Tiger Management

Tiger Management Corp.

Company type	Private
Industry	Investment management
Founded	1980
Founder	Julian Robertson
Headquarters	New York City, New York, U.S.
Products	Hedge funds
Number of employees	97

Tiger Management Corp. is a U.S.-based hedge fund and family office established by entrepreneur Julian Robertson. Founded in 1980, the firm stopped accepting external investments around 2000-01 but still engages in direct public equity investments and provides capital to emerging funds. The firm, often referred to as the "Tiger Fund," has a network of former employees known as the "tiger cubs."

History

Julian Robertson, who previously worked as a stockbroker and served as a U.S. Navy officer, launched Tiger Management with an initial capital of $8 million. By 1996, the firm's assets under management (AUM) had grown to $7.2 billion. That same year, a notable BusinessWeek cover story resulted in a $1 billion defamation suit filed by Robertson, which was eventually resolved without any monetary settlement.

By 1997, Tiger Management ranked as the second-largest hedge fund globally, managing $10.5 billion in assets; this figure expanded to $22 billion by 1998. Nevertheless, the firm faced significant challenges due to losses sustained during the 1998 Russian financial crisis and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, alongside its exposure to volatile technology stocks amid the dot-com bubble. A major investment in U.S. Airways also encountered financial difficulties that negatively impacted the fund’s performance.

These adverse events led Robertson to wind down the fund in March 2000 and return capital to outside investors. Although Tiger had previously achieved gains totaling $2 billion, most profits were erased following a sharp yen currency movement in 1998. In 2001, Robertson distributed depreciated shares of U.S. Airways to investors while retaining ownership himself; the airline subsequently filed for bankruptcy in 2002, resulting in total shareholder losses.

Aftermath and legacy

Following the fund's closure, Robertson redirected his efforts toward backing up-and-coming hedge funds through his own capital and guidance. By 2009, he had initiated 38 "Tiger Seeds," acquiring equity stakes in their management firms. Many former Tiger employees—dubbed "Tiger Cubs"—went on to create well-known hedge funds led by figures such as Ole Andreas Halvorsen, Lee Ainslie, Stephen Mandel, John Griffin, Philippe Laffont, Dan Morehead, David Goel, Chase Coleman III, Martin Hughes, Bill Hwang, and Paul Touradji.

The impressive returns generated by the Tiger Fund played a significant role in popularizing hedge funds across the industry after a 1986 Institutional Investor feature highlighted its success.

In 2010, reports surfaced that Robertson was contemplating reopening Tiger Management to external investors with intentions to establish either a seeding fund or a fund of hedge funds. John Townsend was appointed COO and Robertson’s son Alex became involved in operations. However, many of the funds seeded by Tiger experienced difficulties during that period.