Eph alums (and hedge fund superstars) Andreas Halvorsen ‘86 and Chase Coleman ‘97 had pretty decent years in 2007, making $520 million and $400 million respectively. Of course, next to the $3.7 billion John Paulson made, that is mere pocket change.

Which Eph made the most money in 2007? Excellent question. My guess for 2006 was Chase Coleman ‘97. Last December I thought for that Mike Swenson ‘89 might have a shot. But, be serious! Ten million (more or less) is nothing to sneeze at but is not enough for bragging rights among the richest Ephs.

In an article about legendary hedge fund manager Julian Roberston, Fortune reports:

Robertson has for years had a well-deserved reputation for spotting and developing talent. During his glory years managing the Tiger fund, the North Carolina native surrounded himself with bright, highly competitive, young men - often from southern universities - and worked them hard for their best ideas. Known as the “Tiger Cubs,” a number of them graduated and became extremely successful hedge fund managers in their own right, including John Griffin of Blue Ridge Capital, Lee Ainslie of Maverick Capital, Andreas Halvorsen of Viking Global, and Steve Mandel of Lone Pine Capital.

There was a new generation of talent in place at Tiger when Robertson unwound the fund in 2000, and he decided to give some start-up money to a handful of the sharpest analysts on staff and mentor them. These were the first “Tiger Seeds,” as he calls the money managers currently affiliated with the firm. “I wanted to continue to have some young people around,” says Robertson. “I didn’t want to go from age 70 to Methuselah. So we kept the space, which seemed sort of silly at the time, and we seeded a few guys who had worked for us in starting new hedge funds. And this has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. It’s been an unbelievable success. And it’s happened because of them. We selected good people, but they are the ones that have manufactured the record not me.”

Two of the “Tiger Seeds” with the longest and best records are Bill Hwang of Tiger Asia and Chase Coleman of Tiger Global, each of whom were in the original group of new funds to set up shop at Tiger’s office at 101 Park Avenue near Grand Central Station in midtown Manhattan. Hwang’s fund returned 55% in 2007 before fees and has a seven-year average of 40.4%. Coleman made a gross return of 91% for Tiger Global last year and his seven-year average return is 43.7%.

To average 43% from 2001 through 2007 is simply stunning. Bloomberg reports similar numbers: “Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management LLC in New York, which was backed by Robertson, returned 71 percent after fees, fund investors said.” The difference between the 91% raw returns and the 71% after fees return is, of course, Coleman’s revenue. Since hedge funds have very low expenses, almost all this revenue is profit.

But what are Coleman’s assets? Tough to say, but judging from the amounts that the other “Tiger Cubs” are managing (see the Bloomberg story), $5 billion is not a bad estimate. And, 20% on $5 billion is . . . let me get out my calculator . . . carry the “1″ . . . place the decimal . . . . Oh my goodness! Chase Coleman’s firm made about $1 billion dollars last year. Comments:

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This Deal Breaker entry features two Ephs.

To be honest, if the headline involves Katie Couric we’re probably not reading the story. That’s why we skipped Page Six’s scoop on Katie Couric’s new “boy toy” Brooks Perlin. But we shouldn’t have. The thirty-three year old Perlin is a three-time hedge fund washout, according to the Sixers.

Not only has Perlin worked for three Connecticut-based hedge funds in the last five years, he hasn’t had a full-time job since September, a source told the Post’s Marianne Garvey. He last worked at Keel Capital Management in Stamford but left to start a Queens-based company that creates environmentally friendly, green-building products. Before that, the spin-class-obsessed triathlete worked for a short time at both Pequot Capital Management and Grange Park, a hedge fund that’s now closed.

The Sixers also note that Perlin has a history of dating older women so it may be slightly inappropriate to apply the “urban cougar” label to her. After all, cougars are predators and Couric may just be aging prey. But we have to admit we enjoyed underthecounter’s extended metaphor: “Dangerous animals stalk all corners of Wall Street. Tiger Cubs come to mind, and although Chase Coleman might be hitting the ball out of the park, not all Tiger Cubs are quite so fearsome. The latest big hunt on the Street involves a cougar.”

Note to UTC: next time include sharks, dogs, hogs, cows, vultures and John Mack.

Not John Mack! To complete the Williams trio, you want the Eph who should have gotten Mack’s job as president of Morgan Stanley: limp-wristed Williams trustee Robert Scott ‘68. See previous coverage of Perlin ‘96 and Coleman ‘97.

Today’s puzzler: Which is more impressive, dating Katie Couric or making a 9 figure income? Bicentennial Medals will be awarded in just 3 months . . .

Best comment in May? Jeff Zeeman:

Nazis, sex, and explosions: it’s official, Ephblog has turned into a Jerry Bruckheimer movie.

Links added. I am not as familiar with the Bruckheimer oeuvre as Jeff, but aren’t we missing something? How about unimaginable wealth (c.f., The Rock, Pirates of the Caribbean and National Treasure)?

No worries! EphBlog has that covered. What Eph made the most money last year? Not me! Could it have been Chase Coleman ‘97?

Chase Coleman
City: New York
Firm: Tiger Global Management
Age: 31

One of the youngest members of the Trader Monthly 100, Coleman now manages roughly $2 billion in assets; his returns last year were in the neighborhood of 30 percent.

Estimated Income: $75-100 million

Comments:

1) Does the listing of the big money makers include any other Ephs? The Alumni Office would like to know!

2) Trader Monthly is not the world’s most authoritative source, but, even if they are remotely accurate, Coleman must have done well. If I were Morty, I would recruit him to the trustees.

3) How does the math work? Well, if Coleman’s benchmark was the S&P 500 (which returned 13% in 2006), then he produced 17% in excess returns. On $2 billion, that would be $340 million in value creation for his clients. 20% of that (a typical hedge fund performance fee) would be $65 million. Add in a 1% fixed fee of $20 million, and you get $85 million total. I initially suspected that this was a (slight?) overestimate (rumors of returns and assets under management are often exaggerated), especially since Coleman needs to pay his (many?) employees. But, some further gossip suggested that, if anything, Coleman is doing even better than this. Impressive!

4) Previous coverage of Coleman here and here — and how come no one pointed out the other Ephs in the wedding pictures? Coleman’s 10th reunion is next month. One hopes that he gave big.

5) All of this raises the timely topic of income inequality. The short version of this story is that the rich are getting richer and that this is even more true the further out in the tail that you go. (Background here. See here for more technical details.) Even within the exceptionally wealthy population of Williams alumni, Coleman has done well. In fact, I would wager that he, alone, made more money last year than the sum of every other member of the class of 1997.

Does that bother me? No! Coleman is both lucky (not every Eph gets to work at Tiger Management) and talented. But others had similar opportunities and made different choices. Coming out of Williams, you are unlikely to get (self-made) rich unless you go into finance. Nothing wrong with teaching or military service or non-profit work (I have done all three!), but don’t whine about income inequality (at least in the Williams context) if you make those choices.

Or, better yet, whine here. If income inequality (at the high end, leaving aside poverty) bothers you in general, please explain why it bothers you in Coleman’s case specifically. Don’t begrudge the (self-made) wealthy their rewards unless you are willing to criticize one of our own.

What is wrong with a world in which rich, sophisticated investors want to pay lavish sums to Chase Coleman ‘97 to manage their money?

Didn’t make the cut for the 370 person Coleman ‘97 wedding? Well, here are pictures for your perusal. Extra credit for those who can point out fellow Ephs.

Chase Coleman ‘97 was married today.

Stephanie Anne Ercklentz, a daughter of Mai V. Hallingby-Harrison of Palm Beach, Fla., and Enno W. Ercklentz Jr. of New York, was married last evening to Charles Payson Coleman III, a son of Kim and Charles Payson Coleman Jr. ['72] of Old Brookville, N.Y.

…

Mr. Coleman, 29, is known as Chase. He is the founder and managing partner of Tiger Technology Management, a New York investment firm. . . . The bridegroom is a descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New York.

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