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In the hedge fund business, there are many who can post a few years of strong gains. But how many can beat the averages for three decades?Well, it's a rare feat. And, it means you'll be a billionaire.
This has been the case with James Simons, who is the leader of Renaissance Technologies. However, according to a recent letter to investors, he plans to retire by the end of the year. He is 71 years old.
Over the past couple years, Simons has been loosening the reins at the firm, so as to provide for a smooth transition. Actually, in his place will be co-CEOs: Bob Mercer and Peter Brown.
No doubt, Simons has an interesting background. That is, he was once a code breaker. And yes, he realized his whiz-bang math skills could make for a brilliant investment approach. In fact, Simons became one of the pioneers of "quant" investing, which relies on crunching huge amounts of data and applying complex algorithms. As should be no surprise, Simons has a knack for hiring super-smart Ph.D.s.
Renaissance consists of several funds, including Institutional Equities Fund and the Institutional Futures Fund. While these have been laggards over the past year, the Medallion fund continues to be the gem, which was up 80% last year. It was mostly responsible for $2.5 billion in gains for Simons.
Renaissance consists of several funds, including Institutional Equities Fund and the Institutional Futures Fund. While these have been laggards over the past year, the Medallion fund continues to be the gem, which was up 80% last year. It was mostly responsible for $2.5 billion in gains for Simons.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
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