hedge fund manager had 866% profit then called it quits. His final letter. NUTS?! - GoFuckYourself.com

ADL Colin · 10-20-2008, 11:41 AM

Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.

Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy.

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. 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. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. 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.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

JP-pornshooter · 10-20-2008, 12:50 PM

why would you say he is nuts?
i think he makes some great points.

sandman! · 10-20-2008, 12:59 PM

this has been posted 2 times allready

LOL

fusionx · 10-20-2008, 01:14 PM

Seems pretty rational to me.

ADL Colin · 10-20-2008, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP-pornshooter

why would you say he is nuts?
i think he makes some great points.

You missed the question mark?

Rorschach · 10-20-2008, 01:33 PM

Sounds like a guy with his head screwed on right!

MaDalton · 10-20-2008, 01:39 PM

sounds like an intelligent guy

AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE · 10-20-2008, 01:48 PM

The guys is a fuckin idiot.

Firstly ya do not call people that made you rich stupid. Secondly you do not make a revolutionary manifesto in a economic rant and tie it down with the miracle of Hemp...

His most valid point in the whole piece was about education and how dumb the people of AIG and such were nothing but rich punks that lacked the education needed. I think everyone pretty much can gather that fact, and it is easily something we can all agree on at this point.

The guy proves he is fucken stoner in broad daylight with his idiotic save the world with Hemp notion. Its a miracle he got rich in the first place believing all that hype shit about Hemp. Hemp is not the end all be all to economic woa's and we are all aware of "The Emperor Wear's No Clothes" already. At least educated people know of it but the whole idea of Hemp solving the worlds problem is a complete falsehood.

Don't get me wrong, I do not oppose Hemp nor do I oppose smoking Marijuana in any manor infact I think everyone needs to toke up, but please when writing a political semi revolutionary rant do not get into the whole Hemp idealogy you lose all credibility in a heartbeat when doing so.

So if this guys story is true he effectively shot himself in the foot told the world to fuck off, good for him, hope he got alot of money saved up because he is officially damaged goods for the rest of his life.

Capitialism does work infact I think it is a perfect system under a working government. However I can definatly agree with him on the fact that Politicians let the Capitalist's go nuts when Government should have been tamping on regulations and checks and balances to our economic sectors. It's clear that the government failed and the Capitalists ran with the bag.

sweetredhead · 10-20-2008, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaDalton

sounds like an intelligent guy

unbelievable, love it

sltr · 10-20-2008, 01:54 PM

let's not leave out that this guy made his money exploiting credit derivitave default swaps or wtf ever they are called.

if anything, he should be going to jail.

NoWhErE · 10-20-2008, 01:58 PM

Agree with him or not, the guy got rich and basically told everyone : Thank you for the money, ciao!

That would make him smarter than the majority of the people. I say let him rant!

- Jesus Christ - · 10-20-2008, 02:03 PM

Q: Why do I care what this guy has to say?
A: I don't

He knows most that return was luck and he wont sustain it longterm so he is bailing... I'm not going to read his manifesto over that.

AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE · 10-20-2008, 02:05 PM

PS: If someone is going to relie on Stoners for a Revolution in America they got another comming. No stoner is going to walk out of the house for a protest or revolt when they got buds sitting on the table.

D Ghost · 10-20-2008, 02:16 PM

awesome letter!

sltr · 10-20-2008, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlienQ

PS: If someone is going to relie on Stoners for a Revolution in America they got another comming. No stoner is going to walk out of the house for a protest or revolt when they got buds sitting on the table.

especially that socal kill kill! shit gets better every 2 weeks!

10-20-2008, 11:41 AM	#1
ADL Colin Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Tube Titans, USA Posts: 11,929	hedge fund manager had 866% profit then called it quits. His final letter. NUTS?! Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse. Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy. Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye. Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America. There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are. I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. 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. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. 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. So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job. I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established. On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken. Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient. With that I say good-bye and good luck. All the best, Andrew Lahde __________________ Adult Date Link - $50 PPS starting NOW! -- good and JUICY! skype = "adultdatelink"

10-20-2008, 12:59 PM	#3
sandman! Icq: 14420613 Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: chicago Posts: 15,432	this has been posted 2 times allready LOL __________________ Need WebHosting ? Email me for some great deals [email protected]

10-20-2008, 01:39 PM	#7
MaDalton I am Amazing Content! Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 39,822	sounds like an intelligent guy __________________ AmazingContent.com - providing only the best content and service since 2003 Monetize your content on Veegaz.com - one of Germanies largest VOD sites Got German traffic? We convert it into money for you! Skype: madalton02826 - Email: oltecconsult [at] gmail [dot] com

10-20-2008, 01:48 PM	#8
AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE best designer on GFY Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IALIEN.COM - High Definition Video and Photographic Productions -ICQ 78943384 Posts: 30,307	The guys is a fuckin idiot. Firstly ya do not call people that made you rich stupid. Secondly you do not make a revolutionary manifesto in a economic rant and tie it down with the miracle of Hemp... His most valid point in the whole piece was about education and how dumb the people of AIG and such were nothing but rich punks that lacked the education needed. I think everyone pretty much can gather that fact, and it is easily something we can all agree on at this point. The guy proves he is fucken stoner in broad daylight with his idiotic save the world with Hemp notion. Its a miracle he got rich in the first place believing all that hype shit about Hemp. Hemp is not the end all be all to economic woa's and we are all aware of "The Emperor Wear's No Clothes" already. At least educated people know of it but the whole idea of Hemp solving the worlds problem is a complete falsehood. Don't get me wrong, I do not oppose Hemp nor do I oppose smoking Marijuana in any manor infact I think everyone needs to toke up, but please when writing a political semi revolutionary rant do not get into the whole Hemp idealogy you lose all credibility in a heartbeat when doing so. So if this guys story is true he effectively shot himself in the foot told the world to fuck off, good for him, hope he got alot of money saved up because he is officially damaged goods for the rest of his life. Capitialism does work infact I think it is a perfect system under a working government. However I can definatly agree with him on the fact that Politicians let the Capitalist's go nuts when Government should have been tamping on regulations and checks and balances to our economic sectors. It's clear that the government failed and the Capitalists ran with the bag. __________________ NAKED HOSTING FTW!11 I'm On The INSANE PLAN $9.95/mo! \| The Alien Blog Adult News Worth Reading Updated Daily \| Content For Sale! 641 PICS 216 MINUTES OF VIDEO $350.00 \|ICQ: 78943384 \| Last edited by AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE; 10-20-2008 at 01:52 PM..

10-20-2008, 01:58 PM	#11
NoWhErE Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 10,276	Agree with him or not, the guy got rich and basically told everyone : Thank you for the money, ciao! That would make him smarter than the majority of the people. I say let him rant! __________________ skype: lordofthecameltoe

10-20-2008, 12:50 PM	#2
JP-pornshooter Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: westcoast usa Posts: 4,007	why would you say he is nuts? i think he makes some great points.

10-20-2008, 01:14 PM	#4
fusionx Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Olongapo City, Philippines Posts: 4,618	Seems pretty rational to me.

10-20-2008, 01:33 PM	#6
Rorschach So Fucking Banned Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 5,579	Sounds like a guy with his head screwed on right!

10-20-2008, 01:54 PM	#10
sltr Confirmed User Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 3,191	let's not leave out that this guy made his money exploiting credit derivitave default swaps or wtf ever they are called. if anything, he should be going to jail.

10-20-2008, 02:03 PM	#12
- Jesus Christ - Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: ::::::::::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: ::::::\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|:::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: :::::::::::\|\|::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::: Posts: 7,197	Q: Why do I care what this guy has to say? A: I don't He knows most that return was luck and he wont sustain it longterm so he is bailing... I'm not going to read his manifesto over that. __________________ Amen

10-20-2008, 02:05 PM	#13
AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE best designer on GFY Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: IALIEN.COM - High Definition Video and Photographic Productions -ICQ 78943384 Posts: 30,307	PS: If someone is going to relie on Stoners for a Revolution in America they got another comming. No stoner is going to walk out of the house for a protest or revolt when they got buds sitting on the table. __________________ NAKED HOSTING FTW!11 I'm On The INSANE PLAN $9.95/mo! \| The Alien Blog Adult News Worth Reading Updated Daily \| Content For Sale! 641 PICS 216 MINUTES OF VIDEO $350.00 \|ICQ: 78943384 \|

10-20-2008, 02:16 PM	#14
D Ghost null Industry Role: Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 9,820	awesome letter!