The Big Win: Learning from the Legends to Become a More Successful Investor

Praise for The Big Win

"If you want to create wealth, understand how the smartest investors in the world do it. And to learn from the best, then get the best to speak candidly about their investment strategies. That′s what Stephen Weiss did in The Big Win, a truly fascinating read that details these legendary investors′ winning strategies in stocks, bonds, and real estate."
—Larry Kudlow, Host of CNBC′s The Kudlow Report

"Winning . . . that′s what Steve Weiss′s The Big Win is all about. I have always thought that we can best succeed by learning from the best. And The Big Win—written in a straightforward and easily readable style—chronicles winners in varied fields who have demonstrated a similarity of drive, passion, process, equanimity, discipline, and humility in reaching rarefied heights that should serve as templates for anyone intent on becoming extraordinary."
—Douglas A. Kass, General Partner, Seabreeze Partners Management, Inc.

"Winners win. Stephen Weiss gets that because he′s done it at the highest level of this game. His sell–side (Salomon Brothers) and buy–side (SAC Capital) experience contextualizes making successful investing a repeatable process."
—Keith McCullough, CEO, Hedgeye; author, Diary of a Hedge Fund Manager

"Mr. Weiss has written an introduction to alternative investments that has the very best—and very rarest—qualities of business writing, in that his book is educational, entertaining, and accessible all at the same time. Newcomers to the field of non–traditional investment styles will not be intimidated; while seasoned pros may well find new stories here that they can reflect upon to their profit."
—Alicia Ogawa, financial consultant; Senior Advisor, Center on Japanese Economy and Business, Columbia Business School

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 The Legends I Have Met: A Behind the Scenes Look at What Makes a Legend 5

Wanted: The Truly Successful and the Truly Interesting 7

Tying the Common Threads Together—The Portrait of the Perfect Investor 16

Chapter 2 Follow the Money: The Ugly Reality of Whale Watching 19

Chapter 3 The Glass Ceiling of Performance: Renée Haugerud 35

Puts and Calls and Corn 36

A Feel for Trading 39

Commodities as Mover and Shaker 42

Managing Risk 48

Renée Haugerud′s Big Win: The Three–Instrument Trade 49

Chapter 4 The Boom Goes Bust: James S. Chanos 59

A Fan of the Facts 61

The Baldwin–United Short 64

Short Seller Supreme 67

Doggedly—and Successfully—Cynical 68

The China Short 70

Chapter 5 Digging Deep, Coming Up Big: Lee Ainslie 83

Nurturing a Tiger Cub 84

Apprentice to Journeyman to Master 86

Mapping Maverick 88

The Cognizant Big Win: Challenging Conventional Wisdom with Research 93

Chapter 6 small caps, BIG GAINS: Chuck Royce 109

On the Not–So–Fast Track 113

Reaping Value 118

RBA: A Classic Big Win in the Royce Style 125

Chapter 7 The Prophet of a Profitable Vision: A. Alfred Taubman 133

Native Wolverine 134

Big Wins: The Enclosed Mall and the Irvine Ranch 136

Core Competency 139

Defeating Threshold Resistance 142

The Process 146

Chapter 8 The Twenty–First Century Belongs to China—and Commodities: James Beeland Rogers Jr. 153

Easy Rider Explores the World 156

A Father′s Gift 159

Bullish on China 160

The Commodities Connection 162

Chapter 9 Opportunity Is Where You Find It: R. Donahue Peebles 171

No Limitations 172

Finding the Deal 177

On the Beach 179

The Peebles Way to a Win 181

Chapter 10 Finding Value in Junk: Martin J. Whitman 193

Educational Value Added: On–the–Job Training 195

Solo 197

The More You Know . . . 200

Bringing the Carcass Back to Life 201

Conclusion: So There You Have It . . . 211

About the Author 215

Index 217

Stephen L. Weiss is a twenty–five–year veteran of Wall Street and the Managing Partner of Short Hills Capital Partners, LLC. An active investor, markets expert, and public speaker, he is also a CNBC contributor, appearing regularly on Fast Money and Fast Money Halftime Report. Weiss is the author of The Billion Dollar Mistake: Learning the Art of Investing Through the Missteps of Legendary Investors (Wiley), which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean versions.