Fish Boy Makes A "Comeback"

Posted by Bess Levin, Apr 11, 2008, 10:30am

Destroyer of all worlds/marine life/investor capital Brian Hunter has finally touched something that didn't turn to shit (yet...as you know, his genius needs time to percolate). The Peak Ridge Commodity Volatility Fund, which Hunter has been advising since last year, gained 6 percent last month and 103 percent since it was started in November. The success of the fund probably has a lot to do with the fact that Peak Ridge brought Hunter on to do what he does best, i.e. suggest the riskiest trades possible, but retains complete control over trading, operations, and BH's personal favorite, risk management. Hunter has absolutely no decision making authority, though being allowed to speak is apparently a step up from his initial role of potted plant, a pity gig he's rumored to have scored after Solengo lost all its money over legal fees incurred trying to shut down some pissant blog. Early entries are being accepted now on the exact date Hunter blows the ass out of P. Ridge.

Brian Hunter Helps Deliver 49% Return After Demise of Amaranth [Bloomberg]

Comments

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:40AM

King salmon fishing on the weest coast has been banned this year.

Posted by Suits, Apr 11, 2008 10:43AM

Steps to making money:

1. Find Beta
2. Apply Leverage
3. Repeat

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:44AM

Shouldn't BH get some slack cut for him after Jer-K's SocGen doings and the recent $300 billion in debt writedowns? The boy is a small fish after all that.

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:45AM

Suits: It sounds like you are porting "alpha".

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:46AM

From what I've heard, Peak Ridge has developed a highly sophisticated trading strategy.

Apparently they ask Hunter what he would do and then do the exact opposite.

-NSD

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:52AM

I happened to make 49% investing on my own in the first quarter too. Big whoopin' deal. Let's see what this guy's return FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR is. Playing a single hand of blackjack *might* also lead to a great return - if you're stupid enough to risk everything on one hand. Gosh, I guess I shouldnd't have given this guy's fund the idea. Doesn't Binions still have no limit on the size of a bet (unlike every other casino probably in existence).

Posted by Suits, Apr 11, 2008 10:55AM

10:45,
I don't see any alpha in that equation.

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:55AM

I don't want to read anything on this site unless BL posts it.

Posted by a dead horse, Apr 11, 2008 11:16AM

Nothing to do with this article, but...

http://consumerist.com/378108/life-in-a-subprime-ghost-town-not-paying-the-mortgage-feels-great

Random Banker, I do not feel bad for ARMholes. Not when I know there are people out there like this. "Gee, the price of my home went down and my rates went up, so I should live in my house for free!"

If the government bails them out, I will take out the biggest ARM I can, buy the biggest townhouse I can and never pay. It is total BS that people can pull off something like this AND expect me to pay for it.

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 11:20AM

@11:16 If you've been watching Congressional testimony this week, then you've already got your townhome picked out. Maxine Waters has got to be the biggest idiot member of Congress in history. She makes Larry Craig seem brilliant. Apparently her goal is to give all the 'unfortunate, disadvantaged folks as much foreclosed housing as possible and with generious rebates and credits. Because IT'S ALL THE GOVERNMENT AND THOSE MEAN BANKERS FAULT!

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 11:42AM

@10:40 - only in the US, not in Canada. Fly to BC instead and rent a boat.

--Schmooze

Posted by a dead horse, Apr 11, 2008 11:49AM

@11:20, I've been busy this week, haven't had a chance to follow it that much. It's still absolutely ridiculous.

I like the model that Peak Ridge has. They let Hunter pick the craziest bets possible, then evaluate the potential returns and pick for him. In other words, he gets to do what he does best, find ridiculous positions, and then they do what he sucks at, evaluating them and picking ones that might actually show a positive return. Isn't that the goal of all hedge funds, to make the biggest, riskiest bets possible to enhance returns and fees?

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 12:00PM

If you know anything about Hunters story, you would know that he was basically Amaranths cash machine, therefore he wasn't being questioned abut the risk he was taking on. Amaranths collapse was due to terrible risk controls as much as it was due to Hunters greed. I know at least 5 people from there, thats basically the long and short of it

Posted by Anal_yst, Apr 11, 2008 12:08PM

@ 10:43

perfect. VIX + leverage = returns, in this case

@ 12:00

Like most/all (clearly over generalization) huge trading losses, subverting risk management, or just the horrid practice of it, brings down the house, so-to-speak

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 12:19PM

I agree, Maxine Waters is none too bright. All the "fixes" for the mortgage mess now pending in Congress sound like they're full of holes. It's just that some are way more expensive than others.

Posted by Anal_yst, Apr 11, 2008 12:25PM

@ 12:19

So now we're talking about expensive holes? God only knows where this conversation is going...

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 12:58PM

"Cash machine...." hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 1:09PM

At least BH was doing something! We traders are paid to trade for God's sake!! Sitting around and thinking are for "analysts". If you bet big you'll either win big or lose big. If I lose big, like Amaranth, all I just have to do is find a new job and start over. Dammit, a trading company is MY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM as a trader and not the other way around. I'm not working for you...YOU ARE WORKING FOR ME. As soon as you fuckhead risk managers get that through your thick, shit-for-brains skulls we'll all get along better. Shove your VaR up your ass and get out of my way!

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 2:08PM

Brain Hunter is an american hero, a true maverick. And he rides again, triumphant.

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 2:22PM

Hooray for Fish Boy! I love your pic and I love your story. Brian don't listen to all the haters out there. You may not be a rock star/adjunct professor or have your own blog and a $50k Scottrade account like some people, but you are still an Ace in my book.

Posted by mrBrown, Apr 11, 2008 4:23PM

@2:22 pm is absolutely correct. Mr. Hunter's P&L the year before was $1 B, with a B! He has lost more money then 99.99% of the population even has access too. He was set for life betting with OPM on a hurricane. IMO it was a great risk/reward.

Case Closed

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 4:28PM

Agreed, Hunter still has dozens of millions in his own pocket. His track record was substantial enough that a respected hedge fund was willing to completely turn the keys over to him. You think you just show up and they let you do it? The guy had successes for many years, took home huge paychecks most of us only dream of, and barely lost anything himself. THAT'S how you play the game!

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 6:03PM

I met Brian after the Amaranth debacle while he was setting up Solengo. He's a pretty cool guy, I must admit. He's got this hippy grad-student look. Glad he's doing well for himself.

If any of you had the chance to make nearly 100 Mil while screwing a bunch of investors (who aren't hurtin') out of 6 billion I'm billing to bet dollars to donuts you all would.

Look out for number one.

Posted by guest, Apr 11, 2008 10:24PM

Bully for Brian that he has tens of millions. And he's probably a decent, intelligent guy like most people on Wall Street/hedgefundvile. But the fact remains, like Bess says, he blew the ass out of a $6bn hedge fund. He deserves the money he made in the fat years; this industry in many respects is a scam and people should take what they can get as long as it's not illegal. But he also deserves to be roundly and ritualistically mocked by the likes of DB. Price of the ticket.

12:00pm, I don't know the full Amaranth story. But did Harry Arora quit over concerns about the risk Hunter was taking on? He was the guy who hired Hunter and he supposedly quit because Maounis was letting him put on massive trades. Ultimately, it seems to me it's Maounis' fault for letting BH get out of hand. He's the name on the door.

Posted by NotNasser, Apr 12, 2008 11:05AM

Brilliant move, Brian, hiring all those lawyers to assert copyright interests to a marketing brochure.

The lawyers' fees, court costs, time spent on that fight ... all gained you ... a chance for a meaningless "consultancy" gig down the road.

And the beaver is a noble beast.

Posted by guest, May 08, 2008 11:19AM

Now his life to date PnL is -$5,000,000,000. In December 2003, Hunter and his colleagues were up $76 million for the year. In the first week of the month, however, the desk lost $51.2 million after an ``unprecedented and unforeseeable run-up in gas prices,'' according to Hunter's lawsuit. Can lightening strike three times? Is it a coincidence that the CFO at Peak Ridge is the same tool that worked with Hunter at Solengo and Amaranth?