Stop to smell the roses...?

July 1, 1999

“However, after 63 months of relentlessly running and gunning XYZ Fund, I shall stop to smell the roses. On July 11, I will be getting married and taking a month off. Mark will be handling the ship. I am reachable if needed. The portfolio probably will do better with me not there meddling and messing things up all day long.”

We are seeing several firms shut down for different reasons. A paradigm shift in the investment world? Difficulty to generate returns? Grumpy investors? Or simply less profitable relative to the stress involved with running an investment firm?

I recall a veteran long/short manager closing his fund in 2007, citing the impossibility to generate proper returns, and subsequently being lambasted by many for "quitting" when he was frustrated. Should shutting down be considered a failure or very prescient thinking?

With the recent fund closures and liquidations we are losing (temporarily) some very talented people. The flip side is this will lead to the emergence of a whole new generation of entrepreneurs who will most likely help define a new hedge fund industry 2.0

Prescient? Time will tell...