Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Move Over Michael Burry

Michael Burry graduated from Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, California.

He went on to med school.

And specialized in neurology.

Then, while he was doing his residency at Stanford Medical Hospital, he quit.

The Neurologist Turned Hedge Fund Manager

Michael set up Scion Capital, LLC, a hedge fund.

He started writing a newsletter.  As a result of the newsletter and the superior returns he was able to generate on his investments, he soon began to attract the attention and business of small and big investors alike.

Joel Greenblatt's company was one of his backers and early investors.

Striking Gold With Credit Default Swaps from Goldman

Burry became famous as one of just a handful of people in the US who predicted the real estate credit bubble would burst.

While investors were falling over themselves to snap up the trashy mortgage backed bonds that Wall Street was packaging and selling to them...

Burry quietly amassed credit default swaps against the worst of those bonds.

And struck gold when the real estate house of cards collapsed.

The Big Short

If you want to know more about this really interesting, really different hedgie who started out as a Santa Teresa High School graduate, you should read  The Big Short.

The Big Short is the latest book by master storyteller Michael Lewis.

It is every bit as exciting a book as Michael Lewis' other books such as the The Blindside (which was made into a movie of the same name), Money Ball and Liar's Poker.

If you are like me and the investing world and its shenanigans captivates you, The Big Short will be nothing short of a thriller for you.

Meanwhile, from Santa Teresa High School, the very same high school that Burry went to...

... comes John Paraskevopoulos, currently a senior at the school.

And my next guest post contributor.

His piece "On The Importance of Language Arts" caught my daughter's eye when she saw it on Facebook.

And when I read it, I immediately saw its potential as a guest post.

So I had my daughter ask John if he wouldn't mind.

To my delight, John said yes.

So on Saturday, look out for  John Paraskevopoulos's views on the importance of language arts.

Hope you enjoy it every bit as much as me and my daughter did.

Till Saturday then.....have a good rest of the week. And do rest those eyes so they are not tired for John's piece.

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