More Sachiness

Posted by Bess Levin, Apr 04, 2008, 12:36pm

You want something done Sachy, you have to do it yourself. Turns out yesterday’s sitch at AQR, wherein the firm shuttered its Global Relative Value fund, a 401 (k) created specifically for GS, was Goldman’s fault, excuse me, shrewd doing. Apparently the product lost 21 percent of its value this year, down $28 million from $36, making it wildly inappropriate for the Masters’ retirement accounts. Enter, Goldman’s pulling the plug. Not really that surprising to those of us who helped coin the term Sachy. Moving forward, proceed on the following assumption and you are unlikely to go wrong: If it was savvy, Goldman was behind it. In fact, if you’d like a little insight as to how their sausage gets made, team building weekly seminars are currently being held on Tuesday nights, when everyone else is at lacrosse practice. Topic, always: “Institutionalized Destruction Or: How To Think About Which Inferior Antibody We Should Kill Next.” Notes from last week include the following points: “Bear, that was fun, but easy. We’ve got to start going after more worthy adversaries.”


Earlier: AQR’s Global Relative Value Fund To Call It A Day

Goldman pulls plug on an AQR account [Fortune]

1Recommend this! 29Comments

Tags: AQR, Goldman Sachs, Sachy

Comments

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 12:57PM

why is this inappropriate for a 401k? similar vol to standard equity options (esp small cap or int), but correlation to rest of the portfolio is low.
i wish i had some of these options rather than the garbage equity and bond funds i'm offered.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 1:00PM

@12:57 they deemed it inappropriate b/c it wasn't making them the money they think they should be getting.

Posted by Anal_yst, Apr 04, 2008 1:18PM

@ 1:00

Of course, why would Goldman put their $ in AQR when it ONLY loses ~20%? They mightas well just throw all the 401(k) $ into GEO or GA and crush that measly negative return

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 1:24PM

Particuarly notable that Cliff Asness is a Goldman alumn adn his fund is a mirror of GEO. They kill there own.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 1:24PM

Wow that is the worst written thing I have ever read here. Good work.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 1:33PM

Checking on the AQR returns, I believe it generally became a bad option as of mid 07, and went downhill from there. Average yearly returns were 5.8%, highest was 16.2%. Since 2000, that's pretty poor...

In the most recent quarter, there was 10.3% loss in the last month, and 19.03% in YTD.

It was the worst performing fund of the bunch...

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 1:38PM

@1:24-- feel like a big man now, anonymously criticizing other people's writing on a blog? moron.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 2:00PM

@1:24, Bess is a talented writer, you are a tool. I hope Goldman takes a little bit of a hit, they need to be knocked down a few pegs. My one question is whos going to carry all of the cologne and fuzzy dice out of BSC. I hear they have 10K St Anthony statues that need to be moved next week. I hear that they "know a guy" who can take care of it though.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 2:48PM

"down $28 million from $36"

You're missing a "to" in there.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 2:50PM

anyone know which specific strategies are hurting AQR?

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 2:54PM

LC value bias would be my guess.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:08PM

@2:54

shouldn't be. from my view, basic LS with value bias has done fine as long as you didnt load up on fake cheap financials.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:43PM

i'm sure bess has done much better managing her bat mitzvah cash.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:49PM

fucker @1:24 feel like a big man now, anonymously criticizing other people's comments on a blog? moron.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:54PM

Stud duck @ 3:49 – it hurts me as much as it hurts beth, but in long run it will only make her a better writer. I’m not the one with a blog, bro.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:56PM

@3:54-- no, you're just the one who can't read. it's "bess," you fucking idiot.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:59PM

@3:54-- it's cute how you think bess, a great writer, would benefit from your anonymous douche bag comments...how would that work, exactly?

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 3:59PM

bad ass @ 3:56 bess, beth, you get the point

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 4:01PM

@3:54-- i'm just saying, perhaps you should get easily verifiable facts straight before you offer your literary criticism (to someone who doesn't need it, no less).

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 4:02PM

@4.01 & 3.49 -- You two sound like douche bank employees.

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 4:05PM

@3:54/3:59/4:02-- and you, the guy who probably thinks he's a "writer" and is taking out his sad miserable failures out on bess would be what...a wsj employee? or bear?

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 5:04PM

@4.05-- even if I have a miserable, low level assistant to the assistant's assistant job, at least I'm not a cum receptacle for some fag in BSC's men's room like you!

Posted by mrpink, Apr 04, 2008 5:21PM

@ 5:04

LCraig and SlimJim will see you in the men's bathroom on the 4th floor now. They want to 'deposit' your 2007 bonus...

-mrp

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 5:26PM

@5.21--you seem to be a little too familiar with fag terms and hangouts to be a hetero. Plus being mrpink, I bet your knees are so tough from dropping to the floor in mens rooms that your knee caps could be used for brake pads in a truck.

Posted by Lowly Assistant, Apr 04, 2008 6:52PM

This is despicable. All you guests with this "fag" this - "fag" that, "bro" language, and hyper-critical monologues should log back into your college thread forums and find out where beer-pong will be commencing tonight.

What the fuck happened to this place?

Posted by guest, Apr 04, 2008 11:54PM

I agree with Lowly Assistant. And no one should be knocking Mr. Pink.

Posted by StupidEquityGuy, Apr 05, 2008 12:05AM

Lowly Assistant,

Juan Carlos Cow Fartney is gone for a single day and the place is ran over by frat boys from DE.

~SEG

Posted by guest, Apr 05, 2008 3:20AM

posted by guest

Apr 05, 2008 3:19AM

Just goes to show. Goldman loses money on virtually every one of its HF investments. It seems GS's involvement should generally spell the end for even respectable hedge funds. Some recent disasters include GSAM itself, Peloton, now AQR, and even Capula recently. I'm sure we can find more if we set our minds to it. The problem with hedge funds is, they make money when the playing field is more or less level.

Goldman only makes money when it has a serious informational advantage over its counterparties. Knowing the flows (i.e., frontrunning), in-depth knowledge of the markets (i.e., speaking to the bankers as long as it isn't "on the other side of the wall"), in-depth research (i.e., axes), serious market-making (i.e., prop trading)these are what GS excels at.

Posted by guest, Apr 06, 2008 12:58AM

If you want finger-down-your-throat nausea, check out the coverage in Spring/Summer 2008 Vogue Living for GS MD Rick Kimball's Manhattan apartment. Glossy orange-red lacquer and fuschia, orange, and magenta stripes on the walls. A turquoise velvet console studded with nail-heads. Zebra rugs and a teal pony skin ottoman. Have these people ever heard the term "wretched excess?" Oh, and Kimball's father-in-law is Pete Peterson.

Post Your Comment