An Ambush of Tigers

Julian Robertson, the founder of Tiger Management and a major figure in the hedge-fund world, died today at the age of 90. He had an enormously successful run, growing Tiger from its initial $8.8 million in 1980 into a multibillion-dollar hedge fund by 2000, when he wound down the firm. Robertson became a billionaire himself in the process.

Robertson may be most remembered for the imposing cadre of hedge fund managers—nicknamed the “Tiger Cubs”—who worked under him then went to establish their own shops. Those include Chase Coleman of Tiger Global Management, John Griffin of Blue Ridge Capital, Lee Ainslie of Maverick Capital, Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global Investors, and Stephen Mandel of Lone Pine Capital.

Robertson was a fundamental investor, taking both long and short positions on stocks, currencies, and other asset classes.

Barron's Carleton English wrote today:

Robertson’s investing tactics included investing in good and bad times and never committing more than 5% of capital to a single investment, according to Sebastian Mallaby, author of a 2010 book on hedge funds titled More Money Than God.

While average annual returns at his fund hit 32%, Robertson’s fund faced difficulties such as being on the wrong side of a trade on the Japanese yen in 1998. This led to investor outflows and Robertson closing his fund two years later.

Read more from Carleton here