Month: May 2017

STEVE COHEN IS PLANNING A $20 BILLION MIDDLE FINGER FOR HIS CRITICS

BESS LEVIN, 30 May 2017

While SAC Capital pleaded guilty to insider trading in 2013, paying $1.8 billion in fines, the hedge fund’s founder, Steven A. Cohen, walked away relatively unscathed. In 2016, he agreed to a temporary, two-year ban by the Securities and Exchange Commission that prevents him from supervising a registered fund until January 1, 2018. He never faced criminal charges despite years of being investigated by the government and then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who appeared at one point to make jailing Cohen his life’s work; he wasn’t banned from the securities industry for life; and his net worth, which these days is said to hover around $13 billion, was barely affected.

Still, the downfall of SAC Capital hit Cohen in other ways. SAC, which took its name from Cohen’s initials, was converted into a family office and renamed the sterile-sounding Point72 Asset Management, rendering many a fleece jacket worthless. Outside money had to be returned to investors. And, as a family office, Cohen was unable to charge the high fees SAC once commanded. Top talent proceeded to exit the new firm. Continue reading “Article: STEVE COHEN IS PLANNING A $20 BILLION MIDDLE FINGER FOR HIS CRITICS”