Fee Charging Gambling Den

We have dinner with Puk and Lars, whose book - "Money Mavericks - Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager" - will be available from 21 July. The story describes the inner workings of .. a hedge fund which, until his retirement from the industry several years ago, was Lars' career. I recall we discussed his strategy and money-raising in '02 at the trendy private members club "Home House" which, now, somehow seems appropriate. It takes a special person to write about his experience before 40 and Lars is, indeed, that special dude: before founding hedge-fund Holte Capital, he worked for HBK (>$5 billion under management) and HBS and Harvard undergrad. He is a natural cynic who refuses to overpay for anything - good qualities for somebody managing your money. I recall him being impressed when, at a party at his place in Notting Hill and as a joke, I brought a £2 bottle of wine; he immediately took a glass for me and himself, heartily enjoyed. In all these things, talent and vision matter while having the nuts to go for it is often under-rated (or forgotten in success or failure). Lars followed his dream when the timing good and so, as they say, the rest is history.

Lars' book described thus:

"Money Mavericks: Confessions of a Hedge Fund Manager charts the founding, seemingly interminable rise and eventual closure of a fund which operated in London during the febrile years of 2002 to 2008. Shedding light on the incredible inside workings of hedge funds, it's a tale of a bubble industry in a bubble town during the bubble years. It tells the story of some very smart people who were trying to do something that was incredibly hard: beat the market. If they failed, the repercussions would be swift and severe. If they succeeded, the rewards would be massive. Having grown from a small and mainly US investment activity to become a global trillion-dollar circus, the hedge fund industry is often unfairly portrayed as a fee-charging gambling den.

"I was immersed in the hedge fund industry for years and now I want to address the myths and misperceptions that surround the hedge funds. I often feel that my six years of running HolteCapital was one long blur of human drama with triumph and failure following each other in quick and merciless succession. If you have ever been given the impression that the world of hedge funds is driven by meticulously-planned and well-coordinated dark forces, I hope my story will enlighten you."

--Lars Kroijer - Money Mavericks