Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Why tie up capital elsewhere when we can achieve higher returns right here?

A week later, Manhattan, New York.
At the southern end of Central Park, on Fifth Avenue, an elegant luxury hotel stood nestled among towering modern buildings.
It was the Plaza Hotel—a New York landmark that had opened in 1907 and was approaching its centennial, a place where history itself seemed to reside.
As one of the finest hotels offering sweeping views of Central Park from the heart of Manhattan, it was renowned as a gathering place for New York’s elite and luminaries.
The historic Plaza Accord itself had been negotiated within these very walls.
Built in the French Renaissance style with a white terracotta facade and green terracotta tile roof, the stately hotel was approached by a long limousine that glided slowly to a stop before its entrance.
As a middle-aged doorman in a crisp uniform and white gloves opened the rear door, Landon Shore and I, dressed in formal attire, stepped out.
As I entered the hotel, the first things that caught my eye were the enormous chandelier suspended from the high ceiling of the main hall and the rose arrangements placed directly beneath it.
Gazing at the polished marble floors and walls and ceilings ornately decorated with gold leaf, I felt as though I had stepped into a palace in Europe.

“The venue is on the second floor.”

I nodded slightly at Landon Shore’s words.
As we took the elevator to the second floor, I saw a corridor with marble flooring like the lobby, and a directional sign reading “LTCM Investment Briefing” was displayed.
After showing our invitation to a formally dressed staff member standing at the entrance, we entered the venue to find many people already present.
Landon Shore, having quickly scanned the attendees—some seated with their groups at designated tables, others gathered in small clusters conversing—whispered in a low voice.

“JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and over there—pension fund representatives.”

Landon Shore gestured with his eyes toward the left.

“Seeing people from Salomon Brothers, who drove out Wiseman, it looks like every major Wall Street investor managing substantial capital has gathered here.”

I nodded quietly and slowly surveyed the room, gauging the atmosphere.
Just as Landon Shore said, a considerable number of institutional investors and hedge fund professionals had assembled, creating quite an impressive turnout.
This alone demonstrated how much Wall Street’s interest in the LTCM Fund, established by Wiseman, had grown.

“People from Eldorado Fund are here too.”

At the voice beside me, I turned to look at the speaker.
A middle-aged man with black hair, possessing a neat yet intellectual appearance, stood smiling alongside our group.

“Rodney, good to see you here.”

The moment their eyes met, Landon Shore, recognizing the man, broke into a smile and shook his hand.
After a light handshake, Landon Shore turned to Park Seok-won beside him and made the introduction.

“This is Rodney, our CIO at Quantum Fund. Rodney, this is our fund’s CEO.”

Quantum Fund—the hedge fund established by George Hamilton, who had become famous for attacking the pound and forcing the Bank of England to capitulate—so Park Seok-won’s eyes lit up with recognition.
Moreover, Rodney, as CIO, was the man who actually drove the fund forward, as George Hamilton had stepped back halfway to dedicate himself to running his charitable foundation.
Confronted with this unexpected heavyweight, Park Seok-won calmly extended his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Park Seok-won.”

Rodney, in turn, revealed an intrigued expression and clasped his hand.

“Rodney. I’ve been curious about who the CEO of Eldorado Fund is, given how prominently it’s been rising lately. Quite the coincidence meeting you here.”

Rodney studied Park Seok-won carefully before speaking.

“I’d heard you were young, but seeing you today, you look remarkably youthful.”
“Age doesn’t necessarily make one a better fund manager. What matters in this business is returns—that’s what truly demonstrates competence.”

To the subtle jab, Park Seok-won responded with ease and composure.
Usually, when people met him, they were intimidated by the Quantum Fund name and would bow respectfully, but Park Seok-won showed no such deference—he was utterly confident.
Standing with his spine perfectly straight and speaking his mind without reservation, Rodney found his interest deepening even further.

“Haha, you’re absolutely right. I seem to have made a mistake on our first meeting.”

When Rodney coolly apologized first, Park Seok-won laughed and replied in kind.

“No worries. Being young is a fact, after all. I’m probably the youngest person in this room. But I heard you graduated from Harvard University?”
“That’s right. My alma mater, and I’m proud of it.”
“I’m currently attending Harvard University.”
“Ah! So you’re my junior. Haha, what a coincidence….”

Rodney’s pleased expression suddenly shifted as something dawned on him, and he blinked.

“You said you’re currently enrolled at Harvard University?”
“Yes. I’m graduating this year.”

Park Seok-won spoke with a slight curl at the corner of his lips.

“Huh…”

Rodney exhaled in wonder, studying my face as if to confirm whether what he’d just heard was truly real.

“My goodness. I never would have guessed this.”

Having already been keeping a close eye on the Eldorado Fund after witnessing their bold investment in AT&T’s acquisition of NCR—which had yielded substantial returns—his astonishment was all the greater.
At that moment, the master of ceremonies stepped onto the stage and leaned close to the microphone at the podium.

“We will now begin the investment briefing. All distinguished guests in attendance, please take your assigned seats. Let me repeat: in just a moment…”

Hearing the emcee’s words, Rodney’s expression turned wistful.

“What a shame. I’d love to continue our conversation, but it seems we must wrap up here.”
“I feel the same way.”

Rodney withdrew a business card from his inner pocket and extended it to me.

“If the opportunity arises again, let’s meet once more.”

After exchanging business cards with me, Rodney turned and made his way toward the table ahead.
As I watched his retreating figure, Landon spoke to me in a low voice.

“Is it alright to reveal that you’re still attending university like this?”
“Why not?”

I tucked the business card Rodney had given me into my inner pocket and replied without concern.

“It’s hardly a major secret—anyone who does a little digging would uncover that information quickly enough.”
“That’s true.”
“Besides, unlike other funds, we don’t operate by raising investment capital, so there’s no problem even if rumors spread.”
“You make a fair point.”

I had never intended to be a reclusive investor shrouded in mystery and secrecy. I simply had no desire to actively court attention.
Had I harbored such intentions, I wouldn’t have attended this gathering in the first place.

“Let’s head to our seats.”

Glancing around, I noticed that people scattered throughout the venue were gradually returning to their assigned places.

“This way.”

Landon Shore verified the invitation and guided him inside.
The assigned seat was positioned far back from the stage—a subtle indicator of where the Eldorado Fund currently stood on Wall Street.

‘If I hadn’t generated substantial profits from the NCR equity transaction, I wouldn’t have received an invitation at all.’

As I settled into my chair, I silently vowed that before long, I would ascend to a position where I could stand shoulder to shoulder not only with Rodney, whom I’d seen moments ago, but also with executives from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Shortly after, the investment briefing commenced as Wiseman, a man of solid build with piercing eyes, took the stage and delivered his opening remarks.

“…After tracking and analyzing data over the past twenty years, we’ve confirmed that markets exhibit volatility averaging approximately 15 to 20 percent annually.”

With the lighting dimmed and the hall cast in shadow, Sean Paine, a Harvard economics professor and leading Nobel Prize candidate, stepped to the podium and spoke as the large projection screen before the audience shifted to display his slides.

“If you examine this chart, you’ll observe that while volatility may temporarily exceed the average, the graph invariably returns to normal without exception.”

The assembled attendees’ attention fixed on the graph, and I too remained seated, listening intently to the explanation.

“Therefore, according to this formula, since the expected volatility of an asset is an indispensable factor in pricing options, when an asset’s price rises, the option price rises as well. Consequently, if we know the option price, we can predict the market’s expected volatility value.”

Professor Paine spoke with confident conviction, his gaze sweeping across the attendees before him.

“I’m confident that by trading using this pattern, we can generate returns far exceeding market averages.”

As Professor Paine concluded his lengthy presentation, the attendees responded with applause.
Yet the expressions of those gathered were decidedly lukewarm.
Contrary to expectations, Wiseman, the principal figure, had fallen silent after his initial remarks, and the explanations themselves had been nothing but tedious, difficult academic economics lecture material—hardly surprising given the atmosphere.
In that subdued mood, Wiseman returned to the stage, grasped the microphone, and spoke.

“Is there anyone who found the explanation too difficult to understand? If so, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be happy to explain it even more confusingly.”

The light-hearted quip drew scattered laughter.
At that moment, I raised my left arm as if I’d been waiting for this opportunity, and Wiseman immediately pointed toward me.

“The gentleman seated at the table on the left. Please go ahead.”

Rising from my seat, I took the microphone handed to me by the event staff and began speaking in a measured tone.

“I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”
“Oh my, how frightening! Hearing that there are so many questions makes me quite nervous. Does Professor Paine feel this way every time he lectures? I find it admirable.”

Everyone broke into light laughter at Wiseman’s deft wit.
Feeling the previously tense atmosphere soften considerably, I reflected inwardly.

‘This is no ordinary man.’

I waited for the laughter to subside before speaking.

“First, your desired compensation is significantly higher than the industry average. Would you be willing to adjust this?”
“Ah, so this question does come up.”

Wiseman nodded with a composed demeanor.

“Once you examine the returns after one year, you won’t think the fees are expensive at all.”
“You’re that confident?”
“Of course!”

Wiseman gestured toward the fund partners and renowned professors positioned at one side of the stage.

“With such a dream team assembled, it would be harder to fail to generate substantial returns, wouldn’t it?”
“We’ll see about that.”

I pressed forward with my next question.

“No matter how much I listen to your explanation, it seems the concrete investment plan is missing. I’d appreciate it if you could provide detailed information on how you intend to manage the funds.”

The other attendees, equally disappointed by the hollow presentation, murmured their agreement from various corners of the room.
Meeting the participants’ gazes, Wiseman’s expression hardened slightly as he gripped the microphone.

“I would like to explain everything candidly, but the investment strategy is confidential and cannot be disclosed.”

The attendees erupted in loud murmurs.

“So you’re asking us to invest enormous sums blindly, without knowing anything?”
“If the investment strategy is exposed before the fund’s launch, it creates various complications. I hope you can understand this constraint.”

Wiseman drew a firm line, making it clear he absolutely could not disclose that information.
While the attendees understood Wiseman’s reluctance to expose his investment strategy, they couldn’t hide their discomfort.

“Well then, based on your explanation, it seems the basic plan is to invest in bonds. But even with an excellent investment strategy, considering the low trading margins, it doesn’t seem easy to achieve a 30% return after deducting the fund’s fees.”

The other attendees were equally curious about this point, so their attention turned once again to Wiseman standing at the podium.
Given the nature of bonds, unless it was an extremely rare case, the profit margins from buying and selling were not particularly large.
Because of this, there was inevitably doubt about whether the stated returns could actually be achieved.
After hesitating for a moment, Wiseman reluctantly opened his mouth.

“To address that concern, we plan to use the capital we’ve secured as collateral to significantly increase the scale of our transactions.”
“In other words, you’re saying you’ll engage in leveraged speculation.”
“That’s correct.”

Park Seok-won asked Wiseman again as he nodded.

“Then how much leverage are you planning to use?”

Wiseman hesitated once more, then reluctantly answered under the concentrated gaze of the room.

“We’re considering 20 to 30 times leverage.”

At that, the assembled attendees couldn’t hide their shocked expressions and began murmuring.

“30 times leverage…”
“Isn’t this far too risky?”
“Hmm.”

No matter how commonplace leverage had become, 20 to 30 times was so perilously risky that even Wall Street investors who thrived on risk would be horrified.
After Park Seok-won finished his question, a barrage of inquiries from other attendees immediately followed.
However, Wiseman provided no satisfactory answers to any of their questions, and the investment briefing concluded amid an atmosphere thick with skepticism.

In the limousine returning to the hotel where they were staying, Landon Shore, sitting beside Park Seok-won, spoke.

“Judging by the lackluster atmosphere, it seems difficult to raise the desired investment capital.”

In Landon Shore’s view, today’s investment briefing was a complete failure.
But Park Seok-won, leaning back against the plush leather seat, uttered an unexpected remark.

“No. It won’t be easy, but we should be able to meet the target amount.”
“The atmosphere at the briefing seemed skeptical, and didn’t the boss appear doubtful as well?”

Landon Shore asked with a puzzled expression.

“We won’t invest, but others will. Greed has a way of blinding people to reason.”
“I don’t quite understand.”

Watching Landon Shore tilt his head in confusion, I explained the reasoning calmly.

“For now, they’ll hesitate because of the veiled investment strategy and the high risk.”
“That’s true.”
“But the sweet temptation of a guaranteed 30% annual return after fees won’t be easy to resist. And once the specific returns that Wiseman and his team achieved at Salomon Brothers become known, they’ll have no choice but to open their wallets.”
“If we can truly deliver the promised returns, shouldn’t we invest as well?”

As Landon Shore grew anxious hearing this, I flashed a meaningful smile.

“Why would we tie up our money there when we can achieve even higher returns elsewhere?”
“What?!”

At the suggestion that I could generate returns higher than 30%—already an astronomical figure—Landon Shore felt momentarily bewildered.
But I had already demonstrated impossible returns multiple times before.
Despite his doubts, a glimmer of hope flickered within Landon Shore as he gazed at my confident expression.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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