It is funny how you end up reading more than you think you would, out of school. I have already surpassed the number of books I actually read during my entire school career (16 or whatever years). Yes, all three books were pretty decent and easy reads, with the third one being An American Hedge Fund by Timothy Sykes.
Before I go any further, I must state that I am not a fan/follower or hater of Tim. Meaning that I don’t care if he does good or bad, although for entertainment purposes it would probably be more enjoyable to watch him fail.
And so it begins
The book starts out with Tim basically stating why you should even waste your time listening to what he has to say. Basically he turned $13,000 into a million all by the age of 22. He goes on to state how he really has no skills or background when it comes to trading, yet he somehow managed to succeed in the world he didn’t belong.
It all started out in high school. He was an avid tennis player, but ended up hurting himself and continued to become more interested in the market. Tim slowly became that nerdy kid that people snicker at behind his back (if you don’t know what I mean, then best chance that was probably you). He continued to tell tales of how he became close friends with the school librarian (i didn’t even know if mine spoke English), and would use his new found connections to reserve multiple computers at a time.
Tim then ended up at Tufts and became the cool kid that makes loads of money, while rubbing in his roommates face the amount of money he made each day (I implied that part). He even went as far as to treat the whole dorm out to dinner after a very successful day, but obviously he didn’t really like any of them because he ended up transferring to Tulane blah, blah, blah.
He soon came to the conclusion that he wanted to run his own hedge fund, but the problem was that he had trouble getting people to invest capital into his fund. Meanwhile he invested in a ticket processing start-up company, which basically screwed him over in the end. Tim spent some time in Orlando, then moved back to New York City. He suddenly found himself on the show Wall Street Warriors where he insist he was the star of the show.
At this point, the book is nearly over, and I am beginning to lose my total concentration because I still get giddy when I am about to complete a full book.
Anyways Tim’s fund was sprinkled with good returns and a few devastating returns which hurt a lot. Something apparently clicked in his head, that he should get out the word and teach people what is really going on in the world of hedge funds. The book eventually ends with a summary of Tim’s final evaluation blah, blah, blah. The hedge fund world is a dark dark place.
General thoughts about the books
Overall, the book had its interesting moments. Although I didn’t really need to know so many details on each trade, but I am sure some people will find that interesting. I found the parts where he talked about his actual life rather than the trades to be more interesting. I also felt that Tim probably could of been more financially successful if he just continued to trade privately for himself; however, I am sure without the fund he may have not got roles on Wall Street Warriors or other types of perks he may have received.
I had never heard about Timothy Sykes before just a month ago, but now it seems like I know his whole life story. I have no problem with him trying to capitalize on his huge return. I mean if I was in that position, then I would probably be doing the same thing. The book is a pretty easy read, although it probably could of been much much shorter. It is more of an autobiography then a “how to” book, so don’t expect to learn a 1,2,3 step on how to do the same thing Tim did.
If you want to keep following him, or leave some hurtful comments (like many seem to do), then you can go to his personal website, timothysykes.com.
image source – gawker.com