How Jim Simons Built the Best Hedge Fund Ever
The former code breaker and math professor figured out how to do one thing very well in markets.
Mind over money.
Photographer: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty ImagesEvery now and again, a book comes along that is so compelling, filled with so many fascinating characters and new information, that it demands a review.
"The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution" is just such a book. Written by Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Zuckerman, it is a history of Simons and the secretive hedge-fund firm he founded, Renaissance Technologies LLC. Zuckerman spent 2 1/2 years researching the firm, eventually speaking to more than 40 current and former Renaissance employees. Despite the misgivings and deep opposition to this (or any) book about his career, Simons eventually agreed to sit for more than 10 hours of interviews.