The global economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 caught many of the most
astute investors in the financial markets by surprise. While only 49
hedge funds failed during all of 2007, 344 hedge funds failed during
just the third quarter of 2008, and another 778 hedge funds failed
during the fourth quarter of 2008. Similarly, while only 3 banks failed
in 2007, 25 banks failed in 2008, and 140 failed in 2009. Endowment
funds, the financial backbone of private universities, which had posted
stellar investment results throughout the 2000s, had an investment
return of -19% during fiscal 2009. The four biggest funds, with widely
acclaimed investment managers, posted returns of -27% (Harvard),
-25% (Yale), -27% (Stanford), and -23% (Princeton). Private equity
funds lost 15% in 2008.
As a description of the money management industry during 2008-
2009, one of the most widely circulated quotes was provided by the
“sage of Omaha,” Warren Buffet, who once said “you only find out
who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”1 So how did some of
the smartest investors, who had generated outsized returns for a long
time with their skills, get caught flat-footed by the largest financial crisis