Julian Robertson: a Tiger in the Land of Bulls and Bears
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STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page i Julian Robertson A Tiger in the Land of Bulls and Bears Daniel A. Strachman John Wiley & Sons, Inc. STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page i Julian Robertson A Tiger in the Land of Bulls and Bears Daniel A. Strachman John Wiley & Sons, Inc. STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page ii Copyright © 2004 by Daniel A. Strachman. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. 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For general information on our other products and services, or technical sup- port, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at 800-762-2974, outside the United States at 317-572-3993 or fax 317-572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Strachman, Daniel A., 1971– Julian Robertson : a tiger in the land of bulls and bears / Daniel A. Strachman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 0-471-32363-2 (cloth) 1. Robertson, Julian. 2. Tiger Management (Firm)—History. I. Title. HG928.5.R63877 2004 332.64'5—dc22 2004013116 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page iii To my wife, Felice STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page iv STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page v “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” —Thomas A. Edison “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather, a lack of will.” —Vince Lombardi STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page vi STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS HIS PROJECT IS THE RESULT OF RESEARCH THAT REACHED across the globe in search of information about Julian H. TRobertson Jr., his life, his family, his business, and his work in the community. Many people contributed to this effort, and I want to thank all the former Tigers, the current Cubs, and the many other individuals who subjected themselves to my in- terviews. To all of you I say thank you very much. Of course, without access to Julian Robertson, it would not have been pos- sible to get the complete story, and I want to thank him for spending time with me. Two individuals who were particularly helpful were Viki Goldman, the finest librarian I have ever met, and Sam Graff, a man who can make anyone look good in print. Without their ef- fort, support, and guidance, this book would probably not be sitting on the book shelf. I also need to thank Erik Calonius, who truly knows his way around words and is someone for whom I have great respect and admiration. Joanna Ro is some- one else who needs to get a nod. Her work on the manuscript and guidance through the editing process was insightful and in- credibly useful. Special thanks to my family for their understanding and support. vii STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page viii ACLNOWLEDGMENTS To all of the people at John Wiley & Sons, especially Pamela van Giessen and Joan O’Neil, thanks again for the green light. I don’t think I will ever find a place more supportive of my work. As I have said before, I hope this book is everything you in- tended it to be when you gave me the go-ahead to write it. Daniel A. Strachman New York City July 2004 viii STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page ix CONTENTS Introduction xiii Chapter 1: Making Money in Metals 1 Chapter 2: The Birth of a Tiger 15 Chapter 3: A Southerner on Wall Street 29 Chapter 4: The Tiger Finds New Hunting Grounds 43 Chapter 5: The Tiger Begins to Growl 51 Chapter 6: The Crash of 1987 77 Chapter 7: The Dawn of a New Era 103 Chapter 8: The Tiger Tangles with the Press 125 Chapter 9: The Peak and the Fall 153 Chapter 10: The Press Dissects the Tiger 173 Chapter 11: The Tiger Cubs 189 Chapter 12: Lessons Learned from the Tiger 205 Chapter 13: Noblesse Oblige 233 Appendix 251 Notes 255 Index 265 ix STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page x STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page xi INTRODUCTION HIS IS THE STORY OF HOW MONEY IS MANAGED AND HOW legends are made. This book is about one man’s ability Tto continually exploit market inefficiencies and extract huge profits from his work. It is about how, by employing and utilizing some of Wall Street’s best and brightest minds, he was able to continually beat the market and establish himself as one of the greatest money managers of all time. It is about how win- ning is not something but how it is everything. It is about how he sometimes pushed his employees to an extreme that caused them to deeply resent their boss. It is about how he expressed his thanks for their tireless efforts with nothing more than a pat on the back—and a bucketful of money. It is the story of how one individual with incredible drive and a will to win at whatever cost built one of the most successful hedge funds and money management organizations of all time. It is also the story of an individual who has forever impacted the way money is man- aged around the globe but whose success came with a streak of envy that many believed eventually led to his downfall. This is the story of a money manager who became an over- night sensation by leading the growth of an organization from a group of under 20 people managing just around $8 million in assets to an organization with more than 100 people managing xi STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page xii INTRODUCTION more than $21 billion in assets. It is about how the organization went from being a small family business with a culture based around mutual success and enjoyment to an investment man- agement corporation with a culture laced with infighting and greed. It is about the growing pains, the frustrations, and the cultural problems that the company experienced on its rise and its fall in the wake of the technology bubble that rocked the eq- uity markets at the dawn of the millennium. It is the story of Julian Robertson and Tiger Management. Julian Hart Robertson Jr. has been called everything from ar- rogant and mean to gruff and stubborn. He is considered by some to be extremely kind, and his southern charm is leg- endary. And while many of his contemporaries, former col- leagues, and some his friends say nice things about him, one thing is quite clear: He is a complex man. Talking to people on the Street about him yields comments like, “His is the finest hindsight of anybody around,” and “You never know quite where you stand with him,” along with, “He built a better mousetrap,” and “Julian is in a class by himself.” The comments are littered with praise, envy, and—in some cases—fear. It is hard to find anyone who will not praise him for his work, both in and out of the markets, but it is also not uncommon to have some people praise Robertson on the record and then quickly ask to go off the record and augment their comments with a different flavor—a mean flavor, even a vicious flavor. This is a man who can add a column of numbers in his head and know to the penny how much up or down is the portfolio (remember the way Dustin Hoffman counted the matchsticks in the movie Rain Man)—but he also has trouble remembering peo- ple’s names. He is a man who has a competitive streak that runs deep in his veins, and he unleashes it not only when he is trading or in- vesting but also in his everyday life, including when he is relax- xii STRACHMAN_FM_pages 6/29/04 11:35 AM Page xiii INTRODUCTION ing on the golf course.