Book Launch: An American Hedge Fund

Posted by
October 2, 2007

An american Hedge FundEarlier this summer, Timothy Sykes, whom some of you may know from the Wallstreet Warriors TV show, contacted me about reading his new book, An American Hedge Fund. I was skeptical at first. First, because I had seen Tim as a guest on CNBC during their stock challenge this summer and couldn’t imagine anyone of consequence contacting The Curious Investor. Second, because I had seen his over the top personality and was skeptical of his ability to present himself through writing.

Fortunately, I was wrong on both counts. An American Hedge Fund is truly successful especially for a first foray into writing and publishing. The story is honest and clear and truly captivating. It details Tim’s rise from a high schooler with $12,000 in bar mitzvah money to the stubborn and headstrong proprietor of a fledgling hedge fund. Oh, did I mention he started the hedge fund with $1.65 million of his own money after graduating college? Yes, that’s $1.65 million made from an initial investment of $12,000. The bulk of the return generated from 1999-2002 which marked both one of the most drastic bull markets and bear markets we’ve seen.

Tim’s writing is raw and his tone somewhat cocky, as to be expected from a day trader with the wild success to back it up. But, don’t be fooled. This is not a book written to massage an overconfident trader’s bloated self image. This is a book that is both inspiring and cautionary. Tim documents every success and every failure. His chapters reflecting on his wild ride give a glimpse into the discipline and sacrifice that such success necessitates. And, for those who are smitten by the idea of running their own hedge funds, Tim offers a glimpse into the mysterious world showing that its not a life of glitz and glamor, but a battle where a young upstart has to scratch and claw to establish credibility.

An American Hedge Fund is really a good read. It might serve well to have been edited a bit better, but it definitely tells a story which few, if any, have ever dared to tell. It’s not a “how to”. But, it is entertaining and enlightening. The book is officially launching today, so make sure to pick it up! Stay tuned over the next few days as I’ll be posting an interview with none other than Timothy Sykes himself!

Full Disclosure: I was not paid or compensated in any other way to do this review outside of receiving a digital copy of the book’s manuscript.

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Comments
Comment by Steve Cohen on November 11, 2007 @ 1:34 pm

I READ SYKES WORTHLESS BOOK AND IT HAS NO SUBSTANCE. THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER BOOKS THAT COVER THE SAME SUBJECT MATTER FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE A RIGHT TO EVEN AUTHOR A BOOK ON THE SUBJECT.

THIS WORTHLESS BOOK IS JUST AN ATTEMPT AT COMING UP WITH A CATCHY TITLE TO GENERATE HITS ON A SEARCH ENGINE. SAME OLD TIRED INFORMATION PRESENTED.

SYKES IS A FAILED HEDGE FUND MANAGER, NOW BECOMING A SNAKE OIL BOOK SALESMAN. BOOK NOT WORTH $20.

Comment by Dan Hung on November 12, 2007 @ 5:56 pm

I allowed this post the first time because it seemed to be legitimate, but I have since received several such comments with similar wording and all caps text and I believe it is the work of a spammer. I’ll leave the first one as I believe that it does show that there is some hateful backlash against Tim Sykes. Whether warranted or not, that’s for people to decide for themselves.

Comment by Ben S. on December 1, 2007 @ 2:10 pm

I read Tim Sykes mediocre hedge fund book since I knew him at Tulane, and like him as a person. However, the book is an empty and uninspiring story about how Sykes became a self-absorbed irresponsible stock trader. This book is NOT a “classic” and story is NOT “Rocky-like”(as author Sykes claims). This book is basically like a blog of an average person who got lucky trading stocks and then his luck ran out (which it really should be – blog and nothing more).

Beware of all the phony glowing reviews for Sykes Book. Its the good ole boy network in high gear where authors/investment advisers use the buddy system to give fake good reviews to each other.

Sykes put the term “stock operator” in title in order to confuse all future book searches for Jesse Livermore’s excellent story (Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, by Edwin Lefèvre (1923)). This cheesy trick might help book sales, but needless to say, Sykes has nothing in common with the great trader Livermore.

Sykes comes across like a hyper/immature/video game player-type Trader, which worked for him for a few years; then the law of averages caught up with him. His “return to the mean” continues during the past two years; and his very poor investment strategies are DOWN -37% since Jan 2006. His continuous bad performance throughout 2007 shows that he does not learn from his mistakes; and readers can only cringe while watching Sykes slow motion demise into a worthless snake oil salesman.

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