A winning hedge fund manager’s bitter farewell letter
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The most entertaining reading on the Web today may be the farewell letter from former Santa Monica hedge fund manager Andrew Lahde, who famously scored huge gains last year by correctly betting on the meltdown in subprime mortgage-backed securities.
The letter to clients begins with a vicious attack on the hedge fund industry itself and the U.S. ‘aristocracy,’ and ends with a plea for using hemp as an ‘alternative food and energy source.’
Lahde, 37, nailed the subprime collapse, and reaped a reported 866% one-year return on his call.
But after that brilliant move, he shunned publicity. Last month, he said he was returning clients’ money and leaving the fund business because he considered the risks in the financial system to be extreme.
In his farewell letter, obtained by Portfolio.com, Lahde writes:
‘Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their BlackBerries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. . . . I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the BlackBerry away and enjoy life.’
Read the entire letter here.