I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it was informative and an easy
read.Barton Biggs is one of the most well-respected figures in the
investment management community. He has prospered during both bull and
bear markets, and has adapted to an investment landscape that has been
transformed by technology and globalization. His legendary money
management skills helped set the benchmark for investment management
excellence. Now, for the first time, Biggs shares his experiences in the
world of hedge funds and investments.
Through an interwoven series of entertaining and informative chapters,
HedgeHogging reveals Biggs’ experiences–with friends and
acquaintances–over his investment years. Some material encompasses the
highlights from his 30-year career at Morgan Stanley, while many other
parts are more recent and relate to the creation and investment endeavors
of Biggs’ hedge fund. Filled with in-depth insights and valuable lessons,
the stories and events described throughout the book offer a rare glimpse
of the investment business and the people who are a part of it. These
stories, based on Biggs’ experiences (although some have been
fictionalized to protect the innocent as well as the guilty), candidly
reveal the intensity, stress, foibles, and insecurities of the men and
women who manage other people’s money. They also capture the ecstasy of
getting investment performance right and the agony of being wrong. In the
aftermath of the great bull market and the bursting of the bubble, many
professional investors have been looked upon as overpaid individuals that
promise much, but deliver little. HedgeHogging takes readers inside this
world and shows them how the challenging battle for investment survival
can be its own life-or-death struggle for individuals participating in
this competitive field.
Barton Biggs (Greenwich, CT) spent 30 years at Morgan Stanley. In that
time, he formed Morgan’s number-one-ranked research department, built up
its investment management business, and served as chairman of the
investment management firm. At various times during this period, he was
ranked as the number one U.S. investment strategist by the Institutional
Investor magazine poll and then, from 1996 to 2003, as the number one
global strategist. He was also a member of the five-man executive
committee that ran the firm until its merger with Dean Whitter in 1996. In
2003, Biggs left Morgan Stanley and with two other colleagues formed
Traxis Partners–the largest new hedge fund in 2003. Traxis now has well
over a billion dollars under its management. Biggs, whose name is
legendary on Wall Street, has spoken at forums in every major country and
has appeared on CNBC and other programs on more than 300 occasions.
