RECESSION-PROOF:The downturn has left governments, companies and individuals floundering, but there are some who still have the knack of bringing home outrageous amounts of money
WHILE STOCK markets have systematically deteriorated around the globe, a small number of stars in the financial world have calmly continued to prosper amid the economic chaos. The credit crunch saw the banking sector crumble and financial institutions hit the wall, firstly with the nationalisation of Northern Rock, then with the demise of US investment bank giants Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. The economic calamity left governments floundering, shocked at the speed and scale of the economic downturn.
Yet, a gifted minority of investors have succeeded while the markets at large have failed. They are hugely talented, exorbitantly wealthy, younger than you might expect and living lifestyles unaffected by the recession.
Those who stand out are Australian trader Greg Coffey, whose personal wealth grew by an estimated €90 million during 2008; Alan Howard and David Harding, two of the highest-paid hedge-fund managers in this part of the world, and Roger Jenkins, a Barclays bank employee who specialises in tax arbitrage and rubs shoulders with the rich and famous. While the majority of the population are cutting back on simple luxuries to pay everyday bills, these men have emerged scrape-free.
Greg Coffey Worth: £200 million
Australian Greg Coffey has attained near legendary status in the investment world. The 38-year-old hedge-fund trader bucks the typical suit-and-tie image associated with finance, and prefers his trade-mark shaggy hair, leather jackets and jeans.
Coffey was so successful last year that, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, his personal wealth jumped £80 million (€92.7 million) to an estimated £200 million.
The fund manager grabbed media headlines last year when he walked away from his employer of five years, GLG Partners, to set up his own hedge fund. The move cost him a £160 million payout and a huge salary that reportedly reached £150 million in 2007.
Coffey was enormously successful at the firm, and his vehicle won fund of the year at the 2008 EuroHedge awards. In fact, his departure was so significant that GLG's share price dipped briefly when the news was announced.
Coffey ended up being lured to work for Louis Bacon at Moore Capital instead of launching his own fund.
The star trader currently lives in London with his wife and two children. He is known to be an accomplished skier and, according to some media reports, owns a farm in the Home Counties, a chalet in Verbier and two beachfront mansions in Sydney.
He studied actuarial studies at Macquarie University in Sydney before beginning his career at Macquarie Bank in 1993. The following year he became a trader in emerging-market equity derivatives at Bankers Trust, and later worked for a fund backed by George Soros.
He was then hired by Bank Austria to oversee global equity propriety trading before starting at GLG Partners, where he gained his reputation as an enormously talented trader.
Alan Howard Earns: $250 million
Alan Howard (45), is the co-founder of one of Europe's biggest hedge fund firms, Brevan Howard Asset Management, and was named one of the top 10 highest paid hedge fund managers in 2008. The co-chief executive and chief investment officer took home a jaw-dropping $250 million (€175 million) last year, according to Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine.
Howard, who prefers a low profile, enjoys holidays in Switzerland with his family. He is chauffeur-driven around his hometown of London in a Silver Mercedes-Benz.
The father of four, who holds a masters degree in chemical engineering, began his career at Salomon Brothers, where he rose to head of European interest rate trading, and was also a managing director.
He then began a two-year stint at Tokai Bank Europe, also heading up interest rate trading.
Eventually Howard joined Credit Suisse First Boston, where he became the global head of propriety trading of fixed income. In 2002 he left to co-found Brevan Howard Asset Management, which had US$25.56 billion in assets under management in January this year.
His success during 2008 is evident in the performance of the group's flagship vehicle, the Brevan Howard Master Fund, which returned 20.4 per cent during a period that saw most hedge funds decline that amount.
According to a Bloomberg report, the fund benefited from his anticipation of the seizure of credit markets when he increased cash to 85 per cent and slashed bonds and securities from $50 billion to $10 billion by the end of the year. His uncanny ability to succeed during the economic downturn has secured him a place among the highest paid in the business.
David Harding Earns: $250 million
Pioneer futures trader David Harding is another hedge fund manager to beat the slump and earn a staggering $250 million (€175 million) while doing so, according to estimates by Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine.
However, the firm said this estimate is higher than his actual pay cheque - although they refused to reveal the amount.
Whatever the exact figure, the 47-year-old is undoubtedly one of the highest paid hedge fund managers around. He is the co-founder and head of research at London-based futures and hedge fund manager Winton Capital Management, which has over $11.5 billion in assets under management.
Harding had a lucrative year during 2008 with the Winton Futures Fund outperforming the market by returning 21 per cent. In fact Winton has never had a losing calendar year since it was formed with only three staff in 1997. Harding puts his success over the last year down to the company's focus on statistical research in financial markets. Over half the 190 employees at the firm are dedicated solely to this task.
Harding is known to enjoy skiing and has a passion for mathematics, not such an unusual combination considering he earned a first class honours degree in natural sciences specialising in theoretical physics at Cambridge University. He began his career as a graduate trainee at stockbroker Wood MacKenzie and became a commodity futures broker at Johnson Matthey & Wallace a year later. He then joined Sabre Fund Management where he began using his scientific training for trading in the futures market.
In 1987 at the age of 25 he founded Adam Harding & Luek, a quantitative fund manager that was eventually bought by Man Group.
Roger Jenkins Earns: £40 million
Roger Jenkins is not a trader, but as a banker is considered to be among the highest paid employees in Britain. He is among the minority in that industry who have increased their wealth during the credit crunch. The 53-year-old has carved out a lucrative niche for himself as a tax planning mastermind at Barclays.
Although the bank refused to comment on what he is paid, media speculation places his salary last year in the £40 million (€46.35 million) bracket. The Sunday Times Rich List estimated that his personal wealth jumped £20 million to £120 million in 2008 alone.
Jenkins is said to guard his private life intensely, while at the same time rubbing shoulders with famous Hollywood stars.
This year he co-hosted a charity event at his £30 million Mayfair home with George Clooney. The event attracted high profile celebrities including Bono, Sir Michael Caine and Claudia Schiffer. Cindy Crawford is reportedly a personal friend of the banker's Bosnian wife, Dijana.
The value of his services became evident last year when, according to the Guardian, Jenkins was instrumental in preventing the bank from accepting a UK taxpayer bailout by raising billions in cash from Middle Eastern investors.
Born in Edinburgh, Jenkins completed a BA in economics at Heriot Watt University, and is a former international sprinter. His brother won a silver medal for the 4x400m relay at the Munich Olympics in 1972.
Jenkins began his career at the bank in 1994 and is now the chief executive of Barclays Capital private equity and principal investments. Last year he was promoted to executive chairman of Barclays investment banking and investment management in the Middle East.
