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Book Review by Charles C. Lovell: More Money than God

  • October 16, 2024

Charles C. LovellEditor’s Note: This is the 21st review in our Get Paid to Read contest series! If you missed last week, we featured Irrational Exuberance by Nobel laureate Robert J. Shiller, reviewed by Malcolm Inglis.

Be sure to check out our Reading List section here for more!

This week, we spotlight More Money Than God by Sebastian Mallaby reviewed by Charles C. Lovell. Charles has over 25 years of experience providing financial and wealth management advice and services. He joined UBS in 2022 coming from Merrill Lynch after 16 years and 7 years at Morgan Stanley.

Charles, an Eagle Scout, who is originally from San Francisco, CA moved to the Philadelphia area after graduating from Lafayette College. Charles currently lives in Huntingdon Valley, PA with his wife Amanda and three children, Charlie, Margeaux & Greenleigh.


More Money Than GodWhen I saw Asif’s call for book review I did not have to reach far to grab my copy of More Money than God.  This is the most straightforward explanation of how the modern money management/hedge fund business actually works.

It plays like the textbook to the current popular culture version people are watching on Billions or Industry. At one point in my life, I thought of myself as an accomplished writer, but those days are long gone.

So instead, I will practice good journalism with the 5 W’s (boy, I wish modern journalists did this more) – Who, What, When, Where and How…

Who: The book gives the evolution of the hedge fund business through the story of titans of the industry: AW Jones, Michael Steinhardt, Soros and Druckenmiller, Paul Tudor Jones, Ken Griffin, Steve Cohen, Paulson and Chanos

What: The quest for risk-adjusted alpha that has transformed into the massive 2 and 20 investment pools of today

When and Where: The evolution of the hedge from the post-war period through modern Wall Street, in various locations from smoke-filled offices in Manhattan to Princeton Farmhouses to halls of Yale and shores of Long Island and Connecticut.

How: Probably the most interesting aspect of the book is the evolving strategy and different ways that alpha has been generated over time. Starting with hand selecting the best brightest brightest, what is now called multi-manager, to secondary offering arbitrage, to the beginning of computerized trend following, modern-day global macro and dedicated short selling

This is simplest explanation I have read of how the modern hedge funds evolved from select small investment pools to titans of the financial world. Just an absolutely fantastic insightful read.