Very few hedge funds consistently outperform the broader stock indices in both bull markets and bear markets. One of the most exclusive hedge funds; Renaissance Technologies has had their best year for the legendary Medallion Fund so far.
Medallion Fund
The fund is exclusive due to the fact that it is only open to current and former employees. The SEC filings indicates the number of participants. For a $10B fund it has less than 2,000 members.
The entire firm is based purely on the basis of using analytics to find patterns in data. While Data Science is now a buzzword and every firm on the planet including hedge funds use data to find patters; Jim Simons had the first mover advantage.
This was the most interesting piece of the book. It talks about Robert Mercer and his involvement with the firm. In the 2016 presidential race, Rebecca Mercer (the daughter of Robert Mercer) had backed Ted Cruz.
To say that Jim Simons is recluse would be an understatement. He and his employees avoid all industry conferences and media appearances. Iron clad non disclosures prevent most employees from talking about the firm or any of their work at Renaissance Technologies.