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Five Guiding Principles From the Most Successful Hedge Fund Manager Ever
From Ph.D. to codebreaker to the most secretive money-making operation known to man
James Simons ran and founded a hedge fund called Renaissance Technologies. In 1988, he established the Medallion Fund, currently famed for having the greatest track record on Wall Street — returning around 70% each year since 1988 and accumulating over $100 billion in gains since then.
Here are some of his most important pieces of advice.
Don’t run with the pack. Try to go for something original.
At several points in Simons’ own life, he went against standard norms. Whether this was in searching for beauty in geometry, or in leading the math department at Stony Brook, or in codebreaking for the government.
He didn’t originally plan to become a hedge fund manager. It materialized on its own, off of a path he didn’t intend to traverse.
You’ll always need help, but don’t settle for good people. Partner with wonderful people.
Today, Renaissance Technologies is about 300 employees of which 100 have doctoral degrees. To create the motivation…
