I am moderating a panel of hedge fund rock stars at this year’s SALT conference, held today at the Javitz Center in New York City. This will be my first in-person conference in 18 months, and it just dawned on me: I have no idea if my suits still fit, and whether I remember how to correctly knot a necktie.
I have to cut down 50 questions / 2 hours worth to fit into a 45-minute panel format (see what I ended up with after the jump).
The Hedge Fund Comeback
Steve Cohen | Founder, Point72, owner of the NY Mets
Ilana Weinstein | Founder & Chief Executive Officer, The IDW Group
Dmitty Balyasny | Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Balyasny Asset Management
Mike Rockfeller | Co-Chief Investment Officer, Woodline Partners
If there is a video, I will eventually post it somewhere on the blog also.
Hedge Fund Panel Overview/Questions
1. Are Hedge funds BACK? Is the industry in a better place? (Several media outlets like Bloomberg and Hedge Busters are touting recent returns as an example)
2. Why are so few funds persistently successful? Meaning, so much of the total hedge fund AUM goes to so few players. Why is there such persistence of returns?
3. This industry runs on Talent: How do you define excellence, what does it take to attract top talent, and then once they work for you, retain them? “What does it take to win?”
4. While the number of start-ups is the highest since 2017, few will scale with any significance. What are LPs looking for in a new fund?
5. How should HFs think about the tension between capacity and scale? i.e., what is the “right-size”? How can Founders use scale to their advantage?
6. What do you see as the lasting impact of WFH on the industry?
7. Is short selling a dying art? How has Robinhood/Redditt affected that?
8. Succession planning? How ready is the industry to pass the baton on to the next generation of managers?
9. There is so little racial and gender diversity in hedge funds, even relative to other parts of finance. Why is that? How can we improve representation for the industry?
10. As this industry matures and evolves how should fee structures achieve the best result for LPs and managers?
11. How do you define the Deliverables you show to LPs: Is it Alpha or Noncorrelated Returns or something else entirely?
12: All of you run very successful businesses. What has been the biggest surprise to you as an entrepreneur?
