How a 23-year-old hedge fund wunderkind blew a $350 million opportunity
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Matt Turner
Dec 14, 2020, 00:22 IST
Stephen Lam/Reuters; John Lamparski/Getty Images; Kimberly White/Getty Images; SSPL/Getty Images; Alex Izydorczyk/Twitter; Samantha Lee/Business Insider
How a hedge fund wunderkind blew a $350 million opportunity
From Alex Morrell and Bradley Saacks:
Last spring, Coatue Management, a $25 billion hedge-fund giant, did something unusual: It made an appearance.
In the 20 years since its founding, the secretive, tech-focused investment manager has had a stellar track record under the billionaire Philippe Laffont. But the "tiger cub" usually demurred when it came to discussing business publicly.
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In May 2019, though, two Coatue execs spoke for nearly 45 minutes to a crowd of data-science wonks at Domino Data Lab's Rev conference.
What compelled Coatue to pull back the curtain?
The firm had announced in an investor letter a few months earlier that it was raising several hundred million dollars to launch its first quant fund, an outgrowth of a data-science group that had been expanding under Izydorczyk. The firm boldly predicted that its team of 30 scientists and engineers would eventually reach 100.
But Coatue's quant fund wouldn't last another 15 months.
It's time to give ourselves permission to feel optimism about 2021, which is poised to be a great year, with a rapid end to the acute phase of the coronavirus epidemic in the US, a return to normal for most activities in our society, a strong economic recovery, and a normal person as president.
The next couple of months will be very challenging, but good times are close at hand thereafter. Our nightmare is almost over.
One night in June 2019, Noemi Uribe was drinking wine alone in her Boston apartment when she was struck by the overwhelming feeling of wanting to die.
Desperate to stop the pain, she made her way to the kitchen looking for ways to end her life. The plan, she told Insider later, was to overdose.
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Uribe believes her mental suffering began seven months earlier when she came out as bisexual to her Hillsong Church pastor Erika Nedwell. She had been found to have clinical depression and anxiety in the past, but she believes her experience at Hillsong worsened her conditions.
Uribe was told by Nedwell that "everyone is welcome" at the Christian megachurch - which counts the singer Justin Bieber and the NBA star Kevin Durant as congregants - regardless of their sexuality. But, according to Uribe, Nedwell also warned her not to act on her sexual proclivities.
ICYMI: Big bets from Wall Street's best-performing fund managers
Insider spoke to the nine top-performing US mutual fund managers of the year, based on their performance through November 6.
They shared insights into investing strategies and stock picks that prevailed through the crisis and their top trade ideas for 2021. Read the full story here:
This year's holiday season might look a little different, but there are still plenty of opportunities to get into the holiday spirit.
Our lifestyle, food, health, and entertainment editors will share holiday mindfulness hacks, spotlight the top can't-miss holiday films on Netflix, and walk through a few simple yet festive holiday recipes on Wednesday, December 16 at 4 p.m. ET.
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