to mention, it's you can't get away with that 1353 01:17:17,640 --> 01:17:20,479 Speaker 1: stuff anymore. So the world has changed completely. I don't 1354 01:17:20,479 --> 01:17:23,920 Speaker 1: know if it's changed completely. I'm again, like you know, 1355 01:17:24,000 --> 01:17:26,479 Speaker 1: we just saw with Fisher. There are still people who 1356 01:17:26,800 --> 01:17:29,920 Speaker 1: act out of turn. But in an industry that is 1357 01:17:30,000 --> 01:17:34,560 Speaker 1: measured minute to minute, and you're only as good as UM, 1358 01:17:34,640 --> 01:17:38,320 Speaker 1: your last p m L, you cannot do things which 1359 01:17:38,360 --> 01:17:42,040 Speaker 1: are going to scare away the very people that can 1360 01:17:42,160 --> 01:17:45,599 Speaker 1: have a real impact on your business. It's just, it's 1361 01:17:45,640 --> 01:17:48,280 Speaker 1: so there's so much clarity in terms of who the 1362 01:17:48,320 --> 01:17:51,360 Speaker 1: winners and losers are. And to have half the population 1363 01:17:51,960 --> 01:17:54,880 Speaker 1: UM not be a source of talent is insanity. And 1364 01:17:54,880 --> 01:17:57,080 Speaker 1: there's no hedge fund manager that would think that way 1365 01:17:57,240 --> 01:17:59,960 Speaker 1: and that's going to be successful. But when we see 1366 01:18:00,160 --> 01:18:05,000 Speaker 1: the academic studies on male versus female mutual fund managers UM, 1367 01:18:05,040 --> 01:18:08,320 Speaker 1: the data shows that the women tend to do better 1368 01:18:08,400 --> 01:18:11,639 Speaker 1: than the men. The women don't have the same ego issues. 1369 01:18:11,720 --> 01:18:14,439 Speaker 1: They certainly don't suffer from the test what some people 1370 01:18:14,439 --> 01:18:18,519 Speaker 1: have called testosterone poisoning. That they are more measured and 1371 01:18:18,720 --> 01:18:22,800 Speaker 1: less aggressive in a negative way than the male fund managers. 1372 01:18:23,080 --> 01:18:28,400 Speaker 1: So the data even supports female fund managers can outperform 1373 01:18:28,400 --> 01:18:31,920 Speaker 1: male fund managers with without any change to who they 1374 01:18:31,960 --> 01:18:34,320 Speaker 1: are with. You know, it's funny. I had drinks with 1375 01:18:34,360 --> 01:18:36,280 Speaker 1: a woman that I'm not going to name her, but 1376 01:18:36,320 --> 01:18:38,519 Speaker 1: I was so pleased when she did end up being 1377 01:18:38,520 --> 01:18:40,880 Speaker 1: this successful candidate for search we did a year ago, 1378 01:18:42,000 --> 01:18:44,720 Speaker 1: very successful PM. One of the few who ran a 1379 01:18:44,760 --> 01:18:47,000 Speaker 1: lot of capital where she was she ran two billion. 1380 01:18:47,080 --> 01:18:50,080 Speaker 1: Now she's running four billion as a real team underneath her. 1381 01:18:50,360 --> 01:18:52,760 Speaker 1: And we were talking about somebody that she recently had 1382 01:18:52,800 --> 01:18:54,479 Speaker 1: to let go, and it was just so I had 1383 01:18:54,520 --> 01:18:56,320 Speaker 1: such a smile playing on my face as she was 1384 01:18:56,400 --> 01:19:00,479 Speaker 1: describing how emotional he was and he wasn't making rational decisions, 1385 01:19:00,479 --> 01:19:03,479 Speaker 1: and he was constantly complaining about, you know where where 1386 01:19:03,560 --> 01:19:05,200 Speaker 1: his p n L was at? And she's like, I 1387 01:19:05,240 --> 01:19:07,040 Speaker 1: know where you're p P and L is at. I'm 1388 01:19:07,040 --> 01:19:09,559 Speaker 1: watching it, get with it and fix it, and so 1389 01:19:09,840 --> 01:19:12,800 Speaker 1: you know, it's anyway, it's just a sort of sidebar 1390 01:19:13,000 --> 01:19:17,040 Speaker 1: on there is no difference these flighty emotional men. I mean, 1391 01:19:17,840 --> 01:19:20,360 Speaker 1: how can I exactly what I have to deal with? 1392 01:19:21,479 --> 01:19:24,679 Speaker 1: But but you know that is a genuine perception issue 1393 01:19:25,280 --> 01:19:29,679 Speaker 1: and the reality is how So this was a question 1394 01:19:29,720 --> 01:19:32,280 Speaker 1: I didn't get to, but I wanted to ask h 1395 01:19:33,040 --> 01:19:36,200 Speaker 1: You have said the people best suited for this industry 1396 01:19:36,479 --> 01:19:39,639 Speaker 1: are the ones who remain cool under pressure. That that's 1397 01:19:39,640 --> 01:19:42,640 Speaker 1: a quote of yours, which certainly is who's going to 1398 01:19:42,760 --> 01:19:46,600 Speaker 1: argue with that? How can you identify that in a 1399 01:19:46,880 --> 01:19:50,879 Speaker 1: sort of casual conversation until you see them under pressure? 1400 01:19:50,920 --> 01:19:52,439 Speaker 1: How do you know how they're going to react. Well, 1401 01:19:52,479 --> 01:19:58,320 Speaker 1: it's less about the person, you know, the how they act, 1402 01:19:58,400 --> 01:20:01,679 Speaker 1: so to speak, it's more about the comes. So decision 1403 01:20:01,760 --> 01:20:05,880 Speaker 1: is not necessary. I'm looking at consistent pan l over time, 1404 01:20:05,880 --> 01:20:08,200 Speaker 1: and whether you do that by standing on your head 1405 01:20:08,680 --> 01:20:11,200 Speaker 1: or you know, crossing your fingers and toes and screaming, 1406 01:20:11,240 --> 01:20:14,040 Speaker 1: or whatever the case may be. If you can generate, 1407 01:20:14,080 --> 01:20:16,479 Speaker 1: particularly in the last four or five years, where has 1408 01:20:16,479 --> 01:20:20,200 Speaker 1: been so difficult and there's not been this tailwind to performance, 1409 01:20:20,240 --> 01:20:24,679 Speaker 1: if you can generate consistent pan l over time, that 1410 01:20:24,760 --> 01:20:29,120 Speaker 1: to me says you're somebody who possesses um a whole 1411 01:20:29,160 --> 01:20:31,719 Speaker 1: bunch of other qualities which come with that. You're somebody 1412 01:20:31,720 --> 01:20:36,040 Speaker 1: who is flexible and humble. You are You're You're not 1413 01:20:36,200 --> 01:20:39,960 Speaker 1: so wetted to your positions that you can't um take 1414 01:20:40,040 --> 01:20:42,639 Speaker 1: new inputs and shift you know, on a dime where 1415 01:20:42,680 --> 01:20:48,280 Speaker 1: you need to um you um uh and and and 1416 01:20:48,320 --> 01:20:51,120 Speaker 1: so so. Looking at pan L over a period of 1417 01:20:51,160 --> 01:20:54,040 Speaker 1: time gives me insight as well as some of the 1418 01:20:54,400 --> 01:20:57,439 Speaker 1: you know what makes some people vulnerable, which is the 1419 01:20:57,479 --> 01:21:00,360 Speaker 1: founder is often more vulneratible than they are in that. Again, 1420 01:21:00,400 --> 01:21:03,200 Speaker 1: I'm not talking about behavior, although that comes with it sometimes, 1421 01:21:03,240 --> 01:21:06,200 Speaker 1: you know, I mean decision making. It's a guy who 1422 01:21:06,240 --> 01:21:08,799 Speaker 1: comes into my office and says, you know, this happened 1423 01:21:08,840 --> 01:21:11,759 Speaker 1: two years ago. Um he sat at a large hedge fund. 1424 01:21:12,080 --> 01:21:14,559 Speaker 1: He was responsible for a big for a big chunk 1425 01:21:14,560 --> 01:21:19,040 Speaker 1: of it, and um uh, even though he was doing well, 1426 01:21:19,160 --> 01:21:21,880 Speaker 1: the fund was not, and he had he was the 1427 01:21:21,880 --> 01:21:25,840 Speaker 1: most robust uh short, had the most robust short book 1428 01:21:25,880 --> 01:21:28,920 Speaker 1: within the fund, which was not the founder strength or 1429 01:21:29,000 --> 01:21:31,400 Speaker 1: skill set. And the founder came in over the top, 1430 01:21:31,479 --> 01:21:34,439 Speaker 1: took off all his alpha generating shorts, put on index shorts, 1431 01:21:34,479 --> 01:21:36,800 Speaker 1: and erased a lot of this guy's pan L. So 1432 01:21:37,000 --> 01:21:41,920 Speaker 1: you know enough of that kind of stuff happening is 1433 01:21:42,280 --> 01:21:45,479 Speaker 1: you know, it's the differentiation between the founder acting out 1434 01:21:45,520 --> 01:21:48,400 Speaker 1: of sort of panic and emotion and not really understanding 1435 01:21:48,400 --> 01:21:51,760 Speaker 1: what's going on, and this guy pointing to consistent pan 1436 01:21:51,880 --> 01:21:54,439 Speaker 1: l and where he's gotten tripped up is when he's 1437 01:21:54,479 --> 01:21:59,320 Speaker 1: been overridden by um, somebody who isn't taking a more 1438 01:21:59,320 --> 01:22:01,639 Speaker 1: measured approach. We assume that guy is no longer at 1439 01:22:01,640 --> 01:22:05,479 Speaker 1: that fund. We can. I have a million more questions 1440 01:22:05,479 --> 01:22:08,040 Speaker 1: for you, but I know I don't have you all day, 1441 01:22:08,080 --> 01:22:10,960 Speaker 1: So why don't I go to some of my uh 1442 01:22:11,120 --> 01:22:13,599 Speaker 1: favorite questions. This hasn't been too painful, it's been a 1443 01:22:13,600 --> 01:22:15,360 Speaker 1: lot of fun. Oh, I'm so glad you've said that. 1444 01:22:15,439 --> 01:22:17,840 Speaker 1: So let's jump. And I don't know if you're gonna 1445 01:22:17,840 --> 01:22:20,479 Speaker 1: be able to answer this question because you were born 1446 01:22:20,520 --> 01:22:23,720 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn and moved to Manhattan. Um, but let me 1447 01:22:23,760 --> 01:22:26,000 Speaker 1: ask you the question, what was the first car you 1448 01:22:26,080 --> 01:22:30,519 Speaker 1: ever owned? You're making model? Okay, Barry, you don't drive? 1449 01:22:30,760 --> 01:22:33,960 Speaker 1: You got it. You are the first person I've been 1450 01:22:34,040 --> 01:22:37,040 Speaker 1: waiting for someone to say that to me. And I 1451 01:22:37,080 --> 01:22:39,639 Speaker 1: was expecting, like a millennial to say, oh I uber 1452 01:22:39,800 --> 01:22:42,600 Speaker 1: or Isaip drive. See I'm ahead of my time. You 1453 01:22:42,680 --> 01:22:46,200 Speaker 1: are so you never owned a car, never owned a car, 1454 01:22:46,439 --> 01:22:48,920 Speaker 1: never drove a car. I took a feely I took 1455 01:22:48,920 --> 01:22:52,360 Speaker 1: a few lessons, uh like ten years ago and I 1456 01:22:52,439 --> 01:22:54,400 Speaker 1: was just like, this is a waste of time. I'm 1457 01:22:54,439 --> 01:22:56,920 Speaker 1: never I'm never going to create the muscle memory to 1458 01:22:57,560 --> 01:23:00,000 Speaker 1: know how to do this. I'll probably kill someone or myself. 1459 01:23:00,080 --> 01:23:02,200 Speaker 1: So if we get you on a track, it's a 1460 01:23:02,240 --> 01:23:04,559 Speaker 1: lot of fun. Could be surprised. Can we do? Like 1461 01:23:04,640 --> 01:23:06,639 Speaker 1: the what do you call them? The bumper cars? Though? 1462 01:23:07,680 --> 01:23:10,760 Speaker 1: So now those bumper cars are all electric. There's a 1463 01:23:10,840 --> 01:23:13,680 Speaker 1: place called RPM. There's a bunch of them around this 1464 01:23:13,760 --> 01:23:17,040 Speaker 1: one in Farmingdale and it's just the most amount of 1465 01:23:17,080 --> 01:23:18,800 Speaker 1: I would love to have. It's a blas I should 1466 01:23:18,840 --> 01:23:20,680 Speaker 1: do that with my fifteen year old who tells me 1467 01:23:20,920 --> 01:23:23,160 Speaker 1: in star contrast to myself he's going to have his 1468 01:23:23,360 --> 01:23:26,600 Speaker 1: learners permit when he's sixteen, which well I'm terrified of. 1469 01:23:26,760 --> 01:23:29,759 Speaker 1: But you know, it's such a different having that happen 1470 01:23:30,360 --> 01:23:34,000 Speaker 1: pre Internet, if you lived outside of a major city, 1471 01:23:34,080 --> 01:23:39,200 Speaker 1: a car represented freedom. Now everybody's playing everything. It's just 1472 01:23:39,240 --> 01:23:42,920 Speaker 1: such a different So let's talk a little bit about, um, you, 1473 01:23:43,120 --> 01:23:46,800 Speaker 1: what's the most important thing we don't know about? Allana Weinstein? 1474 01:23:47,520 --> 01:23:49,519 Speaker 1: Although I think you may have just revealed it. I 1475 01:23:49,560 --> 01:23:51,680 Speaker 1: think you I may have just revealed it. That I 1476 01:23:51,920 --> 01:23:54,679 Speaker 1: never have driven a car, never during a car. Yeah. 1477 01:23:54,960 --> 01:23:58,000 Speaker 1: And and you know what everyone in this industry knows 1478 01:23:58,040 --> 01:24:01,000 Speaker 1: me is like a very um which is true to 1479 01:24:01,080 --> 01:24:05,120 Speaker 1: the point, um, no nonsense, say it like it is 1480 01:24:05,560 --> 01:24:08,880 Speaker 1: businesswoman all true. But Barry, I do have a soft 1481 01:24:08,920 --> 01:24:11,920 Speaker 1: and gooey center, right, I don't believe that it's true. 1482 01:24:12,320 --> 01:24:15,519 Speaker 1: What is your soft and gooey center? Like? What what 1483 01:24:16,200 --> 01:24:19,280 Speaker 1: it's meaning? What? Um? So? What is what is yours? 1484 01:24:19,320 --> 01:24:21,280 Speaker 1: So maybe this is the thing we don't know about you. 1485 01:24:21,320 --> 01:24:26,720 Speaker 1: What you work in a tough industry, male dominated, very sharp, elbowed, 1486 01:24:26,880 --> 01:24:30,200 Speaker 1: very competitive. What are you soft and gooey about? And 1487 01:24:30,240 --> 01:24:32,559 Speaker 1: you brought this up? Not me? Yeah, I mean it's 1488 01:24:32,600 --> 01:24:36,080 Speaker 1: just more you know, it's my it's my alter ego, 1489 01:24:36,360 --> 01:24:39,120 Speaker 1: non work persona. It's uh, you have to have a 1490 01:24:39,160 --> 01:24:42,320 Speaker 1: yang and yang, my yang or yang or whatever you 1491 01:24:42,320 --> 01:24:44,400 Speaker 1: want to whatever. The opposite one is that we're referring 1492 01:24:44,439 --> 01:24:48,400 Speaker 1: to is you know, it's just you have to enjoy life. 1493 01:24:48,479 --> 01:24:50,280 Speaker 1: And and that's a big part of who I am. 1494 01:24:50,320 --> 01:24:54,400 Speaker 1: Fair enough, Who are your mentors? Who has influenced your career? 1495 01:24:54,600 --> 01:24:57,320 Speaker 1: Well it might be a cliche answer, but my parents 1496 01:24:57,400 --> 01:25:04,000 Speaker 1: are tremendous mentors. Um. Uh my mom in particular, even 1497 01:25:04,000 --> 01:25:06,840 Speaker 1: though she was a stay at home mom, she is 1498 01:25:06,880 --> 01:25:10,400 Speaker 1: an incredibly bright woman who kind of managed the family. 1499 01:25:10,479 --> 01:25:13,560 Speaker 1: I'd say in some ways similarly to a how a 1500 01:25:13,640 --> 01:25:16,880 Speaker 1: CEO manages his you know, best employees, but with lots 1501 01:25:16,880 --> 01:25:20,360 Speaker 1: of love, very but very no nonsense. Very kind of 1502 01:25:20,400 --> 01:25:22,439 Speaker 1: like the advice I gave this girl at you of 1503 01:25:22,520 --> 01:25:25,120 Speaker 1: them like, get up and go for it, stop whining, 1504 01:25:26,040 --> 01:25:30,120 Speaker 1: just get it done. And um, and that gave me 1505 01:25:30,280 --> 01:25:33,120 Speaker 1: you know, and and forcing my and that made me strong, 1506 01:25:33,880 --> 01:25:37,960 Speaker 1: um and creates winds and then it creates real confidence. Um. 1507 01:25:37,960 --> 01:25:43,200 Speaker 1: Other mentors were just you know. I've cultivated great relationships, um, 1508 01:25:43,240 --> 01:25:46,160 Speaker 1: great relationships with my clients who have given me great 1509 01:25:46,160 --> 01:25:51,880 Speaker 1: advice along the way. UM. I mean everywhere I've worked, 1510 01:25:52,000 --> 01:25:54,559 Speaker 1: I've just um, I've had the good fortune of finding 1511 01:25:54,600 --> 01:26:00,160 Speaker 1: great people who um I learned a lot from quite interesting. UM. 1512 01:26:00,240 --> 01:26:02,240 Speaker 1: Tell us about your favorite books. What do you like 1513 01:26:02,320 --> 01:26:06,479 Speaker 1: to read when you're not out recruiting talent. I love 1514 01:26:06,600 --> 01:26:10,559 Speaker 1: books by and I think there's some commonality between them. 1515 01:26:10,600 --> 01:26:14,559 Speaker 1: I love John krak Our, Tom Wolfe, Michael Lewis. They 1516 01:26:14,680 --> 01:26:21,240 Speaker 1: all right, real stories um that are almost read like thrillers. 1517 01:26:21,400 --> 01:26:23,840 Speaker 1: And Tom Wolfe is fiction, but he's really writing about 1518 01:26:23,880 --> 01:26:29,479 Speaker 1: moments in time that right, a bonfire, right, even I am. 1519 01:26:29,560 --> 01:26:32,559 Speaker 1: Charlotte Simmons is based on you know, real LuFe. Do 1520 01:26:32,560 --> 01:26:35,280 Speaker 1: you know that book? It's great, It's uh. I read 1521 01:26:35,320 --> 01:26:38,680 Speaker 1: it a few years ago. It's a woman's um, a 1522 01:26:38,720 --> 01:26:44,000 Speaker 1: young woman's travails and experience at undergrad. I think it's 1523 01:26:44,040 --> 01:26:46,639 Speaker 1: it's meant to be a big Ten's type school and 1524 01:26:46,680 --> 01:26:49,400 Speaker 1: everything she goes through. It's a very thick book, but 1525 01:26:50,040 --> 01:26:52,880 Speaker 1: I thought it was so on point in terms of 1526 01:26:52,920 --> 01:26:55,680 Speaker 1: what the undergraduate experience is like. I'm sure based on 1527 01:26:56,040 --> 01:26:59,000 Speaker 1: characters that he knew. Well, maybe Ben his own family. 1528 01:26:59,439 --> 01:27:01,479 Speaker 1: Give us some more book titles. You mentioned a number 1529 01:27:01,479 --> 01:27:04,200 Speaker 1: of authors. Um, I have to think the Big Short 1530 01:27:04,320 --> 01:27:07,200 Speaker 1: is right in your love. In fact, it's funny you 1531 01:27:07,200 --> 01:27:10,280 Speaker 1: bring that up. I was on a long flight a 1532 01:27:10,320 --> 01:27:12,559 Speaker 1: few weeks ago and I didn't reread the book, but 1533 01:27:12,640 --> 01:27:16,240 Speaker 1: I did see the movie again and I actually called 1534 01:27:16,360 --> 01:27:18,720 Speaker 1: a number of my clients and said, you have to 1535 01:27:18,720 --> 01:27:20,880 Speaker 1: watch this again. And I made my son watch it again. 1536 01:27:20,960 --> 01:27:24,080 Speaker 1: It's so good, and I have so much respect for 1537 01:27:24,120 --> 01:27:26,559 Speaker 1: how Michael Lewis did that. How he you know, he 1538 01:27:26,600 --> 01:27:29,600 Speaker 1: found it's just it's so many. It's a tough subject 1539 01:27:29,640 --> 01:27:33,599 Speaker 1: to understand for a late person. He totally explained it well. 1540 01:27:34,080 --> 01:27:37,920 Speaker 1: And he takes these stories and builds these not builds 1541 01:27:37,920 --> 01:27:40,519 Speaker 1: they were, but brings to life these characters that were 1542 01:27:41,200 --> 01:27:45,600 Speaker 1: interesting in esoteric and dynamic in their own ways and contrarians. 1543 01:27:45,680 --> 01:27:47,759 Speaker 1: And then there's this That's why I call it a thriller, 1544 01:27:47,800 --> 01:27:49,839 Speaker 1: like how is how is it all going to come together? 1545 01:27:49,880 --> 01:27:51,479 Speaker 1: And how did they figure this out? And how did 1546 01:27:51,479 --> 01:27:54,679 Speaker 1: they all sort of end up interweaving um and tells 1547 01:27:54,720 --> 01:27:58,640 Speaker 1: the story which is so multidimensional. I just brilliant. That 1548 01:27:58,760 --> 01:28:03,600 Speaker 1: is the Michael Lewis form. Find an esoteric, quirky outsider, 1549 01:28:04,320 --> 01:28:09,000 Speaker 1: and we've a narrative not from the center, but from 1550 01:28:09,000 --> 01:28:13,240 Speaker 1: the people on the periphery who identify in a contrarian basis. 1551 01:28:14,160 --> 01:28:17,360 Speaker 1: Wait what what does everybody seem to misunderstand? And then 1552 01:28:17,400 --> 01:28:19,680 Speaker 1: the next level is how can we capitalize on it? 1553 01:28:19,760 --> 01:28:22,280 Speaker 1: And you know what, you just describe what we do, 1554 01:28:23,120 --> 01:28:25,280 Speaker 1: what you do, what I do as a hunter, What 1555 01:28:25,400 --> 01:28:27,840 Speaker 1: I do as a headhunter. It's finding the people who 1556 01:28:28,040 --> 01:28:31,519 Speaker 1: who see something, who can come at things differently, who 1557 01:28:31,560 --> 01:28:36,040 Speaker 1: are um who are able to generate Alpha consistently over 1558 01:28:36,080 --> 01:28:39,160 Speaker 1: time in spite of everyone else, And what do they 1559 01:28:39,320 --> 01:28:43,000 Speaker 1: and what does that mean in terms of UM where 1560 01:28:43,040 --> 01:28:45,240 Speaker 1: they can be most successful and where the industry is 1561 01:28:45,280 --> 01:28:47,760 Speaker 1: going Give me one more book title, UM, because I'm 1562 01:28:47,800 --> 01:28:49,479 Speaker 1: curious as to what else you read, And then I'm 1563 01:28:49,479 --> 01:28:51,640 Speaker 1: going to share two with you. I'm gonna bet you 1564 01:28:51,680 --> 01:28:53,519 Speaker 1: probably well. One of them hasn't come out yet, but 1565 01:28:53,560 --> 01:28:56,280 Speaker 1: one of them I wonder if you read. I'm in 1566 01:28:56,280 --> 01:28:58,439 Speaker 1: the middle of one right now, which is not something 1567 01:28:58,479 --> 01:29:00,720 Speaker 1: I normally read, but someone into to me and I'm 1568 01:29:00,720 --> 01:29:04,720 Speaker 1: actually really into it. It's called hacking Darwin. Have you 1569 01:29:04,760 --> 01:29:06,920 Speaker 1: read I'm familiar with it. I haven't ready. So it's 1570 01:29:06,960 --> 01:29:13,960 Speaker 1: it's written by this UM technology futurist and it's all 1571 01:29:14,120 --> 01:29:17,920 Speaker 1: real stuff, which is amazing UM. And he's the premise 1572 01:29:18,000 --> 01:29:20,240 Speaker 1: being we can hack the genetic code the same way 1573 01:29:20,280 --> 01:29:22,439 Speaker 1: you can have a computer, which we know we can, 1574 01:29:22,520 --> 01:29:25,519 Speaker 1: you know, do things now with the genetic code UM 1575 01:29:25,560 --> 01:29:29,280 Speaker 1: to make people healthier, to make them smarter. Uh. And 1576 01:29:29,360 --> 01:29:32,240 Speaker 1: it's just I'm only midway through it. But it's both 1577 01:29:32,320 --> 01:29:37,080 Speaker 1: the UM ethical challenges inherent in that as well as 1578 01:29:37,080 --> 01:29:41,640 Speaker 1: the socioeconomic challenges. If we decide something's not ethical, but 1579 01:29:41,680 --> 01:29:44,640 Speaker 1: another country decides it is. Does that create sort of 1580 01:29:44,640 --> 01:29:47,400 Speaker 1: a superior population to us? You know? There's there's so 1581 01:29:47,479 --> 01:29:49,280 Speaker 1: much in it that I think is interesting, and it's 1582 01:29:49,280 --> 01:29:53,400 Speaker 1: written in a way that a non um medical person 1583 01:29:53,479 --> 01:29:57,080 Speaker 1: like myself can totally understand. Jamie Metzel, yes is the 1584 01:29:57,120 --> 01:29:59,920 Speaker 1: author courtesy of Google. So the two books I have 1585 01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:03,920 Speaker 1: to ask you about because you kind of describe them both. 1586 01:30:04,600 --> 01:30:07,519 Speaker 1: One is The Spider Network, but I think it's David 1587 01:30:07,560 --> 01:30:12,519 Speaker 1: and Trust about the libor manipulation scandal, same sort of 1588 01:30:12,560 --> 01:30:15,479 Speaker 1: thing where it's a financial book, but it reads like 1589 01:30:15,520 --> 01:30:18,200 Speaker 1: a thriller and all the characters are odd and interesting. 1590 01:30:18,200 --> 01:30:20,479 Speaker 1: I'm totally going to read that. Yeah, that's it. And 1591 01:30:20,520 --> 01:30:24,479 Speaker 1: then the new Greg Zuckerman book on renaissance technologies and 1592 01:30:24,560 --> 01:30:29,519 Speaker 1: Jim Simon's The Man Who, um I'm trying to remember 1593 01:30:29,520 --> 01:30:32,000 Speaker 1: with the title is the Man Who figure who solved 1594 01:30:32,000 --> 01:30:36,400 Speaker 1: the Markets? Another one that reads like a thriller, And 1595 01:30:36,400 --> 01:30:40,080 Speaker 1: and how do we figure out um, we figure out 1596 01:30:40,080 --> 01:30:42,679 Speaker 1: commodities and futures? How do we apply that and figure 1597 01:30:42,720 --> 01:30:48,479 Speaker 1: out equities? Really a fascinating that's such a unknown entity 1598 01:30:48,560 --> 01:30:52,360 Speaker 1: and there's so little public information on renaissance Um, the 1599 01:30:52,439 --> 01:30:54,800 Speaker 1: Jim Simon's book is really quite fun. Thank you. I'm 1600 01:30:54,840 --> 01:30:57,000 Speaker 1: totally picking those two up. Can I tell you? I 1601 01:30:57,080 --> 01:31:00,240 Speaker 1: know that the Simon's book is just gonna go crazy 1602 01:31:00,400 --> 01:31:02,760 Speaker 1: only because it's, uh, it's a black box. No one 1603 01:31:02,800 --> 01:31:06,800 Speaker 1: knows what goes on and post election um everything that 1604 01:31:06,920 --> 01:31:11,320 Speaker 1: happened with them, Uh Simon's partner who who had such 1605 01:31:11,360 --> 01:31:17,000 Speaker 1: an impact on the Trump candidacy. That that's the I 1606 01:31:17,080 --> 01:31:18,600 Speaker 1: just see that book is blowing up. I could be 1607 01:31:18,640 --> 01:31:21,639 Speaker 1: completely wrong and what I'm interested in very often other 1608 01:31:21,640 --> 01:31:24,080 Speaker 1: people aren't. But I think you would, really, you especially 1609 01:31:24,120 --> 01:31:27,160 Speaker 1: would really appreciate both of those done. I'm totally reading them. 1610 01:31:27,240 --> 01:31:30,080 Speaker 1: Next question, tell us about a time you failed and 1611 01:31:30,120 --> 01:31:35,200 Speaker 1: what you learned from the experience. So I'm going to 1612 01:31:35,360 --> 01:31:38,720 Speaker 1: cite something that happened early on in my career, like 1613 01:31:39,520 --> 01:31:43,720 Speaker 1: inconsequential looking back, but I remember it because it was 1614 01:31:43,800 --> 01:31:49,320 Speaker 1: so scary and crazy at the time. Uh. And this 1615 01:31:49,439 --> 01:31:51,800 Speaker 1: was my first as my first job. I was a 1616 01:31:51,840 --> 01:31:59,559 Speaker 1: Goldman UM and I had done this analysis and submitted 1617 01:31:59,600 --> 01:32:04,160 Speaker 1: it and I got pulled into the partner's office who 1618 01:32:04,280 --> 01:32:08,400 Speaker 1: ran my division, and he started reaming me out, like 1619 01:32:08,680 --> 01:32:12,120 Speaker 1: totally carrying on and screaming and yelling, and I'm sitting there, 1620 01:32:12,200 --> 01:32:14,960 Speaker 1: white knuckles, grabbing the chair, wondering what the heck did 1621 01:32:15,000 --> 01:32:17,479 Speaker 1: I do? I worked so hard on this, like, well, 1622 01:32:17,520 --> 01:32:20,160 Speaker 1: how did I screw this up so badly? And I 1623 01:32:20,280 --> 01:32:22,800 Speaker 1: just I'm my head was exploding. I was listening as 1624 01:32:22,840 --> 01:32:24,760 Speaker 1: I said, well, I don't I don't understand what what 1625 01:32:24,880 --> 01:32:27,160 Speaker 1: because it had been submitted to some other partner that 1626 01:32:27,240 --> 01:32:30,519 Speaker 1: was senior than him, so I can't make this up. 1627 01:32:30,680 --> 01:32:34,519 Speaker 1: I had left off the middle initial of the partner 1628 01:32:34,760 --> 01:32:37,920 Speaker 1: who was the ultimate recipient of this analysis. I had 1629 01:32:38,000 --> 01:32:39,439 Speaker 1: left off I think it was an A. I remember 1630 01:32:39,479 --> 01:32:41,160 Speaker 1: to this point, to this day, I remember his name, 1631 01:32:41,160 --> 01:32:43,719 Speaker 1: but I remember the middle initial was an A and 1632 01:32:43,840 --> 01:32:46,439 Speaker 1: it was so insane. Wait, wait, that's what he was 1633 01:32:46,520 --> 01:32:50,080 Speaker 1: upset about. This guy had his higher up. It reamed 1634 01:32:50,120 --> 01:32:53,160 Speaker 1: him out because I attention to details, she left off 1635 01:32:53,200 --> 01:32:59,640 Speaker 1: my middle initial, so I can't see exactly. Um, but 1636 01:33:00,040 --> 01:33:05,000 Speaker 1: on crazy I know, so UM. But you know what 1637 01:33:06,680 --> 01:33:09,680 Speaker 1: I ended up doing was calling the guy who was 1638 01:33:10,520 --> 01:33:14,360 Speaker 1: the middle initial A guy and asking to meet with him, 1639 01:33:14,400 --> 01:33:18,160 Speaker 1: and we ended up having lunch and Um. As it 1640 01:33:18,160 --> 01:33:20,439 Speaker 1: turns out, he wasn't nearly as upset as I think 1641 01:33:20,479 --> 01:33:22,080 Speaker 1: the guy who called me into his office was just 1642 01:33:22,120 --> 01:33:25,599 Speaker 1: having a bad day or you know, whatever the case was. Um, 1643 01:33:25,600 --> 01:33:28,479 Speaker 1: but it it taught me about dealing with things head 1644 01:33:28,520 --> 01:33:32,000 Speaker 1: on and not letting someone else speak for me, um 1645 01:33:32,080 --> 01:33:37,599 Speaker 1: and uh and diffusing the situation um again by just 1646 01:33:37,680 --> 01:33:40,960 Speaker 1: having a candid conversation, you know, sort of person to 1647 01:33:41,080 --> 01:33:45,840 Speaker 1: person and so UM it was. You know, it stuck 1648 01:33:45,880 --> 01:33:49,840 Speaker 1: with me because I it was a ballsy move, but 1649 01:33:49,880 --> 01:33:52,280 Speaker 1: it ended up okay as a result. Quite quite interesting. 1650 01:33:52,520 --> 01:33:53,920 Speaker 1: What do you do for fun? What do you do 1651 01:33:54,000 --> 01:33:57,160 Speaker 1: when you're not um up to your elbows in the 1652 01:33:57,240 --> 01:34:01,360 Speaker 1: hedge fun industry? So I've discovered inner athlete in the 1653 01:34:01,439 --> 01:34:03,960 Speaker 1: last few years. I you know, growing up in New York, 1654 01:34:04,200 --> 01:34:07,040 Speaker 1: I uh, I don't know. I didn't like I went 1655 01:34:07,080 --> 01:34:09,000 Speaker 1: to Stuybison. It wasn't like I was. I wasn't a 1656 01:34:09,000 --> 01:34:11,320 Speaker 1: big sports person. I took ballet that was about as 1657 01:34:11,320 --> 01:34:16,200 Speaker 1: athletic as I as I was. UM. So I found 1658 01:34:16,280 --> 01:34:19,479 Speaker 1: that I love cycling. Go on all these cycling trips 1659 01:34:19,520 --> 01:34:22,800 Speaker 1: now like all over the world. I have a buddy 1660 01:34:22,800 --> 01:34:26,439 Speaker 1: who does that. They have a Chase van and they 1661 01:34:26,880 --> 01:34:29,080 Speaker 1: they went through Italy, they went through So I do 1662 01:34:29,240 --> 01:34:31,439 Speaker 1: this in style. I'm not like you know, I mean, 1663 01:34:31,640 --> 01:34:33,800 Speaker 1: so there is a van that follows us. We stay 1664 01:34:33,840 --> 01:34:38,400 Speaker 1: in phenomenal places. We eat crazy copious amounts of food 1665 01:34:38,439 --> 01:34:44,040 Speaker 1: because we can. We're cycling fifty six. You see stuff 1666 01:34:44,080 --> 01:34:46,240 Speaker 1: you would never see as a tourist, you know, you 1667 01:34:46,280 --> 01:34:49,840 Speaker 1: really and we picked places that are just that are 1668 01:34:49,880 --> 01:34:52,240 Speaker 1: like you know, they're beautiful to cycle. Where have you 1669 01:34:52,280 --> 01:34:59,080 Speaker 1: give us a few names? Provence, Croatia, uh, other parts 1670 01:34:59,080 --> 01:35:03,560 Speaker 1: of France. Um which is off the coast of LaRochelle. 1671 01:35:03,640 --> 01:35:13,760 Speaker 1: It's kind of like the Hampton's of Paris, Umu, Costa Rica. Yeah, 1672 01:35:13,800 --> 01:35:17,280 Speaker 1: that that sounds fascinating. Let me ask you UM this 1673 01:35:17,360 --> 01:35:20,519 Speaker 1: question about the industry. What are you most optimistic and 1674 01:35:20,560 --> 01:35:26,719 Speaker 1: most pessimistic about the world of finance. So I think 1675 01:35:26,920 --> 01:35:29,760 Speaker 1: that this this shakeout is going to be for the better, 1676 01:35:30,040 --> 01:35:33,760 Speaker 1: because I really think the industry has gotten tagged with 1677 01:35:33,920 --> 01:35:37,240 Speaker 1: the poor performance of the majority of hedge funds and 1678 01:35:37,360 --> 01:35:41,439 Speaker 1: if they go away UM or, then I think what 1679 01:35:41,520 --> 01:35:44,439 Speaker 1: we're left with are the guys that are actually really 1680 01:35:44,479 --> 01:35:49,799 Speaker 1: delivering on um a business model that works for LPs. 1681 01:35:49,880 --> 01:35:51,800 Speaker 1: And so I'm I'm as much as this is a 1682 01:35:51,840 --> 01:35:54,040 Speaker 1: painful moment in time for a lot of funds. I 1683 01:35:54,040 --> 01:35:57,040 Speaker 1: think the shakeout will happen the way it's supposed to. 1684 01:35:57,400 --> 01:36:00,400 Speaker 1: Before we get to the pessimistic I meant to to 1685 01:36:00,600 --> 01:36:04,760 Speaker 1: quote you something from Jim Chanos who said thirty years 1686 01:36:04,760 --> 01:36:07,080 Speaker 1: ago there were a hundred hedge funds. They all created alpha. 1687 01:36:07,439 --> 01:36:09,960 Speaker 1: Now this eleven thousand hedge funds, and it's those same 1688 01:36:10,040 --> 01:36:12,760 Speaker 1: hundreds that are creating the alpha. Is that a fair 1689 01:36:12,800 --> 01:36:15,519 Speaker 1: statement or you Now I don't I don't think that's true, 1690 01:36:15,640 --> 01:36:18,519 Speaker 1: or you wouldn't see funds again like Eating Perry and 1691 01:36:18,600 --> 01:36:21,360 Speaker 1: I mean sorry, Eating Park and Perry going out of business, 1692 01:36:22,000 --> 01:36:24,479 Speaker 1: or High Fields closing its doors or Blue Ridge closing 1693 01:36:24,479 --> 01:36:26,559 Speaker 1: its stores. Those two were by choice. The first two 1694 01:36:27,040 --> 01:36:30,759 Speaker 1: we're you know, I'm not sure they were. UM and 1695 01:36:30,760 --> 01:36:33,120 Speaker 1: and again all those funds that I mentioned that are 1696 01:36:33,160 --> 01:36:36,080 Speaker 1: now shells of their former selves. Right, we talked about 1697 01:36:36,160 --> 01:36:39,200 Speaker 1: the A U M drops of funds like green Light 1698 01:36:39,280 --> 01:36:42,000 Speaker 1: and Corvax and Discovery and fir Tree. So those that's 1699 01:36:42,000 --> 01:36:46,080 Speaker 1: not indicative of funds that have delivered great performance for 1700 01:36:46,080 --> 01:36:48,919 Speaker 1: the past four or five years. Again this year exclusion. 1701 01:36:49,160 --> 01:36:51,679 Speaker 1: So I don't agree with that. UM. I think now 1702 01:36:52,040 --> 01:36:57,439 Speaker 1: what what UM is the differentiator? Are really funds that 1703 01:36:57,560 --> 01:37:01,519 Speaker 1: have set up an infrastructure that bestows competitive advantage to 1704 01:37:01,600 --> 01:37:04,400 Speaker 1: their people. So what sort of advice would you give 1705 01:37:04,439 --> 01:37:07,559 Speaker 1: to a recent college grad who was interested in going 1706 01:37:07,600 --> 01:37:11,680 Speaker 1: into finance. I think they need to They need to 1707 01:37:11,800 --> 01:37:15,920 Speaker 1: understand whether it's finance, whether it's investment banking, or it's 1708 01:37:15,920 --> 01:37:18,240 Speaker 1: going directly to a hedge fund or really my advice 1709 01:37:18,280 --> 01:37:22,440 Speaker 1: would be no different to whether it's consulting anything. They 1710 01:37:22,680 --> 01:37:25,760 Speaker 1: need to be prepared to work harder than everybody else 1711 01:37:25,800 --> 01:37:28,080 Speaker 1: if they wanted differentiate themselves. And I tell this to 1712 01:37:28,160 --> 01:37:30,719 Speaker 1: my son all the time. Everyone thinks they work hard. 1713 01:37:31,080 --> 01:37:33,360 Speaker 1: The truth is is you and I know Barry, most 1714 01:37:33,360 --> 01:37:36,120 Speaker 1: people don't actually work that hard. And I think, particularly 1715 01:37:36,120 --> 01:37:40,800 Speaker 1: with millennial millennials, UM, they I don't think people these 1716 01:37:40,880 --> 01:37:43,360 Speaker 1: days we interview young kids from Goldman even to join 1717 01:37:43,439 --> 01:37:45,920 Speaker 1: our firm, to my firm, they're not working the way 1718 01:37:45,960 --> 01:37:47,599 Speaker 1: I used to work when I was a Goldman, And 1719 01:37:47,640 --> 01:37:51,680 Speaker 1: so I working hard that hard in being that overprepared 1720 01:37:51,680 --> 01:37:54,759 Speaker 1: in the beginning is what will set you up for success, 1721 01:37:54,840 --> 01:38:00,080 Speaker 1: because you'll be ready for unexpected um questions. UM. It 1722 01:38:00,120 --> 01:38:02,880 Speaker 1: sets up a work ethic which UM, I think just 1723 01:38:03,160 --> 01:38:05,240 Speaker 1: serves you well in life. You know, and I that's 1724 01:38:05,360 --> 01:38:07,880 Speaker 1: that's the ethos I live by still to this day. 1725 01:38:08,120 --> 01:38:11,360 Speaker 1: It's the ethos of my firm. It's just it's being 1726 01:38:11,920 --> 01:38:15,519 Speaker 1: paranoid that you're missing something and making sure that every 1727 01:38:15,600 --> 01:38:19,320 Speaker 1: last stone is uncovered. I've read certain coaches say that 1728 01:38:19,479 --> 01:38:22,240 Speaker 1: given a choice between hard work and talent, I'll take 1729 01:38:22,280 --> 01:38:25,439 Speaker 1: the hard work. Quite interesting, and our final question, what 1730 01:38:25,520 --> 01:38:28,719 Speaker 1: do you know about the world of alternatives and talents 1731 01:38:29,160 --> 01:38:32,400 Speaker 1: and recruitment today that you wish you knew twenty plus 1732 01:38:32,520 --> 01:38:37,160 Speaker 1: years ago? So I think there's a special cocktail of 1733 01:38:37,520 --> 01:38:42,320 Speaker 1: art and science that goes into what makes the best people. 1734 01:38:43,080 --> 01:38:45,280 Speaker 1: And when I look at the people I thought were 1735 01:38:45,320 --> 01:38:48,240 Speaker 1: good fifteen twenty years ago, you know, when I when 1736 01:38:48,240 --> 01:38:50,280 Speaker 1: I see them now, a lot of these people, I'm like, 1737 01:38:50,520 --> 01:38:54,599 Speaker 1: what was I thinking? It's just what? So our judgment 1738 01:38:54,680 --> 01:38:57,960 Speaker 1: has certainly become a lot more refined as we've seen 1739 01:38:58,000 --> 01:39:01,559 Speaker 1: people evolved through different markets. But there are certain things 1740 01:39:01,760 --> 01:39:04,320 Speaker 1: that are common traits. Is what we've distilled from that 1741 01:39:04,320 --> 01:39:06,439 Speaker 1: that I know now that I wish I knew then. 1742 01:39:06,840 --> 01:39:10,000 Speaker 1: So those fall into two categories science and art. On 1743 01:39:10,040 --> 01:39:15,080 Speaker 1: the science front, what we're looking for is a defined process. 1744 01:39:15,600 --> 01:39:18,839 Speaker 1: We're looking for people who come at things through systematic research, 1745 01:39:19,000 --> 01:39:23,680 Speaker 1: through systematic um independent research, not through talking to their 1746 01:39:23,720 --> 01:39:27,320 Speaker 1: hedge fund buddies. We're looking for velocity of ideas. I 1747 01:39:27,400 --> 01:39:29,960 Speaker 1: want somebody who's constantly thinking out of the box and 1748 01:39:30,040 --> 01:39:33,120 Speaker 1: coming up with things, regardless of how tough it. Maybe. 1749 01:39:33,479 --> 01:39:38,559 Speaker 1: I want somebody who can UM run a scale business. 1750 01:39:38,680 --> 01:39:41,360 Speaker 1: You know, being able to deploy ten million dollars is 1751 01:39:41,360 --> 01:39:43,519 Speaker 1: different than a hundred, is different than a billion. For 1752 01:39:43,640 --> 01:39:46,120 Speaker 1: our clients, I need the guy who can deploy a 1753 01:39:46,120 --> 01:39:49,360 Speaker 1: billion dollars successfully and generate consistent alpha over time. And 1754 01:39:49,360 --> 01:39:51,920 Speaker 1: that goes to my last point on science. I want 1755 01:39:51,960 --> 01:39:54,479 Speaker 1: somebody who can be effective in different kinds of markets. 1756 01:39:54,560 --> 01:39:56,920 Speaker 1: Isn't just a one trick pony. So that's on that's 1757 01:39:56,920 --> 01:39:59,479 Speaker 1: a that's a toll order. That's on the science front. 1758 01:39:59,479 --> 01:40:02,639 Speaker 1: But you can have of people who have great science 1759 01:40:02,720 --> 01:40:05,280 Speaker 1: and no art and can't really generate P and L 1760 01:40:06,080 --> 01:40:09,600 Speaker 1: and on the and art is you know, it's a 1761 01:40:10,360 --> 01:40:12,519 Speaker 1: I think it's a little bit. You know it when 1762 01:40:12,560 --> 01:40:15,920 Speaker 1: you see it, certainly for us, And I'm not sure 1763 01:40:16,000 --> 01:40:18,800 Speaker 1: how much of it UM can really be taught. I 1764 01:40:18,840 --> 01:40:22,040 Speaker 1: don't think you learned this stuff that Wharton or it's 1765 01:40:22,040 --> 01:40:24,080 Speaker 1: hard to It's just it's there's a d N a 1766 01:40:24,200 --> 01:40:27,800 Speaker 1: composition to it, and it comes to passion. UM. I 1767 01:40:27,840 --> 01:40:29,759 Speaker 1: know it when I see it. I know somebody who's 1768 01:40:29,920 --> 01:40:34,040 Speaker 1: really into their subject matter. You can't fake that um 1769 01:40:34,160 --> 01:40:39,920 Speaker 1: intensity uh an intense desire to learn and grow. We 1770 01:40:39,920 --> 01:40:44,519 Speaker 1: spoke about this earlier, humility, um arrogance as a killer 1771 01:40:44,680 --> 01:40:47,439 Speaker 1: in this industry. It's what it's what kills performance. You 1772 01:40:47,520 --> 01:40:49,280 Speaker 1: have to be willing to pivot and come at things 1773 01:40:49,280 --> 01:40:53,360 Speaker 1: differently and evolve. And I think, but I do think 1774 01:40:53,360 --> 01:40:56,160 Speaker 1: the art can be made better if if you're somewhere 1775 01:40:56,200 --> 01:40:58,000 Speaker 1: that can make the science better and gives you the 1776 01:40:58,040 --> 01:41:01,960 Speaker 1: tools to refine your process and comment research more effectively, 1777 01:41:02,479 --> 01:41:06,720 Speaker 1: then you can you can have more confidence in terms 1778 01:41:06,760 --> 01:41:10,320 Speaker 1: of relying on things like your non intellectual judgment and 1779 01:41:10,360 --> 01:41:12,640 Speaker 1: your willingness to take risk and be wrong. So I 1780 01:41:12,680 --> 01:41:15,479 Speaker 1: do think they're all those pieces fit together, and it's 1781 01:41:15,479 --> 01:41:18,800 Speaker 1: about being somewhere which can really help you develop the 1782 01:41:18,920 --> 01:41:23,040 Speaker 1: right foundation. Quite quite fascinating. Thank you Alanna for being 1783 01:41:23,080 --> 01:41:25,640 Speaker 1: so generous with your time. We have been speaking with 1784 01:41:25,720 --> 01:41:29,880 Speaker 1: Alana Weinstein of I d W Group. If you enjoy 1785 01:41:29,920 --> 01:41:31,920 Speaker 1: this conversation, we'll be sure to look up an inch 1786 01:41:32,000 --> 01:41:34,599 Speaker 1: or down an inch on Apple iTunes and you could 1787 01:41:34,600 --> 01:41:37,760 Speaker 1: see any of the previous three hundred or so such 1788 01:41:37,800 --> 01:41:41,080 Speaker 1: conversations we've had over the past five years. We love 1789 01:41:41,120 --> 01:41:44,760 Speaker 1: your comments, feedback and suggestions right to us at m 1790 01:41:44,760 --> 01:41:48,320 Speaker 1: IB podcast at Bloomberg dot net. If you're still here, 1791 01:41:49,000 --> 01:41:51,600 Speaker 1: uh this deep into the conversation, then you must have 1792 01:41:51,720 --> 01:41:54,680 Speaker 1: enjoyed it. Give us a lovely review on Apple iTunes. 1793 01:41:55,240 --> 01:41:58,439 Speaker 1: Check out my weekly column on Bloomberg dot com. Sign 1794 01:41:58,520 --> 01:42:02,280 Speaker 1: up from my daily reads at Ritholtz dot com. I 1795 01:42:02,360 --> 01:42:04,519 Speaker 1: would be remiss if I did not thank the crack 1796 01:42:04,600 --> 01:42:08,719 Speaker 1: staff that helps put this conversation together each week. Michael 1797 01:42:08,720 --> 01:42:12,839 Speaker 1: Boyle is my producer. Attica Valbrand is our project manager. 1798 01:42:13,000 --> 01:42:16,879 Speaker 1: Michael Batnick is my head of research. I'm Barry Ritolts. 1799 01:42:17,040 --> 01:42:20,479 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Masters in Business on Bloomberg Radio.