Joe Nocera tells the story of a hedge fund manager who has decided to return his investors’ funds and pursue a different career path, one that isn’t focused on compensation alone.
From the New York Times:
Two weeks from now, a seven-year-old hedge fund called Alson Capital Partners will return around $800 million to its investors, and shut its doors for good…the fund was founded and managed by Neil Barsky.
Barsky ran a long/short fund and considered himself an old-fashioned stockpicker. Unfortunately, in our current era, Barsky found himself out of place as more and more emphasis is being put on macrotrends and weekly performance reporting (instead of quarterly).
Barsky is a class act. 2008 was a tough year for his fund, as it was for many other funds. Rather than trudging along in a new, unfamiliar climate, he made the decision to wind down on his own terms. He’s made some money, but he no longer believes he has the mindset to compete each day on behalf of his investors.
His exit is not only based on a desire to walk away from the relentless stress of the job; he’s also come around to a realization that there are other things that people of intellect and skill could be doing with their lives.
Although Mr. Barsky has clearly gotten rich, he was surprisingly clear-eyed about the societal imbalances of hedge fund mania. The industry, he told me, “was part of this huge trend towards the celebration of wealth. Hedge fund managers overearned. It just became too easy. There has been a massive misallocation of human resources. I have so many smart guys here who were making seven figures. And I think it is a fair question to ask: what would they have been doing in 1948 — going into the foreign service? If Obama does anything, the best thing he could do is change a generation’s values.”
I hope Barsky is able to find what he’s looking for, a place to put his talents and insight to work for a broader societal benefit.
Congratulations for going out for the right reasons, Neil.
Interesting, I’ve been seeing stories like these more and more as we go along. Little bit different than the Andrew Lahde letter that first popped up towards the front-end of the crisis, flipping out about the markets and all kinds of different things.
Definitely refreshing to see people make this decision and hopefully it will begin a cycle of talent reallocation to generate new industries and innovation.
Interesting, I’ve been seeing stories like these more and more as we go along. Little bit different than the Andrew Lahde letter that first popped up towards the front-end of the crisis, flipping out about the markets and all kinds of different things.
Definitely refreshing to see people make this decision and hopefully it will begin a cycle of talent reallocation to generate new industries and innovation.
Interesting, I’ve been seeing stories like these more and more as we go along. Little bit different than the Andrew Lahde letter that first popped up towards the front-end of the crisis, flipping out about the markets and all kinds of different things.
Definitely refreshing to see people make this decision and hopefully it will begin a cycle of talent reallocation to generate new industries and innovation.
Jay, I couldn’t agree more…I’ve heard the philosophical question debated about whether or not, if you were to build a new society from scratch, you would want the best and bightest people off in a corner trading amongst themselves.
My answer to that question is of course not, so I stories like this positively.
Jay, I couldn’t agree more…I’ve heard the philosophical question debated about whether or not, if you were to build a new society from scratch, you would want the best and bightest people off in a corner trading amongst themselves.
My answer to that question is of course not, so I stories like this positively.
Jay, I couldn’t agree more…I’ve heard the philosophical question debated about whether or not, if you were to build a new society from scratch, you would want the best and bightest people off in a corner trading amongst themselves.
My answer to that question is of course not, so I stories like this positively.
This is so interesting, and for me – rather timely. I am on a path, now 5+ years running, also a change of direction. But his story is so valuable, to me, and to I’m sure many others. It’s not that making money and being comfortable is not important. It is the balance of those with all the other attributes that make up one’s repertoire of life. Mr. Barsky has identified an opportunity and acted. That in itself is worthy and takes courage – managing a billion dollar hedge fund that you founded is not necessarily a bad place to be. Mr. Barsky didn’t like his now. He got out. As in the world of professional traders, the only moment that is really important is the now. And the perception of that moment. Mr. Barsky is creating another perception of the world for himself – he referred to it as he still had something left. He is actively going out and seeking, learning, and gaining new perspective. Kudos!
This is so interesting, and for me – rather timely. I am on a path, now 5+ years running, also a change of direction. But his story is so valuable, to me, and to I’m sure many others. It’s not that making money and being comfortable is not important. It is the balance of those with all the other attributes that make up one’s repertoire of life. Mr. Barsky has identified an opportunity and acted. That in itself is worthy and takes courage – managing a billion dollar hedge fund that you founded is not necessarily a bad place to be. Mr. Barsky didn’t like his now. He got out. As in the world of professional traders, the only moment that is really important is the now. And the perception of that moment. Mr. Barsky is creating another perception of the world for himself – he referred to it as he still had something left. He is actively going out and seeking, learning, and gaining new perspective. Kudos!
This is so interesting, and for me – rather timely. I am on a path, now 5+ years running, also a change of direction. But his story is so valuable, to me, and to I’m sure many others. It’s not that making money and being comfortable is not important. It is the balance of those with all the other attributes that make up one’s repertoire of life. Mr. Barsky has identified an opportunity and acted. That in itself is worthy and takes courage – managing a billion dollar hedge fund that you founded is not necessarily a bad place to be. Mr. Barsky didn’t like his now. He got out. As in the world of professional traders, the only moment that is really important is the now. And the perception of that moment. Mr. Barsky is creating another perception of the world for himself – he referred to it as he still had something left. He is actively going out and seeking, learning, and gaining new perspective. Kudos!
so was adolph hitler and joseph stalin. hedge funds are very destructive to society and are little more than theft and market manipulation vehicles. stalin was said to be very charming as well.
so was adolph hitler and joseph stalin. hedge funds are very destructive to society and are little more than theft and market manipulation vehicles. stalin was said to be very charming as well.
so was adolph hitler and joseph stalin. hedge funds are very destructive to society and are little more than theft and market manipulation vehicles. stalin was said to be very charming as well.
I’m a New York City-based financial advisor at Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. I help people invest and manage portfolios for them. For disclosure information please see here.
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Interesting, I’ve been seeing stories like these more and more as we go along. Little bit different than the Andrew Lahde letter that first popped up towards the front-end of the crisis, flipping out about the markets and all kinds of different things.
Definitely refreshing to see people make this decision and hopefully it will begin a cycle of talent reallocation to generate new industries and innovation.
Jay
Interesting, I’ve been seeing stories like these more and more as we go along. Little bit different than the Andrew Lahde letter that first popped up towards the front-end of the crisis, flipping out about the markets and all kinds of different things.
Definitely refreshing to see people make this decision and hopefully it will begin a cycle of talent reallocation to generate new industries and innovation.
Jay
Interesting, I’ve been seeing stories like these more and more as we go along. Little bit different than the Andrew Lahde letter that first popped up towards the front-end of the crisis, flipping out about the markets and all kinds of different things.
Definitely refreshing to see people make this decision and hopefully it will begin a cycle of talent reallocation to generate new industries and innovation.
Jay
Jay, I couldn’t agree more…I’ve heard the philosophical question debated about whether or not, if you were to build a new society from scratch, you would want the best and bightest people off in a corner trading amongst themselves.
My answer to that question is of course not, so I stories like this positively.
Thanks for reading
Jay, I couldn’t agree more…I’ve heard the philosophical question debated about whether or not, if you were to build a new society from scratch, you would want the best and bightest people off in a corner trading amongst themselves.
My answer to that question is of course not, so I stories like this positively.
Thanks for reading
Jay, I couldn’t agree more…I’ve heard the philosophical question debated about whether or not, if you were to build a new society from scratch, you would want the best and bightest people off in a corner trading amongst themselves.
My answer to that question is of course not, so I stories like this positively.
Thanks for reading
This is so interesting, and for me – rather timely. I am on a path, now 5+ years running, also a change of direction. But his story is so valuable, to me, and to I’m sure many others. It’s not that making money and being comfortable is not important. It is the balance of those with all the other attributes that make up one’s repertoire of life. Mr. Barsky has identified an opportunity and acted. That in itself is worthy and takes courage – managing a billion dollar hedge fund that you founded is not necessarily a bad place to be. Mr. Barsky didn’t like his now. He got out. As in the world of professional traders, the only moment that is really important is the now. And the perception of that moment. Mr. Barsky is creating another perception of the world for himself – he referred to it as he still had something left. He is actively going out and seeking, learning, and gaining new perspective. Kudos!
This is so interesting, and for me – rather timely. I am on a path, now 5+ years running, also a change of direction. But his story is so valuable, to me, and to I’m sure many others. It’s not that making money and being comfortable is not important. It is the balance of those with all the other attributes that make up one’s repertoire of life. Mr. Barsky has identified an opportunity and acted. That in itself is worthy and takes courage – managing a billion dollar hedge fund that you founded is not necessarily a bad place to be. Mr. Barsky didn’t like his now. He got out. As in the world of professional traders, the only moment that is really important is the now. And the perception of that moment. Mr. Barsky is creating another perception of the world for himself – he referred to it as he still had something left. He is actively going out and seeking, learning, and gaining new perspective. Kudos!
This is so interesting, and for me – rather timely. I am on a path, now 5+ years running, also a change of direction. But his story is so valuable, to me, and to I’m sure many others. It’s not that making money and being comfortable is not important. It is the balance of those with all the other attributes that make up one’s repertoire of life. Mr. Barsky has identified an opportunity and acted. That in itself is worthy and takes courage – managing a billion dollar hedge fund that you founded is not necessarily a bad place to be. Mr. Barsky didn’t like his now. He got out. As in the world of professional traders, the only moment that is really important is the now. And the perception of that moment. Mr. Barsky is creating another perception of the world for himself – he referred to it as he still had something left. He is actively going out and seeking, learning, and gaining new perspective. Kudos!
so was adolph hitler and joseph stalin. hedge funds are very destructive to society and are little more than theft and market manipulation vehicles. stalin was said to be very charming as well.
so was adolph hitler and joseph stalin. hedge funds are very destructive to society and are little more than theft and market manipulation vehicles. stalin was said to be very charming as well.
so was adolph hitler and joseph stalin. hedge funds are very destructive to society and are little more than theft and market manipulation vehicles. stalin was said to be very charming as well.
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