A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 153

There were two main things I had to do at this summit. The first was to set up a confrontation with Ackman, and the second was to attract investment.

The first task is somewhat completed, so now all that remains is to secure the investment.

However, there was a small hitch.

"1.3 billion dollars more is needed?"

Kissinger asked, seemingly unable to understand.

Already having gathered 10 billion dollars, the idea that it wasn't enough was incomprehensible to him.

I explained the reason calmly.

"Yes, that's right. The initial capital needed for my next investment is 1.7 billion dollars."

My next investment target was the pharmaceutical company named ‘Allergan,' where Ackman was planning to implement a Trojan Horse operation.

However, to oppose him there, I too needed to secure more than 5% of the shares to become a major shareholder…

‘The cost is more substantial than expected.'

The current stock price of Allergan is $116.

Gathering 5% of the shares would require an estimated 1.7 billion dollars.

Nevertheless, despite explaining the situation, Kissinger still looked puzzled.

"If the operating assets are 10 billion dollars, shouldn't 1.7 billion dollars be manageable?"

"It's not that simple. The position limit is set to 15%."

A position limit is a regulation that limits investment in a single issue to a certain percentage of total assets, intended as a safety mechanism to prevent crazy actions like betting all-in on one issue, as I had done in the past with a rogue fund.

Here, I wanted a 20% limit, but since the fund was new and my image wasn't exactly synonymous with stability, investors argued for 10%, and we settled at 15%.

"Thus, to invest 1.7 billion dollars in one stock, we need total assets of 11.3 billion dollars, and we're currently 1.3 billion dollars short."

"I see. 1.3 billion dollars…"

Kissinger muttered, rubbing his chin.

1.3 billion dollars is approximately 1.7 trillion won.

Of course, Kissinger doesn't have that kind of asset; he's a respected politician, not a businessman. Therefore, I wasn't directly asking him for the money.

"That amount definitely requires institutional investors."

That was exactly it.

What I wanted was for Kissinger to introduce me to an institutional investor with such financial power.

However, the response I received was quite unexpected.

"Unfortunately, I don't know any institutional investors."

Until just moments ago, Kissinger had seemed like he could solve anything, but now he became passive.

‘I don't know institutional investors…'

For Kissinger, a former Secretary of State and diplomat, it might be possible that he lacks connections in the financial world. But he surely knew exactly what I was looking for.

"Perhaps you might know someone in sovereign wealth funds?"

Sovereign wealth funds are operated as national funds by various countries.

Given Kissinger's long career in diplomacy, he should be able to pave the way there.

However, Kissinger hesitated briefly before reluctantly responding.

"I don't know anyone directly in that area. I would need to ask for introductions myself…"

Kissinger must still maintain connections with ambassadors from various countries.

And these ambassadors would naturally know the representatives of sovereign wealth funds visiting or stationed in New York.

‘Come on, just ask. It's only one step away.' ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Yet, there was hesitation in Kissinger's voice.

"I could ask for an introduction in about a year… It's difficult right now as there are no performance results yet. Sovereign funds require clear evidence."

High net worth individuals or family offices might decide on investments based on ‘intuition' or ‘recommendations from friends.'

Simply put, ‘it's my money.'

But a sovereign fund, operating with national funds, would definitely require solid evidence, like actual performance results over the past year.

However, my fund, which hadn't even opened yet, didn't have such data.

"I have one year of operational data from Goldman."

I cautiously mentioned, but Kissinger firmly replied.

"That would be hard to accept as official operational data."

Well, that's an expected answer.

The reason for examining data is also to check if various hedge fund infrastructures are functioning properly.

But the data I could provide from a rogue fund only contained information about investment outcomes.

Of course, if Kissinger personally asked, they might accept that level of data and let it pass…

"Now is a sensitive time to make such requests. The situation is a bit delicate…"

Kissinger seemed to outright resist making such requests.

‘Well, the Theranos incident was indeed recent.'

Since it was revealed that he was involved in a major fraud case, Kissinger's reputation had already been tarnished.

In such a situation, if Kissinger asked another country's ambassador to introduce a hedge fund to a sovereign fund, and then that hedge fund submitted unqualified data for investment…

And what if the sovereign fund based their investment on that?

It could lead to accusations of undue influence and preferential treatment, among other complex issues.

"It would be better to wait until the situation stabilizes a bit more."

Kissinger looked regretful, but…

I could sense a subtle wariness in his eyes towards me.

A bit of mistrust.

Or not quite mistrust, but a ‘what if?' kind of doubt.

‘Is this some kind of PTSD?'

It's not that Kissinger didn't trust me, but he was likely anxious because of the severe impact of his granddaughter Holmes's issue.

The scars from that time were still fresh, and now his grandson stepping into Holmes's shoes and asking to use his connections…

These two situations couldn't help but overlap.

‘It's better to reassure him first.'

There's no benefit in leaving seeds of anxiety unaddressed.

First, I needed to clearly show Kissinger the differences between Holmes and me.

I first adopted a humble expression.

"Of course, you don't need to strain yourself. I only mentioned it because I'm in such a desperate situation, not because I was trying to ask you for something."

Difference one, I don't throw tantrums.

If Kissinger says no, then that's that.

At this point, I slightly bowed my head and sighed.

"Just… a bit disappointing. The investment target could yield a minimum 40% return within half a year."

"Did you say 40%?"

Difference two, I promise high returns in the near future, not vague profits far off in the future.

‘40% within half a year' made Kissinger's eyes widen.

This meant that Kissinger's considerable investment in my fund could grow by 40% in just half a year.

"Yes, we're looking at a minimum 40% return. The problem is, this is an investment opportunity that needs to be jumped on right now… If we don't gather the necessary funds, we'll completely miss out. It's just too wasteful, so I was wondering if you knew any sovereign wealth funds. But…"

I looked directly at Kissinger and declared firmly.

"It wouldn't be right for you to bow your head and ask others on my behalf. That's not what I intended when I mentioned the sovereign wealth funds."

"Another reason?"

"I thought maybe those introduced by you should receive special benefits. So I was thinking of explaining another function of my algorithm that I haven't shared with other investors…"

After the Theranos incident, I had gained some fame with an 80% hit rate.

But while I had revealed the general principles behind the algorithm, the critical core remained veiled.

However, if I told people introduced by Kissinger that ‘I would reveal some secrets of my algorithm to them'?

‘That would not be a request, but a granting of privilege.'

Kissinger wouldn't be bowing his head to ask; it would be a case of him sharing exclusive information with selected individuals.

This was the third difference between me and Holmes.

The grandson handles things in a way that preserves Kissinger's dignity. Once this became clear, a bright smile spread across Kissinger's face.

"Ha ha, you always consider even the unexpected aspects."

"Why would I put you in a difficult situation? I was just hoping to somehow make up for the damage caused by the Theranos incident with whatever little power I have…"

As I humbly dismissed it, Kissinger smiled warmly and then, with eyes full of curiosity, he asked.

"But… what is this ‘undisclosed feature' exactly?"

He was curious about the secret of the algorithm that I only shared with some investors. Even though I knew we were alone, I looked around before whispering the answer into Kissinger's ear.

Upon hearing it, Kissinger's eyes widened.

"Is that… really possible?"

Such a reaction was a good sign. If Kissinger was this surprised, then the ambassadors he told, and the sovereign wealth funds they informed, would likely have a similar reaction. I responded with a confident smile.

"Yes, it's hard to believe, but it's possible."

The ‘secret' I revealed to Kissinger was a kind of bait—a bait to be spread through Kissinger and the ambassadors to the sovereign funds. I had successfully laid it out.

Now, all that was left was to wait for them to bite.

‘It would be nice if it happened during the summit…'

Since this summit was a major investment event, most of the sovereign wealth fund representatives would be attending.

If my bait took effect during the summit, I might even meet them while here. But that might be too much to expect. After all, the bait I laid out last night couldn't possibly work that quickly.

…That was what I thought until 10 seconds ago. That was, until I received this call.

[Is this Mr. Ha Si-heon? I am Amar from the KIF fund. I hope I am not contacting you too early.]

KIF, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, with operating assets of 700 billion dollars, making it one of the major investors in the financial industry. And they were requesting a meeting with me.

But that wasn't all.

[This is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Are you participating in the summit?]

In just the time it took to eat breakfast, I received a dozen calls. All from sovereign wealth fund representatives, all wanting to meet with me.

‘Our Kissinger, he's incredible.'

Despite the significant blow to his image from the Theranos incident, Kissinger's network was still powerful.

But I couldn't relax yet. These funds had only taken the bait. That meant they requested a meeting just to hear the ‘secret' I had divulged, not that they had committed to invest yet.

Still, having them take the bait was the hardest part done. Now, it was just a matter of driving them into a corner and catching them at the right moment.

However…

Before that, there were things I needed to sort out. I immediately called Goldman's broker.

"Please cancel all the meetings set for today. Something unexpectedly important has come up."

[What? That doesn't make any… Wait! I'll be right there!]

Asso hung up quickly and, within minutes, rushed to my suite. He was not alone; Dobby was with him, and neither looked well.

"It's absolutely not okay! These were meetings barely secured through Mr. Pierce's introductions… and to cancel on the day itself! That's extremely rude!"

Asso waved his hands in the air in dismay, nearly panicking.

Well, I understood. A broker's job is akin to arranging a matchmaking meeting. And what I was doing now was like cancelling a date on the day itself, putting the matchmaker in a very awkward position.

But it was unavoidable.

"Please express my sincere apologies. And it's not a cancellation but a rescheduling. I'd like to ask to shift it to tomorrow."

"They won't agree! Don't you know what kind of people these institutional investors are? They are extremely conservative and sensitive about such matters!"

That was also true. Institutional investors are known for their meticulousness and pride. A new fund canceling on the day would typically mean they wouldn't want to meet again.

But this time was different.

"No, they will want to reschedule. In fact, they might even line up begging for any open slots. I'll explain the details in person…"

I confidently responded, picking up the top that was draped over the sofa.

As I dressed, Asso's face turned even paler.

"As you go… you mean… now… are you going outside?"

"Yes, as I said, I have an important schedule. Together…"

"You mean… to the summit site?"

As I made a ‘Isn't it obvious?' expression, Asso looked at me with horror.

"You're going to cancel the meeting… and then show up there?"

Yes. The institutions I had meetings with were also attending the summit, so there was a high chance I'd run into them if I wandered around.

What would these institutional investors think if they ran into me after I'd cancelled the meetings that day?

"Absolutely not! Such broken trust can never be recovered!"

"Where are you going! No! What are you trying to do!"

Dobby also stepped in front of me, his eyes filled with a sense of betrayal.

"You said you wouldn't start fires!"

I had promised Dobby just yesterday that I would never start fires again. Well, that was true, and I had no intention of breaking that promise now.

"It's okay, I'm not starting a fire."

"Not starting a ‘fire'?"

"Maybe just adding a little heat…"

The color drained from their faces. So, I quickly smiled and reassured them.

"Don't worry. It's really not a fire."