market folly

Phil Goldstein and Andy Dakos of Bulldog Investors approach markets from a value investing bent and often employ activist strategies. Since 2001, their Full Value Partners LP has returned 10.03% annualized net.

Goldstein actually started working as a civil engineer and didn't start his investment career until his late 40's. He started managing money on the side in 1992 and finally pursued his passion full-time. He and Steve Samuels started Opportunity Partners with $700,000 and joined up with protege Andy Dakos.

While originally focusing on closed-end funds trading at discounts to net asset value (NAV), the firm eventually transitioned to focusing on other plays that traded at large discounts to intrinsic value, including REITs and operating companies. They also began to focus on using activist strategies as a catalyst to unlock value. In particular, they honed in on liquidity events such as asset sales, mergers, etc.

Nowadays, they see opportunity in junior gold miners (not because of macro theses, but rather sheer discounts). Also, they see opportunity in mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Embedded below is the video interview with Phil Goldstein and Bulldog Investors from OpalesqueTV (email readers come to the site to watch):



For other great hedge fund manager interviews, check out David Gerstenhaber of Argonaut Capital on risk management.