Hacker News Reader

because almost all the funds are doing business using money from other people. having highly sophisticated formula, models,algorithms and Ph.D from top universities is intimidatingly convincing to investors to put money in. on the other hand, investors, most being institutional, who are hardly convinced either, nevertheless would invest. after all, it's not their money. they just need some justification. it's business, rather than arts or science.

View on HN

it reminds me of Madoff. Technically, it was a quant fund in a sense that he paid his engineers to create algorithms to falsify returns. Nobody would've known it was a scam all along apart from contrarians who immediately called bullshit on his consistent double digit returns, even through bubble busts when he is typically long.

It appears that raising money either for hedge funds or startups doesn't seem to be rooted in rationalism and caution, rather money seems to flow to those that acquire the social credits which can come in the form of academic credentials, bro-ism, and being 'a lucky sperm' for a lack of better word.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com