The AlphaMind Podcast - #28 Jim Simons - The Man Who Solved The Markets – With Greg Zuckerman

#28 Jim Simons - The Man Who Solved The Markets – With Greg Zuckerman

01/14/20 • 42 min

Jim Simons is the most successful trader of the last 3 decades by a country mile. Simons founded the Renaissance Technologies the secretive Hedge Fund which employs some of the world’s most brilliant mathematical geniuses. Their flagship Medallion fund has returned a staggering 66% annually, before fees, since 1988.
In November 2019, Wall Street journalist and author Greg Zuckerman published his book which lifted the veil on Jim Simons and Renaissance. ‘The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution’ tells the story of Simons, his early years, his influences, his prolific rise as a mathematician, and his career as a code-breaker for the US government. It explores Simon’s initial ventures into the world of investing and trading, how Simons vision shaped the direction his firm took, his search for methods and models which could unlock the potential to profit in the markets and how he accumulated a team of world renowned Mathematicians to form Renaissance Technologies.
This brilliant book also tells the story of the Renaissance through some of the individuals which were leading figures within the firm, how they found and improved the model which still runs today as the Medallion Fund, and how they launched other highly successful funds. The book also digs below the surface to reveal some of the dramas which occurred within the firm, the battles between personalities, and finally the how the wealth created by one partner, Robert Mercer, was to have a huge influence on the world we live in today, and which without, we may not have had Donald Trump or Brexit.
The book is a brilliant read, and in this interview with Zuckerman, we explore his inner thoughts on the book, Simons and Renaissance and discover a little more about what lies behind their extraordinary success.
You can find out more about the AlphaMind podcast and the show’s co-hosts Steven Goldstein and Mark Randall on the AlphaMind podcast website https://alpha-mind.net.
You can also follow them on twitter https://twitter.com/AlphaMind101 or visit their blog page https://alphamindblog.blogspot.com/
If you are interested in the AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching you can find out more at https://alphamindblog.blogspot.com/p/the-alphamind-private-trader.html

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Go to the AlphaMind website to know more.

Previous Episode

#27 How to Be Better as Traders

In the first AlphaMind podcast of 2020 co-hosts Steven Goldstein and Mark Randall share their Top Tips for how to be more effective, more productive, more successful as Traders and Investment Professionals in 2020.
Mark and Steve between them have over 70 years working in Financial Markets and now work with leading traders, investment professionals, manager and leaders in the Financial Markets industry as coaches and consultants. Their work in the field of performance development has helped many traders and investment professionals to power significant improvement as takers and managers of risk.
In this special New Year episode Steven and Mark share 3 key insights each which they feel will help people improve how they are when they work as Traders. Mark’s focus in the first part of the interview is geared towards physical wellbeing, whilst Steven’s focuses in the second half of this podcast is on mental attitudes and mindsets which people can adopt to help them improve how they are in the daily battle with markets.
You can find out more about Steven and Mark and the AlphaMind podcast on their website https://alpha-mind.net.
You can also follow them on twitter https://twitter.com/AlphaMind101 or visit their blog page https://alphamindblog.blogspot.com/
If you are interested in AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching you can find out more at https://alphamindblog.blogspot.com/p/the-alphamind-private-trader.html

Next Episode

#29 Simon Garcia - The Mental Battle ‘is the Battle’

This podcast episode will fascinate all those who work in trading and investing roles. In this excellent interview with co-hosts Steve and Mark, their guest Simon Garcia bares his soul, describes his experience, and shares his views about trading, dealing with the mental and emotional challenges of trading and describing some of the pressures the job entails.

This podcast episode will also be of interest to those curious about mental health in the workplace. It highlights how the pressures placed on people in traumatic workplace environments can lead to detachment from family and loved ones, as well as to one's core values. It also emphasises how this can in turn impact well-being and lead to impaired mental health, with serious consequences for the individual and heightened business risks for the firm.
The guest, Simon Garcia, is someone who has won, lost, and won again, the mental battle of trading. Simon has experienced the highs, the big highs, the lows, the deepest of all lows, and then come back to win again.

By the early 2000s, Simon achieved great success as a bond trader working at Natwest Markets and Deutsche Bank, before moving to Lehman Brothers where he was running a Convertible Bond trading team. Then one day the strains and stresses of trading hit him and hit him hard.
For Simon, the lights went out. Simon had suffered a mental breakdown.

At this point in his life, Simon was achieving great success, was earning big money, had a good marriage and a wonderful young family. To the outside world Simon had everything. But inside, he felt like he had nothing. He was at the point where life had become so painful and traumatic that he was contemplating ending it.

In the financial markets this is an all to familiar story. Simon was fortunate however. The firm, through their HR team, came through for him. He got the support and the help he needed and made a full recovery.

Simon was able to continue as a trader after a break and went to achieve great success for another decade at Nomura and then Societe Generale.

Simon's story didn't end there though. Following his experience, and whilst working as a trader, Simon started studying to be a psychotherapist. To get his hours of practice and training, Simon spent his evenings and weekends, working in hospitals and for local charities. Last year, after almost 3 decades, Simon left the markets to set-up his own private therapy practice. He is now helping others.
I hope listening to this episode will give people pause to think about how they approach their work and how they can ensure they create the psychological safety which ensures they care for themselves, and those around them.

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You can find out more about the AlphaMind podcast and the show’s co-hosts Steven Goldstein and Mark Randall on the AlphaMind podcast website https://alpha-mind.net.

You can also follow them on twitter https://twitter.com/AlphaMind101 or visit their blog page https://alphamindblog.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching you can find out more at https://alphamindblog.blogspot.com/p/the-alphamind-private