Month: December 2017

Sahm Adrangi has been making serious headway, ever since 2010, when he famously predicted and exposed several Chinese companies for their fraudulent practices; a bold move that proved correct, as those Chinese corporations would eventually become under scrutiny and enforcement measures from the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The 32-year old is Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Kerrisdale Capital Management, a hedge fund investment company that bets for and against company stocks, managing over $500 million in investments.  Kerrisdale, led by Sahm Adrangi, takes a rather unique approach, as the firm researches company stocks that are deemed as under-followed long and overhyped short, then publicly explains the data found on those companies, breaking down the common misconceptions and misunderstandings associated with making investments; this enables investors to have a better insight into their respective market sector.  So far, Adrangi has been on the money in terms of accurately predicting which stocks will be successful and which ones are bound to fail, and more information click here. 

Take for instance, the biotech sector, in which Sahm Adrangi with Nostradamus-like vision, was able to forsee the biotech catastrophe before anyone, as the cancer vaccine for Bavarian Nordic, would fall tremendously short, proving ineffective and no better than taking placebo pills.  Also, biotech manufacturer Prothena $PRTA came under fire, as Kerrisdale’s data analysis of their drug NEOD001(an AL amyloidosis drug) was deemed worthless.  The accuracy of Kerrisdale’s data research hasn’t gone unnoticed, as they publicly, and sometimes bluntly, publish these reportings on their websites, sector related third party platforms and social media sites, particularly Twitter, causing ousted companies’ stock to plummet. 

Because of these accurate accounts of potential business investment prospects, Adrangi has been seen as an investment activist, someone who isn’t afraid to call out exaggerated claims or up and coming underdog investments, in spite of what current trends are predicting otherwise, and Twitter.com. 

Before launching the Kerrisdale Capital firm in 2009 with less than $1 million, the Yale graduate started off as a financial manager and advisor on high yielding investments and loan debt financing, as well as bankruptcy and out-of-court structuring for banks and companies such as Deutsche Bank, Chanin Capital Partners and Longacre Management.  Now with Kerrisdale managing over $500 million in assets, it goes without saying how amazing an accomplishment it is for a relatively small investment firm to achieve so much in under a decade.  Not to mention, Adrangi’s impressive moves have been compared to a long time idol of his, Dan Loeb, another powerful hedge funder who’s career also blossomed at a young age.  Nowadays, Adrangi’s fearless nature of unveiling whole truths and breakdowns of investment analysis can be seen all over, as he has often been praised in the New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal and many more publications.  Sahm Adrangi has also spoken at numerous conferences such as the Value Investing Conference, the Distressed Debt Conference, the Activist Investor Conference and the Traders 4 A Cause Conference, and https://www.hvst.com/user/sahm-adrangi. 

The investment market is a billion dollar industry full of inflated expectations and uninformed investors, ready to gamble their investments based off of inaccurate information.  So it’s a breath of fresh air when someone comes along such as Sahm Adrangi who’s knowledgeable, credible and at such a young age, will deliver hardcore truths, regardless of how it may come across.  Unapologetically giving investors a full landscape view of their potential investments, using a more modern-day strategy through various social media platforms, Sahm Adrangi is not only shattering the current mold, but also paving the way for the future for how investors and investment firms will communicate; with honesty at the forefront, enabling for more sound decisions to be made, and Sahm Adrangi’s lacrosse camp. 

Such a statement was made of Betsy DeVos, the current Secretary of Education, to emphasize her lack of reality.  She has been regularly accused of being ignorant, unproductive, and unprepared.  Yet, strung throughout Richard Perez-Pena’s criticism of DeVos’ place in the Trump Administration, which appeared in the New York Times on 23 February 2017, there was a hint of acclaim.  He did not praise her ideology; in fact, it was made quite clear that DeVos’ agenda to reform the American education system falls short of understanding the reality millions of children face.  However, credit was given to her aggressive political prowess.  According to multiple sources, though she appears composed in public when challenged, DeVos meets criticism with aikido and allows it to fuel her campaign for school choice.  The point, according to Perez-Pena, is that despite DeVos’ miscalculations that have created a shoddy solution to the wrong problem, DeVos can play politics with the big shots, and she sports an impenetrable poker face.  It is questionable, however, whether the criticism fuels progress, or simply allows her to sit comfortably in the driver’s seat—on autopilot. 

DeVos grew up in a wealthy Michigan family, attended private schools, never received loans to pay for college, worked at her father’s auto parts company, and believes that public schools and private/charter schools should receive equal public monetary support.  She encourages vouchers and voucher-like programs that foot the bill for private/religious schools with public funds, a phenomenon many believe blurs a fundamental line between church and state.  Though she remains poorly-versed in basic terms like “proficiency” and “growth,” she smiles sweetly and insists that school choice will improve the country’s lagging yields in education. 

DeVos appeared in the New York Times after she disagreed with President Trump’s recension of the law allowing transgender students to use the school bathroom corresponding to the gender with which they identify.  Despite her loss, DeVos seemed indifferent, instead castigating the “receiving,” (rather than proactive), tone of public school educators in Florida (to no effect).  Though Perez-Pena may have misjudged her proficiency astride the political giant, he is right about one thing: her poker face is guarded by more than Secret Security.  It is quite difficult to tell whether she is for Trump, or for traditional, conservative views of education.  Because, according to the latest trends, you can’t be both.