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April 15, 2007

Profile of Citadel's Ken Griffin: An IPO Imminent?

Here's the trouble with Portfolio magazine: Having stuffed as much circ-building marquee stuff in the first issue -- Pickens profile, Doerr piece, etc. -- it's not easy to figure how it doesn't descend into trend-of-the-month BusinessWeek mediocrity going forward. That was my conclusion after reading yet another marquee piece in the premiere issue, a profile of reclusive hedge fund manager Ken Griffin.

It is a great get, as Griffin doesn't do often this sort of thing. Trouble is, while it's personality rich -- we learn about his art collecting tastes, his French wife, etc. -- we learned next to diddly specific about his trades. Sure, he likes to overlay Shaw-style quant with Cohen-class oportunism, but that's not saying much of any import. What trades have worked lately? What trades haven't? What's really going on at Citadel with those ranks of khaki-clad MBAs staring into flat screens? I have no idea, and you won't know any more than that 2,500 words later.

Okay, there is one quasi-relevation: Citadel is contemplating an IPO, a la Fortress and Blackstone. Mind you, the author didn't get Griffin to say it, so I'm not sure if it really counts -- doubly so considering most people knew this was being considered anyway.

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