Operational Leaders

In 2005, Anthony Scaramucci founded the investment management firm SkyBridge Capital. It was the culmination of 15 years in the industry that began at Goldman Sachs. Since then, Anthony and his team have weathered the ups and downs of the financial markets to turn SkyBridge into one of the industry's leading firms specializing in fund of hedge funds products and hedge fund advisory solutions.

In this episode, Anthony talks about his career in the investment management industry and some of the lessons he learned along the way. He discusses the impact of getting fired from his first job at Goldman Sachs, reveals a key piece of advice that led him to start his first investment management firm, and explains the importance of striving to have best-practice operations. He also talks about establishing a compliance-first culture, maintaining a strong team over an extended period of time, and the importance of creating a broad professional network.

Anthony wraps up the discussion with a few stories about his renown SALT Conference, and his firm's new initiatives for responding to the limitations of Covid by creating SALT Talks, an ongoing series of digital interviews with the world's foremost investors, creators and thinkers. To hear these complimentary interviews, please visit the SALT Talks website.

Gregory Zuckerman has spent more than twenty-five years covering some of the biggest stories in the private fund industry. Along the way, he developed a keen interest in the incredible investing prowess of Jim Simons and his firm Renaissance Technologies. And Greg wanted to write a book about it.

Though reluctant at first, Simons and dozens of current and former Renaissance employees eventually gave Greg unprecedented access. The result was his latest book and New York Times Best Seller, "The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution."

In this episode, Greg talks about the process of writing the book, some of the biggest surprises and hurdles he encountered along the way, and the reaction he's gotten since its publication. He also talks about his own career and shares some of his insights about the broader private fund industry.

To learn more about the book and obtain a copy of The Man Who Solved the Market, please visit Greg Zuckerman's website.

Thanks for listening to Season One of the Operational Leaders podcast.

To wrap things up on a lighter note, we put together a brief episode featuring outtakes and bloopers.

Enjoy.

And please check back over the summer for the occasional pop-up episode.

We'll see you again in the fall for Season Two.

Over the past two plus decades, the alternative fund industry has seen its share of changes, including on the operational side of the business. Michael C. Neus has been there to help guide some of the top firms through these changes.

He has served as a General Counsel, a Chief Compliance Officer and a Chief Operating Officer. And he recently co-authored/edited a book, "The Insiders' Guide to Hedge Funds: Successfully Managing the Middle and Back Office."

In this episode, Mike shares his views on the state of the alternatives industry as one of the most respected and influential voices on the business of running the business. He discusses a range of topics, including what investors should look for on the operational side of the business, as well as factors that he considers when looking for a new vendor or a new employee. Mike also provides some advice to prospective new managers or how to build out the middle and back office. And of course, Mike concludes with a few thoughts on the future of the industry.

To learn more about Mike's book, The Insiders' Guide to Hedge Funds, please visit the book's website

For more than two decades, Katherine Burton has been a groundbreaking journalist for Bloomberg News. She has been at the forefront of every major story involving the alternative fund business, often breaking major stories of the day. She also wrote a watershed book chronicling some of the leading managers in the 2000's and their response to the 2008 financial crisis, Hedge Hunters, After the Credit Crisis: How Hedge Fund Masters Survived.

In this episode, Kathy brings her unique perspective to describing the rise and maturation of the alternative fund business. She discusses the role of the journalist and what makes a potential story interesting, highlights some of the industry's key moments over the past twenty years, and offers sage advice for dealing with the media. She also provides a few thoughts on what the future might hold for the industry.

To follow Kathy's articles, please check out the Bloomberg RSS feed.

The world of listed derivatives and futures is a place not well known to many in the asset management industry. For those on the outside, it can seem quite distant and opaque.

Tim O'Shea joins this episode to help shed light on listed derivatives and the futures market. Tim has spent the better part of 30 year in the business and now serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Thalēs Trading Solutions. He provides a broad overview of financial instruments falling in the category of listed derivatives (including futures), presents a framework for understanding how the futures market works, and offers instructive comparisons to the equities market.

To learn more about Tim, Thalēs Trading Solutions and its affiliated companies, please visit the Thalēs website.

The journalists who write the stories are often as interesting as the industry they cover. They can also help shape public perceptions about firms, managers and investors. This episode marks the first in a series of periodic interviews with leading journalists who cover the alternative fund business.

In this episode, we hear from three top professionals at HFM: Jennifer Banzaca, the Compliance Editor, Michael Paterakis, the Investment Editor, and Thomas Duffell, the U.S. News Editor. Each has a different segment in which they describe how they got started in the business, reveal some of their favorite stories, offer advice about dealing with the media, and add a few other interesting details about their careers. Jennifer starts the episode, with Mike following at the 8:18 mark and Tom taking the anchor leg at the 17:22 mark.

Jennifer, Mike and Tom also will be panel moderators at the upcoming HFM Billion Dollar Club Virtual Summit 2020. The BDC Summit will deliver valuable content, strategic insights and networking opportunities for the hedge fund community. To learn more about the June 24th event, please visit the BDC Summit website.

Technology can be a great thing. But harnessing its possibilities requires the right professionals and the right protections. Bart McDonough, the CEO and Founder of Agio, has spent more than 20 years working in cybersecurity, business development and IT management within the alternative fund industry. Ten years ago, he founded Agio a hybrid managed IT and cybersecurity services provider for the financial services industry. He also launched his debut book, Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals, in early 2019.

In this episode, Bart discusses managed IT and cybersecurity, where they overlap, how they differ and why he believes it's important to offer both services. He also talks about cyber vulnerabilities in a remote-working environment. In addition, Bart explains some misunderstanding about the "cloud", offers advice to new managers on mistakes to avoid, and looks to some key trends for the future.

To learn more about Agio, please visit the company's website. And to learn more about Bart, his book, and speaking engagements, please visit bartmcd.com.

It all rolls up to the Chief Operating Officer. For over 15 years, Joe Signorile has held the COO position in the private fund industry. He also founded Our Peer Group ("OPG"), a leading best-in-class private network of COOs and CFOs that enables peer-to-peer communications.

Joe joins this episode to discuss the responsibilities and challenges presented by the Chief Operating Officer role. He talks about the qualities that make a good COO - understand all areas of the business, managing people and gaining the confidence of the portfolio manager/owner. He also offers some thoughts for vendors on the importance of developing long-term relationships. In addition, Joe sounds a word of caution on outsourcing.

Joe concludes with some background on OPG, including its origins, the services it provides and where he hopes to see it grow in the future. For more information about OPG, please visit the organization's website.

Trading agreements are lengthy and complicated. The consequences of missing an issue or getting bad terms can be significant, particularly in times of turbulent markets. Getting the best terms requires focus, dedication and deep industry knowledge that is not always easy to find. Attorney and business person, Poseidon Retsinas, saw an opportunity. In 2019, he launched a law firm called HedgeLegal that specializes in helping the buy side negotiate its trading agreements.

In this episode, Poseidon talks about some of the factors that led him to launch HedgeLegal. He also talks about his business model and how his experience, focus and efficiency allow his firm to charge on a per-agreement (rather than hourly basis) basis. In addition, Poseidon offers some insights on the terms that the buyside should give the most attention, as well as common pitfalls that the buyside should avoid.

To learn more about Poseidon and HedgeLegal, please see the firm's website.