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THE Hedge Fund Thread (merged)

Discussions about the economic and financial ramifications of PEAK OIL

Re: Florida hedge fund manager disappears. The next Madoff?

Unread postby bratticus » Sun 18 Jan 2009, 08:48:17

Florida financial manager goes missing

Myanmar News.Net
Sunday 18th January, 2009

A Florida hedge-fund manager suspected of defrauding his clients has disappeared, leaving a suicide note.

Arthur Nadel, a well known philanthropist within the Jewish community, is suspected of being involved in a business which exploited clients in the Viking, Valhalla and Scoop hedge funds.

His partners have said they had become aware of an extremely serious situation late last week, suggesting that the funds may have virtually no remaining value.

As recently as November, clients were told their investments were up 8 percent.
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Re: Another hedge fund ponzi scheme uncovered

Unread postby smallpoxgirl » Mon 19 Jan 2009, 03:13:26

{Merged by SPG}
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Re: Another hedge fund ponzi scheme uncovered

Unread postby manu » Mon 19 Jan 2009, 07:08:38

Looks like the scam is: Find an old guy somewhere, make him the CEO, do the ponzi scheme for awhile, then throw him out the window.
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Re: Another hedge fund ponzi scheme uncovered

Unread postby bratticus » Mon 19 Jan 2009, 08:24:39

manu wrote:Looks like the scam is: Find an old guy somewhere, make him the CEO, do the ponzi scheme for awhile, then throw him out the window.


I'm afraid you are too kind.
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Re: Another hedge fund ponzi scheme uncovered

Unread postby Sixstrings » Tue 20 Jan 2009, 02:21:56

Looks like the scam is: Find an old guy somewhere, make him the CEO, do the ponzi scheme for awhile, then throw him out the window.


Makes one wonder. The Florida case especially.. we're expected to believe that a SEVENTY-SIX year old man ran a $350 million ponzi, did everything himself, forged all transactions all by himself and so well that his accountant was fooled. Uh-huh. Oh ya, and now this elderly man is an international fugitive. But he did it all himself, everyone else was just an employee -- just like Madoff.
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Re: Another hedge fund ponzi scheme uncovered

Unread postby manu » Wed 21 Jan 2009, 01:22:41

Sixstrings wrote:
Looks like the scam is: Find an old guy somewhere, make him the CEO, do the ponzi scheme for awhile, then throw him out the window.


Makes one wonder. The Florida case especially.. we're expected to believe that a SEVENTY-SIX year old man ran a $350 million ponzi, did everything himself, forged all transactions all by himself and so well that his accountant was fooled. Uh-huh. Oh ya, and now this elderly man is an international fugitive. But he did it all himself, everyone else was just an employee -- just like Madoff.


Yes, people disappear. He is probably shark sh-t by now.
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Hedge Funds Running for the Fire Exit

Unread postby ReverseEngineer » Mon 09 Feb 2009, 03:34:11

This just hit the NYT
In a move that could force similar changes at other money-losing hedge funds, the well-known fund manager William A. Ackman is cutting his fees and allowing investors to take what is left of their money from one of the funds he manages.

Katy Bar the Door! Tomorrow is going to be NASTY on Wall Street. Bet those Ultra-Shorts Cid! Will Smallpox do a Happy Bear Dance for us? It will be interesting to see just how big a hit these folks will take on the redemptions, and in what form they will take what money is left and try to run. This should be quite entertaining.
Last edited by Ferretlover on Tue 10 Mar 2009, 13:51:42, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Merged with THE Hedge Fund Thread.
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Re: Hedge Funds Running for the Fire Exit

Unread postby jdmartin » Mon 09 Feb 2009, 16:24:20

What was supposed to happen today?

This is the problem with making time-based predictions - most of the time they're wrong.
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The New Paranoia Hedge Funders Bullish On Guns,Gold,Food

Unread postby deMolay » Mon 16 Feb 2009, 21:36:49

The New Paranoia: Hedge-Funders Are Bullish on Gold, Guns, and Inflatable Lifeboats
By Timothy Sohn Published Jan 11, 2009:
During the final months of 2008, as the financial markets imploded, talk on trading desks turned to food and water stockpiles, generators, guns, and high-speed inflatable boats. “The system really was about six hours from failing,” says Gene Lange, a manager at a midtown hedge fund, referring to the week in September when Lehman went bust and AIG had to be bailed out. “When you think about how close we were to the precipice, I don’t think it necessarily makes a guy crazy to prepare for the potential worst-case scenario.”

Preparations, in Lange’s case, include a storeroom in his basement in New Jersey stacked high with enough food, water, diapers, and other necessities to last his family six months; a biometric safe to hold his guns; and a 1985 ex-military Chevy K5 Blazer that runs on diesel and is currently being retrofitted for off-road travel. He has also entertained the idea of putting an inflatable speedboat in a storage unit on the West Side, so he could get off the island quickly, and is currently considering purchasing a remote farm where he could hunker down. “If there’s a financial-system breakdown, it could take a year to reset the system, and in that time, what’s going to happen?” asks Lange. If New York turns into a scene out of I Am Legend, he wants to be ready.

He’s not the only one. In his book Wealth, War, published last year, former Morgan Stanley chief global strategist Barton Biggs advised people to prepare for the possibility of a total breakdown of civil society. A senior analyst whose reports are read at hedge funds all over the city wrote just before Christmas that some of his clients are “so bearish they’ve purchased firearms and safes and are stocking their pantries with soups and canned foods.” This fear is very much reflected in the market—prices of corporate bonds have been so beaten down at various points that they suggest a higher default rate than during the Great Depression. Meanwhile, while the overall gold market has fluctuated, the premium for quarter-ounce gold coins—meaning the difference between the price for gold you can hold in your hand and that for “paper gold,” such as exchange-traded funds—rose to an all-time high of 20 percent. “Gold is transportable, it’s 100 percent liquid, and it’s perfectly divisible in the context of ounces, bars, or coins,” says the head of a California research firm who keeps a supply of it, along with food, water, and guns, on hand. “And most important, there’s no counterparty”—i.e., it’s an investment beholden to no one, and perhaps one of the few assets that will retain value if the financial system collapses.

While it may look like these Wall Streeters are betting on such a collapse, their embrace of survivalism is an outgrowth of their professional habits of mind: Having observed the economy’s shaky high-wire act from their ringside seats, they are trying to manage their risk and “hedge” against a potential fall. “It’s like insurance,” says an investor who has stockpiled MREs and a hand-cranked radio. “And by the time you need it, it’s way too late.” Leave it for others to weep for the collapse of the social order. These guys would prefer to be in a high-speed boat or ex-military vehicle, heading off toward their fully provisioned compounds in pursuit of the ultimate goal: to win the chaos.
Last edited by Ferretlover on Tue 10 Mar 2009, 13:53:05, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Added quote notations; merged with THE Hedge Fund Thread.
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Re: The New Paranoia Hedge Funders Bullish On Guns,Gold,Food

Unread postby idiom » Wed 18 Feb 2009, 06:29:33

"Because the elites would never be stupid enough to cause the system to collapse"
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Re: The New Paranoia Hedge Funders Bullish On Guns,Gold,Food

Unread postby Jotapay » Wed 18 Feb 2009, 16:36:26

Old news. Try and keep up. :wink:

viewtopic.php?t=50022
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Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby crude_intentions » Mon 09 Mar 2009, 17:25:29

link

My understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that when people flee to Gold its for Safety reasons. The fact that Hedge funds, generally the biggest risk takers are going into gold should speak volumes.
Last edited by Ferretlover on Sun 15 Mar 2009, 14:10:40, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Merged with THE Hedge Fund Thread.
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby patience » Mon 09 Mar 2009, 20:30:44

I think the article spells out the reason, i. e., expecting all the fiat currencies to devalue relative to gold and hard goods. Hard goods are okay for little guys like me, but when you are talking megabucks, gold is about the only alternative for hedging devaluation.

On other forums, I've read that gold does best in times of uncertain geopolitical conditions. But it's not bad for hedging currencies, and it looks to me like the world is heading first for currency problems, then that could quickly morph into political problems.
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby bencole » Mon 09 Mar 2009, 20:44:09

Any particular reasons hedge funds are choosing gold over US treasuries?
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 10 Mar 2009, 07:40:52

bencole wrote:Any particular reasons hedge funds are choosing gold over US treasuries?


Because US Treasuries are backed by fiat currency in a country where the "full faith and credit" is falling apart?
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby SeaGypsy » Tue 10 Mar 2009, 08:13:43

I don't want any gold on my boat thanks; it makes the pirates eyes glitter.
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby ColossalContrarian » Tue 10 Mar 2009, 08:55:59

This is a good sign that gold is in a bubble or will be very soon.
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby Revi » Tue 10 Mar 2009, 09:22:18

I think it's a sign that they expect all fiat currencies to tank soon.

They will put their money wherever they can make a profit.

Gold is a long term play.
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby ColossalContrarian » Tue 10 Mar 2009, 09:33:32

Revi wrote:I think it's a sign that they expect all fiat currencies to tank soon.

They will put their money wherever they can make a profit.

Gold is a long term play.


That is an oxymoron. How can you make a profit if all fiat currencies tank?
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Re: Hedge Funds going for the Gold

Unread postby pedalling_faster » Tue 10 Mar 2009, 10:54:36

SeaGypsy wrote:I don't want any gold on my boat thanks; it makes the pirates eyes glitter.


yeah, i'm a little worried about having gold crowns in my mouth and then going into some neighborhoods.
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