Monday, August 24, 2009

Manifesto to invest/live by

Q2 2009 Letter from Elliot Management:

"To this, we say maybe... and maybe not. Our job, as stewards of Elliott’s capital, is not to choose one of the big possibilities (including, among other things: renewed collapse; recovery starting now; double-dip recession; recovery co-existing with a continued downturn in commercial real estate and then an inflation crisis) and aggressively position Elliott’s portfolio accordingly. Rather, our job is to preserve capital and to make some money on a consistent basis regardless of which scenario (or crazy combination of several) actually comes to pass. That is the really tricky part, because significant differences exist between them.

We have a number of positions which are progressing in their own timeframes and processes, not related to anything else in our book. We actively look for such uncorrelated situations, and we think that type of position is more of a primary focus for us than for most other hedge funds. Other positions that we own have a variety of risks which are impacted by what is happening in global financial markets. We hedge these risks either internally, with similar assets, or externally, by single assets, indices or derivatives. We will try not to lock ourselves into a rigid set of macro assumptions, attempt to control our own destiny to the extent we can, and do the best job possible on the “knowable” part of the equation (analysis and research). This is the “secret” to our longevity and consistency, even though we view it as the well-worn and time-tested contents of a broad and deep tool chest, which always come in handy but whose value is most vivid in tough times like these."

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