Steinhardt: The Idea Of 30% Returns is Extremely Remote

There are many successful hedge fund managers, but few of them have been able to achieve the level of consistency that Michael Steinhardt has enjoyed. In 1965, his brilliant moves and sharp investment decisions allowed him to create a hedge fund that returned approximately 30% annually before it closed in 1995.

But that was a different time, Steinhardt said. Nowadays, everything has changed.

“The idea of making 20% or 30% a year is extremely remote,” Steinhardt told Benzinga during a recent interview.

Part 1: Michael Steinhardt: Hedge Fund Legend – Zing Talk

Part 2: Michael Steinhardt: Hedge Fund Legend – Zing Talk

“I don't think most hedge fund managers even think in those terms. I think they're much more interested, if possible, a very, very low double-digit number – 10% or 12%, 500 basis points higher than a treasury, or something like that, they feel they've really achieved sufficient hedge fund compensation.”

But as Steinhardt points out, the competition was much slimmer when he began. “When I was doing it, there were tens of hedge funds,” he said. “Now there are tens of thousands. It's a different world. And I think the standards are different. The measures are different. It used to be the best and the brightest.”

“And now,” he continues, “it's still some of the best and the brightest, and sometimes it's not.”

To hear more from the hedge fund legend – including his best investment* and his views on politics – don't miss Benzinga's full interview with Michael Steinhardt.

*Hint: It's not Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).