The Hedge Fund Candidate

I told you a few months back that I’m Team Romney for the election this fall.  Not because I agree with everything he says or has said but because I view myself as a pragmatist and I view Romney as being the most pragmatic in the field.  I really don’t give a f*ck about his opinions on social issues but I find myself hoping his knowledge of how the economy and the business world works can help the country.

I should also mention that he’s probably the most presidential looking and acting of the GOP candidates – superficial, yes, but for some reason that matters to me.

It should also be noted that Romney is the Hedge Fund Candidate as well.  This should come as no surprise – there’ll be no carried interest income tax shenanigans out of a Romney administration.  He’s looked at by the hedgies as “one of us, someone we can do business with.”

Here’s Fortune:

As he gears up for the final stretch in the marathon that is the Republican nomination campaign, Mitt Romney has no shortage of eminent financiers to call on — for advice or money. Billionaire hedge fund titans such as Julian Robertson of Tiger Management, Louis Bacon of Moore Capital, and John Paulson of Paulson & Co. have all lined up behind the front-runner. Steve Schwarzman, the co-founder of private equity giant Blackstone (BX), recently held a high-level fundraiser for Romney at his Park Avenue apartment. Romney’s old friends at Bain Capital, the buyout firm he co-founded in 1984, have also been generous in their support. But perhaps none of Romney’s Wall Street supporters will be more crucial to the candidate’s success, or have more influence on his thinking, than Paul Singer.

The article jumps from Romney and focuses heavily on Paul Singer (of Elliot Associates) and it’s truly a fascinating look at the fund manager and his politics.

Keep Reading:

Mitt Romney’s hedge fund kingmaker (Fortune)