The 30 year-old hedge fund stars whose world is falling apart

Back in 2013 and early 2014, there was money to be made in Greece. Greek bonds went from 12 to 60 cents on the dollar and the emboldened hedge fund fund managers who bought them up became rich indeed.

“People made their careers on that trade,” George Linatsas, founding partner of Axia Ventures, an investment bank that specializes in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Italy, told the New York Times. 

Eighteen months later, and the career trade has turned sour. The NYT says the swanky ‘Hotel Grand Bretagne’ in Athens is filling up with panicked hedge fund investors in their 30s who’ve made a bad mistake.

Until last weekend, their efforts were reportedly focused on trying to work out exactly what the Greek government was up to. Some were ‘listening to Greek radio’. Others had hired specialists to study the body language of Alexis Tsipras and Yanis Varoufakis. Now that Tsipras’ and Varoufakis’ intentions are clear, the young hedge fund managers can at least save that expense. Unfortunately, it may be too late to redeem their careers.

Recalibrating Your Morals (eFinancialCareers)

Forget the idea that banking bosses have loose morals. An extensive survey suggests that they’re more ethical than most.

Making the Summer Count (eFinancialCareers)

Investment banks tell us exactly how interns can impress them and secure a full-time job offer.

The Personal Touch (Financial News)

So-called ‘private fundraising teams’ are becoming a thing. Deutsche Bank, UBS, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan have reportedly recently set them up, while Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse have expanded existing teams.

A Big Loss on Greece (CNBC) 

These are some of the hedge funds that were betting on a Greek recovery. 

Fixed Income Expansion (Press Release)

Cantor Fitzgerald is taking the opportunity to poach some senior fixed income bankers.

A Slow Move Away from London (Financial Times)

Credit Suisse is looking at moving some of its back office operations from London to Dublin.

Equities is a Good Place to Be (Financial News) 

It’s been a good few months for equity traders: The value of European equities trading will rise by more than 27% in the second quarter of 2015 from a year ago.

No Central Bank Bailout (Telegraph) 

Central banks have no ammunition left in the event of another financial crisis.