< previous page page_96 next page >

Page 96

dozen other managers. Ainslie allocates less than 1 percent of assets to other managers. At times, he has seeded other managers and in those cases owns a small percentage of those hedge funds. Kovner has made such allocations from time to time to a few managers. But he doesn't feel it is the best way to participate with other managers, and he doesn't like the loss of control or synergy. Griffin and Cooperman make infrequent allocations.

Cumberland, Och, Rajaratnam, Singer, Stark, and Tepper do not allocate to other managers.

At the other extreme of the spectrum is Sussman, who allocates to 22 outside managers, each representing a different strategy, as the main tenet of his methodology.

In this group of 13 managers, I uncovered many interrelationships among the managers that I did not know existed when I started the project. For example, one of Sussman's earliest allocations in 1981 included Singer. Sussman was also an early backer of Stark and Kovner. The publication of Stark's book Special Situation Investing: Hedging, Arbitrage and Liquidation in 1983 caught the attention of both Singer and Sussman. Tepper and Och worked at Goldman Sachs at the same time.

LOCATION/VARIOUS OFFICES

Most of the managers have just one office, while a few have satellites. The New York City area was the most frequently named location. Cooperman, Kingdon, Kovner, Och, Rajaratnam, Singer, and Wilcox are located in New York City, while Sussman in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Tepper in Chatham, New Jersey, have suburban offices. Kovner has a back office in plainsboro, New Jersey.

London was the second most common city: Griffin, Och, Singer, and Sussman have offices in London. A London office has been essential to their ability to analyze and invest in European deals. Silicon Valley was the third most frequently named location for an office. Griffin has an office in San Francisco, and Rajaratnam has one in Santa Clara, the purpose being to develop good contacts with the technology companies they follow.

The managers based in New York highlighted the convenience of meeting key players ranging from company executives to IPO (initial public offering) road shows. The free flow of ideas outweighs the dan-

< previous page page_96 next page >