Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Awakened Black-Haired Investor 016
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Pandemic declared.
The breaking news that arrived at dawn was unlike any news they had experienced recently.
Even the World Health Organization had officially declared a pandemic.
Before the market even opened, the news had already spread throughout Wall Street.
Goldman Sachs' prop trading floor was also gripped by tension, awaiting the impending bombardment.
Meanwhile, Victor had arrived at the office much earlier than usual, like the other team members.
As if trying to suppress something, Victor's face slowly contorted.
'A massive Black Swan… I… predicted this?'
As Victor was lost in complex thoughts.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard.
The sound of hard heels striking the floor was as resolute as the steps of a soldier heading to the battlefield.
Looking up, Team Leader was also entering the office with a stern expression.
His eyes already held a determined resolve.
"This is no longer a simple correction. I hope there's no one here who doesn't realize this is the beginning of a complete collapse."
Team Leader slowly scanned the room, making eye contact with each team member.
"Anyone who makes a mistake in today's market will be held accountable. There's nowhere to run. Keep that in mind."
Following last Monday, a black terror had arrived again.
It was the beginning of Black Thursday.
Even then, Hyun-woo's words as he left kept swirling in Victor's head.
"The next position will be the same as now. However, instead of waiting for a market correction, I anticipate a massive Black Swan. So, I want to take on more risk."
* * *
It wasn't just Victor.
Anthony Noto of Sofaie was also thinking about Hyun-woo.
How confident Hyun-woo had been about the pandemic, the confident demeanor Hyun-woo had shown during their first meeting was as clear as if it had happened just yesterday.
'He must have been planning for this since then. It's a shame the scale is small, but he'll rise to stardom in one fell swoop. He's truly an amazing guy.'
It was the day the volcano that had been simmering for so long finally erupted with lava.
The erupted lava relentlessly flowed down, incinerating anything in its path, and the ashes that scattered in all directions obscured the sun and penetrated every market.
The screams and cries echoing from the market weren't exactly bad for Anthony Noto.
Because he had bet on the conviction Hyun-woo had shown, he was able to protect a significant portion of his assets.
And he was able to put his trusted partner in great debt.
That evening, Anthony Noto met with him.
"Bill."
Bill Ackman.
The founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management.
Certainly, Bill had a different expression than the Wall Street people who were probably wandering around with zombie-like dark faces.
He entered with a bright face and a light gait, shaking hands with Anthony.
As soon as Bill sat down, he muttered the name of someone who wasn't there.
"Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo……."
The name, which was called like a victory spell, gradually gained rhythm.
As Bill hummed and looked as cheerful as a drunk person, a smile naturally spread across Anthony's face.
"You must feel like you've returned from hell. Are you going to get drunk tonight? You deserve to be compensated for all the hardships you've been through."
Anthony said, filling Bill's glass with whiskey.
"It's just the beginning to get drunk already. Just this one glass today."
Bill looked at the filled glass.
It crossed his mind that drinking this glass, like the red pill in the Matrix, would bring him back to the precarious real world.
Unlike the days when he had enjoyed great fame.
He had been spending days that were the worst of the worst.
The loss from shorting Herbalife was $1 billion.
After that, he shuddered at the thought of shorting and suffered another astronomical loss of $4 billion in Belmont, where he had been value investing.
The biggest loss from the series of major failures was, after all, his reputation in the industry.
Investors were now turning away from him, and even his longtime partners were distancing themselves from him.
Even if he dreamed of making a comeback, his shattered reputation made him realize the harshness of the market.
Then.
His meeting with Anthony at the beginning of this year brought a turning point in his life.
The first name he heard then was Hyun-woo Na.
It was a victory he had gained thanks to him.
"Honestly, I want to dedicate this glass to that guy."
Bill didn't put his lips to the whiskey glass after all.
He still remembers that day.
Anthony's bizarre appearance and words, praising that young junior, saying that he was the talent who would represent the era, that he had never seen such a true genius before, flashed through his mind like a panorama.
What would have happened if he hadn't followed Anthony's advice back then?
As he imagined himself embracing only a dying portfolio without betting on the pandemic, Bill felt a chill down his spine.
Bill smiled faintly and said.
"I should have bet bigger."
He bet $27 million.
It was true that it was only a small part compared to the total size of the portfolio, which was close to $8 billion.
Nevertheless, the reason why it was only a slight grumble was that, aside from the huge profits, he could regain his old reputation with this victory.
The investors who had left would return.
Bringing more investors with them.
Anthony nodded at Bill, who was smiling with that thought in mind.
"It's always like that in hindsight. But jackpots always burst in unexpected places."
"I'm going to offer Hieonwoo a partnership, to have him look at the same place as me on an equal footing. It's an offer you can't make right now. Heh heh."
"I wonder if he'll accept that offer. You're paying back a favor with enmity. And you haven't even met him yet."
The smile on Anthony's face grew even thicker as he said that.
"I have to meet him. As soon as this is over. Right now, my head is full of rewards that Sofaie can never give him."
"That guy would be very satisfied. Don't you know he's already preparing a hedge fund?"
"...A hedge fund?"
"AlphaMind, I heard."
"Is the briefing scheduled?"
"Not yet. But it will be soon. I'm watching with interest, so I'll give you a heads up. But… I don't know if you'll be able to invest."
Anthony shook his head at Bill, who was about to answer with confidence.
"He's looking at a minimum of 51% for the performance fee. It was like that last time, so it might be higher this time. He'll put in a string of Bad Blood Clauses too."
Bill couldn't refute Anthony's words.
It was truly an absurd condition, but according to Anthony's explanation, that ambitious guy might laugh at the industry standards.
"Would you invest in such a fund?"
A brief silence flowed after Anthony's last question.
Bill's lips slowly opened.
"If I had the chance, of course."
Bill answered, and Anthony smiled with satisfaction.
They both knew it well.
That a ticket to board the ship of a rising genius captain was truly precious.
* * *
Black Monday had passed, Black Thursday had passed.
Even the day called the Second Black Monday had passed, and the continued plunge on the 18th showed no signs of stopping.
The stock market was falling endlessly, not knowing the bottom.
This plunge was enough to bring even a famous recluse to the surface.
"It's been a while."
He wasn't someone I had direct interaction with.
But his name always decorated the news headlines, and his investment strategy was always a hot topic.
The fact that he felt familiar meant that his name was widely known to the world.
That name was Bill Ackman.
He was also the main character of the Netflix documentary [Betting on Zero], and he was a famous activist investor who followed Buffett so much that Forbes directly gave him the nickname Little Buffett.
He buys stocks, gathers shares, and gets deeply involved in the management of the company.
He became a role model for many in that regard.
But he had been experiencing a slump for the past few years and had almost disappeared, but he showed up after a long time.
It was on CNBC.
Host Scott Wapner asked.
"Today, you requested President Trump to take stronger measures to prevent the spread of Corona through Twitter. Thank you for joining us."
"Thank you."
"You have given various opinions, and I would like to introduce one part of them to the viewers.
'Mr. President, the only solution is to close the country and borders for 30 days and order all Americans to stay home with their families. Only essential services should operate, and the government should guarantee wages until the people return.'
Is there a reason why you made a public statement on Twitter today?"
What could be the reason why an investor who had been reclusive had appeared?
'He must have already taken a position and is trying to start a media frenzy.'
Honestly, I was impressed.
The fact that someone other than me was betting on the Corona shock from the beginning, especially that a large fund was moving.
As expected, Bill Ackman's argument was consistently strong from the beginning, as if that was his intention.
"If the current situation continues, the hotel industry will collapse. No business can survive without sales for 18 months.
The hotel and restaurant industries will collapse first, and Boeing may also face bankruptcy. The aviation, automobile, restaurant, and hotel industries will all collapse……."
The death sentence of a renowned expert was handed down to a market already trembling in fear.
Even more strictly speaking, it was not a simple death sentence, but an extreme destruction that could be said to be the collapse of capitalism.
At that time, a pop-up window appeared in one corner of the monitor.
[(Emergency Alert) Circuit Breaker Activated
Activation Time: 2020-03-18 12:04]
Another Circuit Breaker triggered during the interview!
The market forcibly applied the brakes to calm the rapid plunge.
Bill Ackman's influence was still strong.
"I."
It could be seen that host Scott was trying to restrain Bill Ackman's strong remarks.
But Bill Ackman's purpose from the beginning was to drive the market into even greater fear.
"Wait a minute, I'm not done yet. I'll talk more."
I could picture him swallowing a satisfied smile as he confirmed that the Circuit Breaker had been triggered.
Just like the Wall Street's laughter during the 2008 subprime crisis, when they were making a fortune.
His voice grew stronger and stronger.
"Everyone should sit on the Sofaie, watch Netflix, order Chipotle, and stay home with their families."
Chipotle. Even advertising the restaurant company he was investing in?
"It will take more than 18 months for a vaccine to be developed. Capitalism cannot withstand a shutdown for 18 months, but it can withstand about 30 days. If necessary, the National Guard should be mobilized to keep people at home."
The interview, which had been going on for nearly 30 minutes, was coming to an end.
His voice, which had been raised, suddenly dropped.
"Hell is coming."
* * *
This is it.
He had been building up solidly to detonate this bomb.
As soon as Ackman's ultimatum-like remarks were made, the market's order book moved rapidly as if a storm had struck.
Orders poured in, filling it more densely with a lot of money.
I felt the blood vessels in my whole body tensing up. It was as if adrenaline was making all my senses sharp.
Like a hungry lion, I had been waiting for this moment, hiding and waiting for an opportunity.
The profits were already beyond imagination.
I was waiting for an even bigger wave.
And finally.
That wave came crashing in.
Bill Ackman had perfectly set the stage for me.
Everything was prepared for this moment, as if—
My finger trembled slightly on the mouse.
My heart was pounding and my breath was getting rougher. The preparation to throw the position was already over. There was no reason to hesitate anymore.
If I cleared everything, I would be sure to hit the jackpot at that moment.
The moment I clicked the mouse.
Click!
The numbers danced explosively on the screen.
[Transaction Completed] TVIX MAR20 50C: Market price sell order has been successfully completed.
The time I had been holding my breath was over.
The joy that had to be suppressed inside me exploded.
I couldn't suppress my emotions anymore, and I didn't need to.
The overwhelming cry of victory…
That, which might have been a scream, burst out of my throat.
[Profit Rate: +46,262%]
"Aaaaaah!―"
[Profit: +$57,277,985]
It was the same number even when I looked at it again.
The money I earned from this victory!
Numerous memories poured out all at once, as if a dam had collapsed.
I was really glad I was home alone.
This indescribable resentment surged in my chest, then choked me and made me sob.
I stopped screaming and raving and buried my face in my arms.
I sobbed.
I couldn't stop.
It was hard to even breathe.
All the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time burst out at once.
The festering wounds that I had to endure as a Korean immigrant…
The discrimination and contempt that my mother and I had to face, and even that strange feeling of always being an outsider, became more vivid at this moment.
But through those memories, the number in front of me shone clearly.
[Profit: +$57,277,985]
It was as if that number was whispering to me.
You guys won, it said.