Retirement of a Hedge Fund Manager

Quite the departure letter from Andrew Lahde of Lahde Capital Management who has decided that he a) has enough money and b) managing other people's money causes too much stress and c) America is screwed...

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, “What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it.” I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list of those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they lookforward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don’t worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer’s company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life – where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management – with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man’s interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft’s near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won’t see it included in BP’s, “Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions,” television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM’s similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant – marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other addictive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let’s stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say goodbye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

Article from FT.com

Stephane Dion Interview

I know everyone has bad days and I understand that Stephane Dion's first language is not English, but this interview does not give me much confidence, should the Liberal government get elected to parliament.

VANOC & their trademarks

You probably remember quite clearly that VANOC had a bit of a tiff with the Greek restaurant "Olympia Pizza & Pasta" on Denman Street, an establishment that has been around for years over it's name and the 'rings' in its logo.

Well there's another potentially controversial trademark they've made having to do with their freshly unveiled Olympic motto, "With Glowing Hearts".

If the phrase seems familiar that might be because it is. You might recognize it from a little song we like to call Oh Canada.

So basically VANOC is trying to trademark a line from our national anthem. Wait, what?! Yeah, exactly. You can post your thoughts here.

Land Rover LR3 Location Scout

Great commercial from Land Rover. Best4X4byFar.

Global Apologizes to Timmies

Well, it seems that Global News was a little bit quick to judge Tim Hortons and the Conservative Party of Canada with regards to the Timmies Store in Khandahar. Read on below...

Apology canada.com
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008

In a story that appeared on Global and on the Internet at globalnational.com and canada.com in 2006 regarding the Tim Hortons location in Afghanistan, we reported that Tim Hortons received a subsidy from the federal government to open the outlet on the military base in Kandahar.

The circumstances were that the Canadian military approached Tim Hortons at the request of Canadian soldiers to provide a taste of home, and Tim Hortons felt it was a public service to do so. Tim Hortons did not receive any kind of subsidy from the Federal government. In fact, Tim Hortons waived all franchise fees, royalties and provided free support and training to its franchisee, the Canadian Forces Service Personnel Agency. This federal agency supports troops and their families.

All profits earned from the Tim Hortons outlet in Afghanistan are reinvested into programs to benefit soldiers and their families.

Global News would like to sincerely apologize to Tim Hortons, and we would like to recognize Tim Hortons' acts of good corporate citizenship including this contribution to the wellbeing of Canadian soldiers.

Josh Groban Rocks the Emmys

Vancouver 2010 Tickets... available soon!!!

I know there's been a lot of chatter about "Healthcare before Olympics", people thinking the Canada Line has disrupted too many businesses along Cambie Street, others thinking the upgrade of the Sea to Sky highway costs way too much money but I for one think all of these things are fantastic and long overdue. Besides... our healthcare system has fundamental flaws... money can't fix that, it would just bandaid it for a little while longer but that's another post, isn't it.

So with that being said I thought I'd put out a little reminder to my multitudes of blog readers that the tickets for Vancouver 2010 are going on sale in 20 days. Or at least that's when the process is starting. Check here for more info.