Hedge Fund v1: “Money Men”

Just from the cover alone, I knew what I was about to get into with this book:

A wide-eyed econ major fresh out of college lands his dream job with a growing hedge fund, only to discover the scary and morally bankrupt ways the world of high finance works.

(You can already see Tom Cruise from thirty years ago starring in this, no doubt based on a John Grisham type of novel. Maybe Brad Meltzer could have written it.)

But it’s too late — he can’t get out, nor does he want to. The lure of big money is too strong. Even as he loses the trust of his friends and his family begins turning their backs on him, he can’t bring himself to stop.

What will finally go wrong that will cause him to see himself in the mirror for what it is and make amends for his bad behavior, his immoral career, and greedy colleagues? When will he hit rock bottom?

That’s not the plot of “Hedge Fund,” as it turns out.

But I’m not that far off.

Credits Bought on Credit

Hedge Fund Money: Easy Come, Easy Go

Frank Carvale is an ex-pat out of France living in Hong Kong in the naughts. He’s not doing such a great job wheeling and dealing with a top insurance agency there, but catches a lucky break when one failed client turns out to be a ridiculously rich man looking for help in managing his company’s financial assets.

Frank is desperate. He’s about to be fired from his current job. He can’t go back to France, where his last failed company left him too far in the hole to pay back. He’s as much a fleeing con as he is an ex-pat.

He doesn’t have time to ask too many questions, and takes the job. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, just look at this clip from the scene where we meet the new boss:

Nope, nothing shadowy going on there. No sir.

That’s when life turns good for him, but at what cost? What is he willing to do to keep up appearances with his rich boss and continue to make enormous returns on his boss’ wealth? Will his colleagues or his friends pay the price first?

First Guesses

So, yeah, my initial guess at the plot wasn’t too far off. The major difference with Roulot and Sabbah’s story is that Frank is compromised to begin with. He’s had several failures already. He owes his friends money. He’s doing a crap job at his current employment and is about to be terminated.

His desperation is pushing him into actions that maybe he wouldn’t otherwise take — or maybe he would? How strong is his character? It doesn’t look that strong, but it’s clear he’s in over his head, as good a student as he might be.

Yet, there’s a certain charisma to his inner belief that he’s going to pull this off and it’s something he’s meant to do. It’s right on the line with “reckless hubris,” but that’s a fine line he’s walking.

That, I think, is what makes him such an interesting character. He should be loathsome. His arrogance should not be appealing. We should spend the entire book rooting against him.

But he has two roommates who rise to his defense, and he’s surrounded by people in the office who are even worse than he is. In the first case, he gets the benefit of the doubt by association. In the latter, he’s the lesser of many evils.

He is not boring, and he is not vile.

Not yet, at least.

Economic Drama

The part of this book I liked the most was the economics lessons contained therein. It reminded me a bit of “Largo Winch,” where half of each story was always some crazy economic scheme that Jean Van Hamme would explain in dramatic fashion.

Roulot and Sabbah do a bit of that here multiple times. There’s a terrific explanation of casino economics, a quick explanation of how arbitrage works, and then the final lessons in how hedge funds work and how shorting the market can be very profitable, if ultimately damaging.

The dialogue in the book moves quickly. While there are a few definite exposition dumps, they’re quick and necessary, and are well illustrated by Henaff to keep the action in motion even when your brain is absorbing the information.

Credit also goes to Anna Howell for her translation. The voices don’t feel stiff in this book, and there’s a lot of cursing in it at appropriate moments. This isn’t a book for the kids, at all. Not that I’d expect them to be interested in stock arbitrage or anything, but the language, hard drinking, and sex might be enough to lead them to Gomer the Goof instead, or something.

Time Travel

The book has a couple of time jumps in it that aren’t exactly spelled out. There’s no caption box at the top of the page saying “three months” later or anything like that. If you’re paying attention, though, you’ll see how things change through the book.

The most obvious example of this is how Frank starts with a Blackberry phone in the book and then, after one time jump, suddenly upgrades to an iPhone. It’s as much a display of his advanced economic status that he can afford one as it is a jump in time. iPhones came and destroyed the Blackberry market, after all.

And if you remember the economic issues facing the world in the 2007 – 2009 time frame, you might even start to see some the bumps coming in the road for Frank and friends. They’re being foreshadowed strongly.

The Art of Henaff

I like Henaff’s art for the book, but it’s not perfect. There are little anatomical things that bother me, like heads at three quarters view that just don’t look right and heads that tilt off necks a few degrees more than they should.

It’s strange, because Henaff draws some spectacular wide angle shots. The book opens up on a two page spread of Hong Kong, for one example. There are shots of the casino floor and a helicopter rooftop landing and a nightclub interior that all look super detailed and well put together.

But when the scenes come down to the talking heads moments, it does occasionally feel like Henaff goes close in on the talkers too much. They get cut off at the sides of the panels in awkward ways, or they fill the panels in ways that feel a little too cramped. In the panel fireclay above, why is Frank’s chin making a tangent with the bottom line of the panel?

It’s uncomfortable to be that close to them, though it does cut back in those scenes on the background.

I don’t mean to pick on Henaff, though. He does an amazing job on this book, with lots of backgrounds and lots of details. He does a great job in keeping everyone clearly differentiated. His people look natural, not like badly phototraced actors with questionable skills. I could follow the story easily and without hesitation.

It’s also possible the number and size of the balloons forced him to make compromises in his layouts that he would have preferred not to make. In the example above, Frank’s head may have been pushed down to make room for the extra ballon

While the issues are still there, they’re not enough to make me dislike the book or Henaff’s art. They’re small niggling issues, not show stoppers. The book is still a delight.

Recommended?

Yes, definitely. This is a natural follow-up to “Largo Winch,” if you like that series already. I like the economics lessons and how the economic power plays are handled in the book. But it doesn’t forget the characters and their personality arcs along the way. Everything happens for a reason, and often times it’s drive by emotion.

“Hedge Fund” is much more creative and realistic than, say, your typical super hero punch out or action movie fight scene. It’s also, in many ways, more damaging and diabolical. Not to mention, it’s more real.

Volume 2 is out already, and volume 3 is due out later this month.

— 2019.040 —

Buy It Now?