The problem with your theory is Jim Simons IS a mathematical genius- actually world class--- that fact cannot be argued.
We are not dealing with some toady who pretends to know things. He really does know things.
surf
The Mathematician who Cracked Wall Street
- Thread starter Chuck Krug
- Start date
The problem with your theory is Jim Simons IS a mathematical genius- actually world class--- that fact cannot be argued.
We are not dealing with some toady who pretends to know things. He really does know things.
surf
I still think Jim is brilliant, but his image is tarnished a bit after I googled "Rentech leverage limits." He is the first HFT, and an expert tax avoider (with shakey loopholes)...that's not illegal, but it ain't totally pretty either. I thought he made his money just through excellent trading. Nope.
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Uh, no. Simons is brilliant, no doubt. And he certainly knows things. But 'genius' means things you seem to be unaware of. A minimum IQ of 150, for starters. Typically a genius is a kid who graduates high school by the age of 13 and graduates college by the age of 17. That's not Simons. Brilliant no question. Genius? There are questions.
More to the point, Simons' specialty in mathematics isn't applicable to trading. If you needed heart surgery, would you go to the best brain surgeon you could find? Even a very brilliant one? Of course not.
Admittedly trading ain't brain surgery. But if anyone with a PhD in math could conquer it, they'd all be rich. Of course Simons has enjoyed a great deal of success in trading. But given the givens, there may be a lot to what Mark Brown and others have said about that source of success.
This is a good thread with good new information. I was also gullible enough to think he made it just with pure brainpower but it seems that's all a front.
I'm at a point where I consider all these hedge fund millionaires to be crooked, it's apparent that you just don't reach these levels of AUM with honesty, smarts and hard work. I used to think SAC was honorable but now it's apparent Cohen is pretty much a gangster and his success has nothing to do with good trading. There's a commonality in the background of Simons, Cohen, Soros, Niederhoffer, Boesky, Milken and Madoff but that's a discussion not welcomed on this board, by my estimates.
I'm at a point where I consider all these hedge fund millionaires to be crooked, it's apparent that you just don't reach these levels of AUM with honesty, smarts and hard work. I used to think SAC was honorable but now it's apparent Cohen is pretty much a gangster and his success has nothing to do with good trading. There's a commonality in the background of Simons, Cohen, Soros, Niederhoffer, Boesky, Milken and Madoff but that's a discussion not welcomed on this board, by my estimates.
Did you really believe Wall Street was honest and "good trading" will actually make you wealthy?
No wonder so many believe that these guys use TA.
Niederhoffer is the most honest of everyone u list ( and a small minnow compared to the whales on your list). Yet folks vilefy him because he blew up several times and tells the truth in his books. It makes me sick.
surf
Naive, sure. But it really seems you can't control yourself and are trying to bring TA into any topic, even if it isn't remotely connected to anything we are talking about.
Niederhoffer probably knew what he was doing, knew it would blow up soon but it's better to get the fees before that happens. No-one vilified (it's "vilify", not "vilefly") him, you're the one who tried to tell us that he is successful while by definition he's just another failed trader.
This - to me - is certainly believable.
I'm not sure what some of you guys define as "good trading"? Once you start pushing around 9 figures, it's hard to pop in and out the ES all day long, never mind the ELEVEN figures Simons has been running for decades.
I stopped trading equities more than a decade ago because there was too much shenanigans in the numbers and the little guys like me couldn't root it out before it was too late. Guys like Ackman can negotiate board seats and get inside to ensure their investments are being taken care of. Steve Cohen got a lil too close to the fire and he had to back off, but none of these guys ever got charged with anything. I have to believe if there was really something there, they would be charged. Cohen all but admitted insider trading in the biz week article some years back.
All leverage is not created equal. Because LTCM blew up, others that use leverage are subject to that eventuality? Are there not a thousand ways to use leverage?
What I can't get my head around here is how many people on ET poo-poo so many guys that made it. No matter their methods, it's always tainted for some nefarious reason around here. The path to riches will always have thorns, no matter your business.
No, you are wrong. You are not evolved enough as a trader to understand, unfortunately.
It's all tied together. TA is pushed by Wall Street in a concerted effort to decieve the retail.
VN made it further as a legit trader than anyone else in the modern era. For that he has my respect, only the uninformed don't get this fact.