Who Is John Griffin?

Legendary worth investor John Anthony Griffin tells up-and-coming traders to “construct the ark on their sunny days,” passing on sage recommendation from Julian Robertson—his mentor and former boss.

Griffin based the hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital Administration in 1996. Griffin, who ceaselessly teaches at a few of the most revered U.S. faculties, relishes the position of trainer simply as a lot because the position of the hedge fund supervisor.

Early Life and Schooling

Born in 1963, John Griffin obtained his bachelor’s diploma from the College of Virginia’s McIntire Faculty of Commerce in 1985. In 1990, he earned an MBA from the Stanford College Graduate Faculty of Enterprise.

Earlier than finishing graduate college, Griffin labored as a monetary analyst at Morgan Stanley Service provider Banking Group from 1985 via 1987. He then partnered with investing titan Julian Robertson, founding father of Tiger Administration Corp.

Together with Griffin, Robertson employed and taught Lawrence Bowman, Lee Ainslie, Tom Brown, Paul Spieldenner, Andreas Halvorsen, and Steven Mandel—all of whom began their very own funds. The group is colloquially generally known as the “Tiger Cubs.”

Notable Accomplishments

John Griffin acted as president at Tiger Administration from 1993 till 1996. Along with his duties as president, Griffin served as a portfolio supervisor for Tiger Administration from 1994 via 1996.

In 1996, Griffin based Blue Ridge Capital Administration. Blue Ridge is finest recognized for its long-short technique, the apply of complementing inventory purchases with corresponding quick positions. The technique is taken into account dangerous by some, however its practitioners argue it’s an efficient strategy to increase returns.

Most worth funds solely spend money on an asset when it’s thought of undervalued, whereas overvalued funds are ignored. Nonetheless, Griffin believes that overvalued property will also be shorted to make returns.

The long-short technique labored extraordinarily properly for Griffin within the run-up to the Nice Recession. He reportedly pocketed greater than $620 million, and Blue Ridge generated a internet return of 65% in 2007. The fund reached its top in property beneath administration (AUM) in 2013 at $12 billion.

Wealth and Philanthropy

There are not any dependable estimates of John Griffin’s internet value after his monstrous 2005 and 2007 earnings. His hedge fund managed greater than $6 billion in property earlier than closing on the finish of 2017. It’s unknown how a lot of that belongs to Griffin or how a lot earnings he earned alongside the way in which. Griffin closed the fund, citing the trade as being a “humbling enterprise.” 

Griffin enjoys headlining hedge fund and worth symposiums, usually bringing alongside different Tiger Cubs to talk to giant audiences of keen traders. He’s a visiting professor on the College of Virginia and an adjunct professor of finance at Columbia Enterprise Faculty. He has additionally created or served on a number of foundations to assist nonprofits and traders, together with the Blue Ridge Basis, the Tiger Basis, the Robin Hood Basis, and the Julian. H. Robertson Basis. 

Griffin is especially centered on inner-city poverty in his hometown of New York Metropolis. He’s the founding chair and a board member of iMentor, a relationship improvement program for college kids in low-income areas.

John and his spouse, Amy, based the John & Amy Griffin Basis to additional his mission of preventing poverty in New York. Along with his basis, John is a board member for the Blue Ridge Basis of New York, with a mirroring mission.

The Griffins have additionally gifted tens of millions to their alma mater, the College of Virginia, and contributed to Okay-12 schooling reforms.

Legacy

By way of an enduring funding affect, John Griffin is revered for his inflexible and thorough basic analysis, which features a laundry checklist of variables to investigate. His long-short methods are a testomony to his willpower to search out returns whatever the market circumstances. In response to Griffin, “The longer term is unsure; it’s all the time a tough time to take a position.”

Along with his marked successes, Blue Ridge additionally laid out a sequence of “prime reads” for mimicking traders throughout 4 broad classes: behavioral finance, analytics, financial indicators, and historic parallels.

The Backside Line

John Griffin, the founding father of former hedge fund Blue Ridge Capital, is an aggressive worth investor, who not often tolerates sitting on the sidelines. Mentored by billionaire hedge fund supervisor Julian Robertson, Griffin earned his seat as one among America’s most profitable hedge fund managers, overseeing $12 billion in property on the peak of operations. Publish Blue Ridge, John Griffin stays dedicated to his ardour: combating inner-city poverty and selling high quality schooling. Turning function into motion, he shares his experience within the educational enviornment, inspiring future generations of monetary professionals.