Billionaire investor Julian Robert-son closed the doors of Tiger Management LLC early last year after losing half his money in 18 months. This year, his fund's alumni have vindicated his brand of stock picking.
Managers who came out of Tiger in the last few years are posting some of the best returns among stock hedge funds, as falling shares make value investing -- buying shares seen as inexpensive relative to the market -- profitable again. Two of them, Andreas Halvorsen and Philippe Laffont, have even made money so far this month as the market's slump deepened following last week's terrorist attacks on the US.
"Julian tried to instill the fact that if you are properly hedged and if you pick the right stocks, long and short, you should be able to make money no matter what the stock market does,'' said Anson Beard, who left Tiger last year and started Archimedes Capital Partners in New York.
Halvorsen, Laffont, Rob Ellis and Tom Brown -- Tiger "cubs" as Robertson calls his progeny -- have posted gains of as much as 38 percent this year through Sept. 14, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost more than 16 percent in that time.
Equity hedge funds dropped 3.7 percent, on average, through August, according to the CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund index.
The best-performing alumnus is Halvorsen, who was head of equities at Tiger, and formed the US$2.5 billion Viking Global Investors LP in 1999.
His fund climbed 38 percent after fees through Sept. 14, and he was up about 1 percent this month, investors said.
His biggest holdings as of June 30 were Sprint Corp's PCS unit, up 15 percent, Ross Stores Inc, up 53 percent, and AT&T Corp, up 24 percent, according to Security and Exchange Commission filings.
Laffont, who started Coatue Capital Management LLC in 1999, has returned 24.3 percent through Sept. 19 for his US$160 million firm that invests in technology, media and telecommunications companies, investors said. His fund has climbed almost 4 percent so far this month.
Among his largest holdings at the end of June, according to SEC filings, were AT&T Corp, Oracle Corp, down 63 percent, and Peregrine Systems Inc, down 27 percent.
Rob Ellis, who formed Catequil Asset Management last year, has returned 17 percent before fees, down from 18 percent at the end of August, investors said.
Ellis, who was head of Tiger's commodities trading desk, invests US$475 million in commodities-related stocks and derivatives.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
RSS