market folly

Tiger Management founder Julian Robertson made a rare media appearance with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television we wanted to highlight.


On How Hedge Funds Differ Now Versus Then

Robertson says, "the hedge fund business is tougher today than it was 15 years ago... there's more hedge funds in the business.  And hedge funds are the toughest competition for other hedge funds."

He also points to borrowing costs going up for shorting.  In terms of management fees, he feels that it's really a self-fulfilling prophecy based on performance.  Funds that perform well will be able to charge high fees while lower performance could lead to lower fees.

Robertson argues that the problem with hedge fund performance has been stock selection, rather than macro issues.


On How He Invests

In investing, he says he focuses on management and you have to give them a long period of time.  He's a long-term investor of course and doesn't focus on short-term gyrations.

He notes he still has a position in Sherwin Williams (SHW).  We've posted an in-depth resource on his investment philosophy with a recent interview with Robertson by Columbia Business School.

On where he sees value, the Tiger Management man says you can probably find some in Europe right now, even though there are obvious problems (though he didn't mention any specific names).  We've also highlighted Avenue Capital's Marc Lasry on opportunities in Europe.


Embedded below is the 12-minute interview with Julian Robertson:



For more on this legendary manager, we've posted a profile/biography of Julian Robertson.