Passing on the torch.
A few years back, a hedge fund in Greenwich went out of business. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Was called Amaranth Advisors. Was run by a guy named Nick Maounis. Had this lovable goof of a Canuck named Brian Hunter making natural-gas trades. Brian was always up for a good laugh and one day, on a lark, put on some trades that resulted in the firm losing, I don’t know, like $6.6 billion. It’s was hilarious! Maybe you had to be there, but I’m telling you, it was pant-pissingly funny. Definitely one of the best things to happen to the hedge fund community in a while. Anyway, some people who didn’t find it so funny, because they’re humorless stiffs, were AA’s investors. And apparently, they’re still not over it, which would explain why they are RUINING the best news ev-ar, which is that the guy who brought you Bri-Hunt is starting a new shop!
Maounis’s efforts come as some clients from his original Amaranth fund are fuming that they still haven’t received all their cash back. More than $250 million remains tied up in that firm. Some investors aren’t placated by the fact that Mr. Maounis faces constraints in returning cash amid lawsuits. Some Amaranth investors have lost patience. “It’s outrageous. The fund supposedly was liquidated four years ago, and I just want to be done with it,” said Donald Shapiro, a Boston-area investor who put $1 million of his family’s savings into Amaranth in 2001.
Such a dickbag, amiright? But you know what? It’s cool. Just because Donny doesn’t want to get over his own stuff and celebrate this news doesn’t mean others aren’t so, so happy for Nick. So happy in fact that they’re helping make this thing happen.
Nipulchandra Patel, is investing in Mr. Maounis’s new fund. Mr. Patel said he likes that the fund manager has most of his net worth in the venture, and he said the failure of Amaranth made Mr. Maounis wiser. “When you’re one of the largest funds out there and you’ve imploded, you learn a hell of a lot of things,” he said.
Such as, for instance, how to pick traders with senses of humor and adventure as awesome as Hunter. Which leads me to this: who wants to be the next BH? The new shop, dubbed Verition Fund Management LLC, has already hired about 32 employees but they’re still searching for that special someone. Let me know and I’m happy to pass on your info. (Also please note Verition is currently accepting investments– get in at the ground floor.)
greek people clearly shouldn’t be allowed to run/touch/look-at money…except of course for big Harry M.
Maounis is so hot right now he could take a crap, wrap it in tinfoil, put a couple fish hooks on it and sell it to Queen Elizabeth as earrings.
Nipulchandra Patel = John Meriwether
What if it were you hanging up on this wall? If it were you bleeding from the ass, you wouldn’t be laughing at all!
Count me in!!
~Bo C
Give me back that filet-o-fish!
thanks for the Meriwether tag, Bess….he set the bar pretty high…
-former SB guy who likes a high bar
That picture makes us both hard – how about a menage a trois?
Mark and Andy
or should I say menage a trout?
Bring it on.
~Johnny A.
Houston, TX
Bess, would you make Nick your next interview? Please.
Those guys are going to have trouble with that “Verition” name! idiots!! Don’t they know that Verition Wireless will be on their ass like white on rice?? Ha!
~Former Lehman Quant
Does Chung King or King Chung or whatever his name is still work there?
@11 great idea! I will try.
If Hunter had just held on to those natgas positions he would have made money!!
~”Matt” (Jerome Kerviel’s buddy)
@9/AB – Let minnow if you have more puns, that eelicited a laugh.
How Serendipitous — This new fund is perfect for an aspiring young buck fresh out of Harvard Extenstion School.
@BL
Yessss! This could be awesome. And if Peter Chung is still there that would be what they call a double in fishing.
@11
plebe.
@2 I love you sick and twisted humor…
Verition – wtf is that supposed to mean? It’s time for hedge funds to adopt a higher standard in name generation:
http://www.bandnamemaker.com/
Popped “Maounis” in there and got a winner: Stiffy Maounis
I’m so sick of Brian Hunter. STFU about Brian Hunter.
- Brian Hunter
Rick Moranus is a friend da mine …
Here is a question for the DDQ:
How often does Nikos actually go to the office???? (don’t buy over 20hrs/week)
Hunter: Natural Gas
Chungster: PIIGS debt
@24 that may be viewed as a positive.
starting a new fund before your old one has liquidated is the new killing it.
Verition could just hire BH. He’s still available, works as a consultant up in Canada.
Nipulchandra Patel = Zachery Kouwe
Bess you forgot to add the fact Maounis specifically stated trading Natural Gas will not be one of the trading strategies employed by the new fund. Mostly FI and equities with some contribution from derivatives [gotta have the cash flow].
P.S
@1; So that makes Jamie Dimon ineligible to run JPMC?
@30 Natural gas has become a relatively low price / low volatility product. Verition has been trading much more toxic stuff…like Greek debt. Obviously you work there and are toeing the company line. Who cares that Nick won’t blow up again in natural gas…he will in some other product. His misleading investors in the past is the only reason he has any money to invest in Verition.
@30,
It is ironic that you mention JPM, as Nick tried to sue JPM for front running. NY State Court of Appeals dismissed it on 2/11/10. I guess he was trying to balance out against all the people suing him.
Forgetting that, where would Jamie have been if he hadn’t grown up next door to Sandy?
@31 I can assure you I do not work for, nor am I in any other way connected to either Maounis or his fund. I just know people who do work in this fund and besides; the story in WSJ had clearly published the fact that natty will not be traded by the new fund.
And you are terribly wrong about natty not being as volatile of a trading commodity as it was before. Pull up the chart for natty [1y one] and observe the high volatility [and not just within range; but breaking DMAs like in the best days of 08] exacerbated more so by the SandRidge blowing up last week trading the “widow maker”.
Regarding GRE debt; you have seen nothing yet. Wait till the market realizes it has been thrown out of the benchmark iBoxx composition [mind you; that is a cash bond index; not some synthetic POS RE]; 35% yield on 10y is but assured. The recent run up in 5y spread [ok; it was a tiny contract volume and insignificant net notional, but still; it was a clear hedge] is indicative of that.
@32 True good Sir, very true. But still; he knows how to run such an enterprise in a very convincing way.
This is very inspiring. That you can lose $6 billion, and pick yourself up by your own bootstraps full of hidden past investor’s cash and continue on, hoping the world will open it’s mouth to you and say, “Come”. I need to write him and get some tips on raising money.
Although, wasn’t he supposed to open this fund two years ago,according to Bloomberg? That article says:
“Maounis plans to open Greenwich, Connecticut-based Verition Fund Management LLC later this year with more than $200 million, according to two former investors briefed on the venture. Clients with money in Amaranth when it shut down won’t pay incentive fees for three years, said the investors, who asked not to be identified because the fund is private. While the fund won’t charge a management fee, all investors will pay the fund’s expenses.” (Bloomberg, May 10, 2008)
Hmmm.
GRE Debt will default, so will Spain…too many shenannigans going in in Europe between banks and the ecb buying and selling the bonds to each other. Its all a front.
Xover will expand and CDS will widen.
double dip here we are. the fact that its happening over the summer months, when volume is at low points is no mistake, and a planned ECB strategy to get the bad news out there when the markets cant stiff em.
Summer will be hot, and so will the vix despite low vol.- S&P to 970 at least…
- Doomed
Where are all the clients 2 and 20′s?
will nick hire that hot chic from the gym who he gave a job to so he could get in her pants? his wife saves the homeless dogs of fairfield county and he is bangin gym chicks. does his kid lexie know?
how is crazy enough to give him $. even riskier than Boaz!
Hi Bess,
I have a very unique small cap/mid-market client Nick should look at. Did I say unique? I meant to say, this type of portfolio company has the potential to make a fund manager look like a ROCK STAR!
How do I get in contact with Nick Maounis?