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Ole Andreas Halvorsen (born 1961, Borge, Norway) became one of the most influential investors. His hedge fund ranked third among funds with the highest absolute returns in the world in 2023. Although he is largely unknown to the general public due to his low profile, his companies manage assets worth $46 billion and have amassed a fortune of approximately $6 billion.
The company he founded in 1999 has a very impressive name: Viking Global Investors. So is the company’s symbol, the Nordic longship, ready to conquer all financial markets. Halvorsen’s career is also noteworthy. After he completed his secondary education, he enrolled in the Norwegian Naval Academy and joined the Army’s Special Operations Forces. Marine Jaeger Commandoenequivalent to the US Navy SEALs.
In the mid-1980s, he left the Army and began pursuing higher education in the United States. He was among the top three in his class, first at Williams College in Massachusetts and then at Stanford University’s School of Business, where he is one of the most prestigious in the world. After completing his university education, his illustrious financial career began. After several years at Morgan Stanley, he served as an executive at Tiger Management before deciding to strike out on his own in 1999.
Today, Viking Global Investors is one of the most well-known investment companies, operating in the stock market and amassing assets worth $29 billion. Another aspect of its activities is dedicated to personal wealth. Gradually, we have started to rival the largest hedge fund companies, allowing us to invest without restrictions on asset types, hedging, or leverage.
The company delivered a total of $6 billion in returns for investors last year, bettered only by giants Citadel and TCI, according to data from LCH Investments. The boost was largely due to the company’s positions in technology giants such as Amazon, credit card company Visa and financial management software provider Workday. Viking Longship was able to successfully ride the bullish wave in the US stock market. A year ago, Mr. Halvorsen sent a letter to investors in his own hedge fund telling them: “We are entering a very favorable environment for stock picking, with a wide range of opportunities to generate more returns than the market.”
But he doesn’t always work in a bullish position. While this is the company’s main strategy, Viking Global also has a formula that allows it to take short positions on stocks in years of sharp declines, such as 2020 and 2022.
In addition to its equity positions, Viking Global Investors has a private asset division that invests in companies that are not yet publicly traded. They have allocated $15 billion to companies focused on the pharmaceutical and biotech space (e.g. Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Ayana Bio, Pep Gen, RazeBio, etc.). About Computer Security (Artic Wolf). Or use sustainable materials (Evacative).
Unlike other hedge fund managers like Bill Ackman, Ken Griffin, and Carl Icahn, who have large media presences, Andrea Halvorsen has always preferred to keep a low profile. He has not given interviews for years and rarely attends international conferences. Moreover, his access to funds is very limited. Last year was an exception, when he allowed new investors in for the first time in a decade.
Another aspect of Halvorsen is his involvement in sports. In 2012, at the age of 50, he participated in the Marchialonga, a traditional cross-country ski race in which he runs 70 kilometers through the snowy Alps in Italy. He finished in a time of 3 hours and 38 minutes, just nine minutes longer than the sport’s star Björn Dahle, who won 12 Olympic gold medals. At 61, Viking’s Halvorsen is still in great shape and aiming for a podium at the world’s biggest hedge funds.
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