ShortSpeak

Dec 2009

"On the short side, opportunities remain scarce, and we are not surprised by this. Clearly the abnormality of returns in 2007/2008 from our short positions were such that capital deployed in here is unlikely to be productive for some time.

The nature of the corporate reaction to the downturn amplifies this point. Generally a good short position stems from an over optimistic investment decision by corporate management.

The combination of limited finance and corporate prudence of the last couple of years has inevitably meant that examples of this are few and far between."

I would love to simply insert the entire letter. The manager produced 30 pages of detailed review of his past predictions with half dedicated to his outlook for the future.

His entire letter is filled with similar quotes which explain realities in the simplest of terms.

It is all too rare to find a hedge fund manager willing to take the time to explain and share his thoughts.

Well done and an example for others to follow.