Chapter 65

There is a saying about Hedge Funds, it’s claimed that they will do just about anything, including cheating widows, and robbing orphanages to gain profit.

This leads people to not understand hedge funds, and because of this misperception, the public tends to see hedge funds as ravenous monsters who will attack anything in search of money. However, they forget that profit starts from protecting one’s own funds. One needs to think about defense first, and while hedge funds profit by attacking vulnerable assets, they also plan for what happens after losing since hedge funds cannot see the future. Therefore, the portfolio of most hedge funds are not about attacking, as NOT losing was actually more important. Adding up the portfolios of hedge funds with varying stances, as not all hedge funds followed this strategy the same way, the hedge funds of over a billion dollars had an average profit rate of twenty percent in this era.

Now, let’s talk about us. We had two miracles in Thailand last year and earned 70,000% profit during the first miracle and 17,800% during the second. The hedge fund money that was used to attack Asia came into our pockets, and then we tried to reach maximum profit during the Hong Kong shock and earned a profit of 30%.

We should think about the fact that one needed at minimum, one main director, one executive manager, and three assistant traders to manage a billion-dollar hedge fund desk team. How many would we need for fifty billion? Funds were difficult to manage when the amount increased, and that was why successful hedge fund founders decreased the amount after some success. That meant an increase in the starting amount would not lead to the same profit rate, due to the difficulty of managing such large sums, which was reality.

The last question was this. I knew that the Hong Kong shock would happen. Taking everything into consideration, was the 30% profit rate Jonathan and I made with fifty billion dollars large or small?

***

The accounts that I had assigned to “Special Operations”, to manipulate the movements of our rivals, all died out after a month, and I deliberately used them knowing they could not win. I thought one of them being profitable would be a miracle because I did not know what would happen like I had in Thailand. The accounts were all used to spread disinformation, and I used one hundred million dollars for this. The result was that one managed to profit, and the account’s name was Unicorn. (EN: Disinformation: False information which is intended to mislead, especially propaganda issued by a government organization to a rival power or the media.)

[Account Name: Unicorn Corporation]

[Account Value: $579,500,000]

[Evaluated Profit: +$574,500,000]

[Estimated Profit: +11590%]

The plan was a success with this one, and I brought all others in to calculate the total profit rate.

“About 300%, which means nine billion dollars…”

There would be an additional three billion in costs, which meant twelve billion gross profit. I was happy, but remembered that this happened because everything had fallen into place. First, Russia went down, second, the hedge funds came in aggressively, and third, the fund amount was three billion. Last year, managing the detailed transactions for fifty billion, was hell. I did not want to do it again, and as I saw the calculations I made, it reminded me I had come back in time.

I had not felt like this during Thailand in my previous life, as that had been a war. I had lost over one hundred million to my company, and it had been more devastating because the entire world had been in an economic boom. I had been blind for victory, and it was a miracle I had not been sued. However, my credentials had gotten love calls from Korean banks after I went back to Korea, but I did not go back to work. Instead, I spent time with my father. While remembering the past, it was then that Jonathan contacted me.

<Sun! We finished calculations!>

I could feel what the numbers would be from his voice.

<A profit rate of 450%, totaling ninety billion dollars. Brian did it.>

Jonathan had gone through the fifty billion dollar episode with me, and therefore his voice was as excited as he had been in Thailand.

<There will be many new millionaires.>

<They got the golden rope from heaven Sun, which is you now.> (EN: Please ask Google-sensei about the myth of King Suro, and the golden cord from heaven. ^_^ Obviously Jonathan has been reading up on Korea. )

Even if the contract had been the minimum in the field, people would become rich. I had limited the profit bonus of 20%, the industry’s average, to 1% for the special hedge fund Black Swan. There had been people in Onider who had walked out of the office before hearing the entire contact, which was natural. Wall Street managers lived by a strict performance-based system and would earn ten to twenty times their annual salary from bonuses. Those from Onider had been such people, but we managed to calm them down after mentioning that they would not be held responsible for Jonathan’s directions and any resultant losses for Black Swan, which held my and Jonathan’s personal funds and the American pension funds. The 1% profit was nine hundred million dollars anyway.

<How many people participated this time? You said a hundred.>

<One hundred and one, including Brian. Where did you find him, Sun? He was born to do this.>

They would receive bonuses according to their positions, which would be about nine million dollars each. It may be small, considering the jackpot they just hit. Actually, considering the corporate tax for investment profits…

Jonathan mentioned that point.

<The problem is the corporate tax. We would need to pay a minimum of 20%, which means eighteen billion dollars will go to the government.>

<You sound like a patriot.>

<If I knew things would go like this…>

I knew what Jonathan was thinking, but someone needed to be visible and not in the hidden offshore accounts.  We needed to placate the US government, by surrendering a share of the profits from the profit made by our visible assets.

<What about Jillian? Did they finish calculations?>

<Not yet.>

<I’m betting on Brian, and I wish you were here. Things are…crazy.>

<Wait, I got a mail.>

<From Jillian?>

I spoke after reading the mail.

<You guys lost.>

***

Jessica ran into Jillian’s office after receiving the file from accounting.

“I got the calculations!”

“Tell me.”

However, Jillian had to stand up to read them as Jessica froze after reading the documents. She gave them to Jillian with a dazed expression.

[Total Profit Rate: +615%]

[Profit: $92,250,000,000]

The total was over a hundred billion after adding the original investment money.

“This is…astounding!”

“Don’t be so loud.”

Jessica looked at her boss with amazement at his calm after seeing such a number. However, she then felt something else from her boss.

“I cannot understand why you are not satisfied.”

Jessica asked brazenly.

“This is not enough.”

“You’re too greedy. You made history, as no hedge fund had ever gotten this profit rate before.”

Jonathan was an exception, as his profit rate had been made while the investment was under three hundred thousand. While that was also amazing…

Jillian continued in an annoyed voice.

“I did so after attacking with the entire fifteen billion dollars.”

“You’re saying that it was speculation and not an investment? I think differently. While they have the same purpose…”

“Continue.”

Jessica did not speak, as her face flushed from having said too much already. Jillian spoke slowly, and his voice was heavy with sighs.

“Both speculation and investing are done with responsibility as our collateral, as we lose money if we estimate wrong. Money needs to be managed with the utmost care, even more so when it is not our own money.  However, did we carry that weight? We were not responsible for anything.”

Jillian’s hand now tightened until the pen he was holding shook.

“We were promised that we would still retain control of the funds with our positions intact if we based all of our actions on the proposal and even if lost all the money.”

“That was why we could be so aggressive.”

“Insanely.”

“Yes, we were insanely aggressive.”

“We were that. But Jessica, no investor should forgive us when we take a loss. Our investors are most careful, as even a slight loss means a loss in millions. Which is why even slight losses mean we lose their business.  However, they said that we could lose it all, without consequences.”

Jillian continued to speak.

“They gave us free rein because the investment proposal had been perfect. No one could have lost if they based their moves on it.”

“……”

“We should have earned more, Jessica.”

Jillian rumpled his hair, and Jessica inwardly shouted at him in her mind.

‘How much more? You controlled fifteen billion dollars, and we made this much profit because of you!”

Jessica was bursting out of her seams.

“Did you see yourself in the mirror, Jessica? You look like you went through a fantastic experience and learned a lot. You think that you’re a different person right now, right?”

“Yes.”

“What we learned here is useless. Investment without responsibility cannot happen. However, if you want to learn something useful…”

“Yes.”

“Go back in time and think in my place how you could have earned more profit.”

“Me? Isn’t that for you to think?”

“If you can convince me, I’ll persuade the investors to give you free rein and a limit of a billion dollars.”

Jessica’s eyes opened wide as her boss offered a head trader position in a desk team to someone whose entire resume consisted of answering phone calls.

“Jessica.”

“Yes?”

“Listen carefully when I say that we could have earned more.”