John Meriwether
John William Meriwether | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 10, 1947 United States |
| Occupation | Hedge fund executive |
| Known for | Founder of Long-Term Capital Management, JWM Partners, and JM Advisors |
John William Meriwether (born August 10, 1947) is a prominent American executive in the hedge fund industry.
Education
Meriwether completed his bachelor's degree at Northwestern University and later obtained an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Salomon Brothers
Following his academic pursuits, Meriwether began his career at Salomon Brothers in New York City as a bond trader. By the early 1980s, he was leading the domestic fixed income arbitrage division and advanced to the role of vice-chairman in 1988. In 1991, a trading scandal involving Treasury securities emerged at Salomon, linked to one of Meriwether’s subordinates, Paul Mozer, which resulted in Meriwether receiving a $50,000 civil penalty.
LTCM
In 1994, Meriwether established the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, which ultimately failed in 1998. The fund’s dramatic success and subsequent downfall are chronicled in the books When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management and Inventing Money: The Story of Long-Term Capital Management and the Legends Behind It.
JWM Partners
One year after LTCM's failure, in 1999, Meriwether launched JWM Partners LLC, initially managing $250 million and expanding to nearly $3 billion by 2007. Nevertheless, during the Great Recession between September 2007 and February 2009, the fund experienced a 44% loss, prompting Meriwether to shut it down on July 8, 2009.
JM Advisors
In 2010, Meriwether founded his third hedge fund, JM Advisors Management, with the intention of applying similar highly leveraged relative value arbitrage techniques as employed in LTCM and JWM. By March 2011, the JM Advisors Macro Fund had secured only $28.85 million in capital.
Thoroughbred racing
Outside of finance, Meriwether has been involved as a thoroughbred racehorse owner and holds a position on the board of directors for the New York Racing Association (NYRA). He is particularly recognized for campaigning Buckhan, who won the Washington, D.C. International Stakes in 1993.