Hedging It Old School

Do you remember
When you got your lucky break?
You've looking back now
And it seems like a mistake
--John Waite

Interesting convo w old school hedgie Michael Steinhardt. Steinhardt was early to the  industry, and holds one of the more spectacular performance records in hedge fund history. Returning over 20% annually (after fees) to investors with only one or two down years in over 30 yrs of operations.

In this interview, Steinhardt is critical of the Fed, particularly as it relates to robbing savers of interest rate income. He also correctly observes that there is little economic gain to show for $trillions of intervention.

He is also introspective on Wall Street overall, suggesting that the industry has changed to being less performance driven and lacking 'noble goals.' Steinhardt said that he and his partners used to ask themselves what good they were doing for the world thru their investment activities. Their answers revolved around the notion of shifting capital to more efficient uses.

Steinhardt thinks that, in today's Wall Street world, this is no longer the case.