Morning Coffee: Secret strategy of 33 year-old UK hedge genius. 40 year-old bank employee regrets 60 hour weeks

If you're not au fait with the name James Hanbury, now's the time to familiarize yourself. In a gloomy climate for hedge funds, Hanbury is one of the few glowing orbs.

Hanbury graduated from Scotland's Edinburgh University in 2003, making him around 33 years-old today. He works for Odey Asset Management, where his long-short equity Absolute Return Fund has generated returns of 222% since May 2009. Financial News reports that Crispin Odey is so pleased with Hanbury that he's just launched a brand new fund just for him - the 'Odey Absolute Return Focus Fund', to allow a 'greater concentration of Hanbury's best ideas.'

What's Hanbury's secret? In an interview with the Independent in 2011, Hanbury said he focused on looking for stocks where the 'perceived risk is less than the actual risk', and that he preferred to go long on companies owned by large families. When he shorted a stock, Hanbury said he did so because he detected a structural challenge to a company's business model, and that he took a 'long approach.'

Hanbury also told the Independent that all his own 'investment money' was in the fund, which didn't impose a hurdle before levying performance fees on investors. This being the case, we suspect he must be one of the wealthiest 33 year-olds in the UK.

Separately, the New York Times has been talking to lonely single men in New York.  It alighted upon Jonathan Lee, an internal auditor at an 'international bank who lives on the Upper East Side.'

“I’m still at work,” said Lee, at 8pm. “That says a lot.”

Lee, who'd just turned 40, added that he'd been working a lot of 60 hour weeks and reflecting on what he'd missed out: "I’m definitely underdeveloped, in terms of dating and relationships...When I consider someone to marry, I have to find someone young enough to have children. And the age difference. What’s acceptable?...There are a lot more challenges the older you get, and I realize that now.”

Meanwhile:

These hedge funds have done pretty well too. (CNBC) 

Barclays is closing most of its Asian cash equities business. (Bloomberg) 

New EU bonus rules will come into effect in London on January first 2017. (FT Advisor)

Numis just launched a venture capital business. (WSJ) 

Deutsche Bank hired Leonie Ryan as COO for global equities from Nomura. (Financial News)

Neil Shuttleworth, head of debt syndicate for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Deutsche Bank, has left the firm. (Reuters) 

Bill Winters, still bullish on Asia: "Do we believe that the opportunity in Asia has gone away as a result of the current period of adjustment in China, Asean, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, falling commodity prices, slower export growth, sluggish economies from the West? Absolutely not." (WSJ) 

Colm Kelleher uses Star Wars references to explain 'Wall Street nuance.' (WSJ)  

Upset as seasoned bank CEOs refuse to make way for the next generation. (Bloomberg) 

Jamie Dimon is now the only CEO without a clear number 2. (WSJ) 

Ex-Goldman Sachs banker now sells medical marijuana. (Mashable)

Where can you afford to rent in London? (Telegraph)

Photo credit:  Shooting Stars by Stefan Van der Straeten  is licensed under CC BY 2.0.