• Kenneth Griffin (Kenneth C. Griffin)
The hedge fund industry's youngest fund managers. 22-year-old founder of the US investment group Castle (Citadel Investment Group). Castle currently has invested nearly $ 30 billion in assets, is one of the largest and most successful hedge funds. In the United States, there are more than 20 years of hedge fund proportion less than 3%, while investment castle is one of them. Griffin repeatedly been named "the year's most profitable top ten hedge fund managers", and with billions of dollars worth broke into the nation's top 100 rich list. In addition, he is the world's most active sellers one of 10 works of art.
During the university made two fund
Born in Florida Griffin, his father was a GE project manager, and his mother often took him to a local computer store, where he studied the sales staff there, a few hours is to be he soon grew into a computer whiz. But quite talented in the field of computer Griffin did not pursue Gates, Steve Jobs's road to IT direction. In 1986, just over 18-year-old Griffin happened to read an article in "Forbes" magazine, from a keen interest in investment.
During the Harvard University student, Griffin will be launched two funds, called on Harvard students give him the money to invest, in addition to and from relatives and friends borrowed more than $ 200,000, set up their own a convertible bond arbitrage portfolio and they have written a program made good gains.
After graduation, the founder of the investment community, "Castle"
After obtaining a degree in economics from Harvard Griffin, causing a man named Frank Meyer • Frank C. Meyer who noted that Meyer is the founder of Glenwood Capital. He not only hired Griffin, also made an exception to $ 1 million handed over to Griffin self-management. Griffin also live up to expectations, he makes money by program trading to get 70% return on investment after one year.
In November 1990, just turned 22-year-old Griffin to raise $ 4.2 million fund set up their own company --Citadel (Castle Investment Group). Citadel, take the word "courage in turbulent times," meaning, meaning funds even in the case of market turmoil can maintain a strong strength. Since the date of the founding of the castle on the outstanding Investment Group, by 2008, the castle Investment Group, only one year there have been a loss, the average annual rate of return as high as 30%. Despite the huge losses in the 2008 financial crisis, but it quickly lost ground, as a whole rose 60% in 2009.
Today, Citadel has established offices in Chicago, New York, London, China, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Greenwich, Houston, Toronto and other countries and regions, more than 1400 employees. The most powerful is that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke after retirement, also joined the Citadel, made a senior adviser.
What traders can invest into the castle?
Want to enter the castle to invest in such hedge funds become a trader quantify it? Take a look at their recruitment requirements of it.
First you have to be a born programmer, with a skilled computer skills, understand the core optimization and system architecture, and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment.
You must have a university degree.
You must be interested in the following things:
Development of core trading infrastructure
Design low-latency high-frequency trading systems
Optimization of massively parallel computing platform.
You must have the following capabilities:
Received computer science, computer engineering and related professional advanced training
It has a wealth of programming experience and design skills, proficient in the use of programming languages, including C, C ++ and Java
With professional knowledge of data structures and algorithms
Having the ability to clear and concise way to communicate complex ideas
Can be complex, fast and highly technical environment of rapid growth
Extra bonus items:
Scripting languages (such as Linux shell, Python, Perl)
Analysis software (such as Matlab)
FPGA development and high-speed operation
NoSQL databases
Using MapReduce distributed computing
Multi-threaded programming
Network programming
In quantitative trading Citadel programmers need work responsibilities include design, build and optimize automated trading platform. Programmers and research teams will simulate team and timely transaction team.
Solid powerful "Castle" is also flawed
However, no solid powerful "Castle" is also flawed. Kenneth is a successful investor, but not really a good manager. At least in the opinion of staff Citadel, Griffin is not a good manager. Although the Citadel treatment is very generous, but still frequent movement of people. The Citadel was dubbed the "revolving door in Chicago." In the 2002 to 2007 five years, Citadel lost at least 15 senior managers, many of them with Griffin Venture with people.
"Citadel sometimes like a sweatshop." Who had worked in the company's staff said, "Griffin paid to talented traders is great wealth, but he did not do anything on the efforts to retain employees. For example, Kenneth consecutive years will pay $ 5 million annual salary a star trader, but once the employment contract expires, they usually turn around and leave. they do not feel that their value has been respected. "
Investment philosophy: do not care about fundamentals
Griffin is a typical exchange-traded hedge fund manager, he does not care about fundamentals or intrinsic value of the stock, only care about price fluctuations, as well as a wealth of information through a variety of mathematical models to analyze the trading mentality and find opportunities.
Griffin will design advanced computer code, will write complex mathematical formulas, the transaction is also largely dependent on the computer program.
Griffin's view is: the core of risk management is to understand how the portfolio will be run under different changes in the market, the results of a risk if the test is not satisfied, you should adjust the portfolio in advance. "Good risk management is well deployed before the crisis, rather than have to wait until after the crisis to deal with." Griffin says.
World's top ten most active art collectors
The biggest names in the hedge fund donors like collecting art and arts in their leisure time. Rumors that he spent $ 60 million to buy • Paul Cezanne's painting, but some people say that the real buyer is a member of the Whitney family. In October 2006, Griffin spent $ 80 million bought by David Geffen, where the artist Jasper Johns's work "unreal start" (False Start) from partner DreamWorks, the same year, he also donated to the Art Institute of Chicago $ 19 million. Griffin's collection a painting and a sculpture by Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne • The annual exhibition at the Art Institute.
In 2004, Griffin and his wife, Anne was named one of the year the world's most influential art collectors magazine Art News.
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