Under former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, Madeline Albright served as a trusted Secretary of State. Obviously multi-talented, Ms. Albright recently announced a new hedge fund, Albright Capital Management, based in Washington, D.C. As Chairperson of the fund.
Ms. Albright stated that the initial investor was PGGM, the impressive and very large Dutch pension fund. Their confidence in the new fund convinced them to invest $329 Million as seed money. Minimum investment in this new multi-asset, emerging markets vehicle is $25 Million, so it’s definitely not for every institutional investor.
Gregory Bowes and John Yonemoto will lead the Albright fund, serving as both managing principals and investment co-chairpersons. Bowes has accumulated twenty years’ experience with both the Fairfield Greenwich Group and Greenwich Capital Markets.
As an effective complement, Yonemoto recently served as managing director of the emerging market subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments, Darby Overseas. A creation of former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Nicholas Brady, Darby has been managing assets since 1994. These executives were selected for their proven expertise and complementary hedge fund experience.
Continuing the recent penchant of former high ranking politicians leading investment firms, Ms. Albright has no prior asset management or large scale investment experience. Former Vice President and erstwhile Presidential hopeful, Al Gore, chairs Generation Investment, an asset management firm based in London. With David Blood, former leader of Goldman Sachs Investment Management, they form the popularly-called “Blood and Gore” entity they founded in 1994.
Mr. Gore and Ms. Albright are not alone, however, as other former peers have also ventured in the investment arena.
Another former Vice President, Dan Quale, heads Cerberus Global Investment, a subsidiary of Cerberus Capital Management, which is chaired by John Snow, who served in the Bush administration as Treasury Secretary. Lawrence Summers, who served in the same capacity for former President Bill Clinton, is managing director of D.E. Shaw & Co., which has $25 Billion under management.
Former SEC Chairman, Richard Breedon, founded what is commonly called an “activist” hedge fund, Breedon Capital Management, in 2006. The former politician/investment guru fraternity appears to be growing.