Jump to content

Buddy Fletcher

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by FlyingToaster (talk | contribs) at 14:03, 28 March 2015 (Reverted 1 edit by Papalakaka (talk) to last revision by Maproom. using TW). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the fund manager. For the Florida mayor, see Buddy Fletcher (politician).
Buddy Fletcher
Born
Alphonse Fletcher, Jr.

1965 (age 58–59)
New London, Connecticut, United States
Other namesBuddy
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationA.B. in applied mathematics Harvard College, 1987
Master's degree in Environmental Management Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 2004
Occupation(s)Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Fletcher Asset Management
Founder of the Fletcher Foundation
Employer(s)Bear Stearns (1987–??)
Kidder Peabody (19??–91)
Fletcher Asset Management (1991–present)
Known forHedge fund management, fund bankruptcy, Kidder Peabody discrimination lawsuit, Dakota discrimination lawsuit, Philanthropy
SpouseEllen K. Pao (2007–present)
RelativesGeoffrey S. Fletcher (brother)
Websitehttp://www.fletcher.com/alphonse.html

Alphonse "Buddy" Fletcher, Jr. (born December 19, 1965) is a former hedge fund manager and founder of the Fletcher Foundation. His fund is in bankruptcy, and he is accused of civil fraud.[1][2][3]

He began his career as a quantitative equity trader at Bear Stearns and later worked at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Fletcher, who is African American, sued Kidder Peabody for racial discrimination. Although his racial discrimination claims were dismissed, he eventually won an arbitration award of US$1.26 million.[4] Fletcher has also been involved in litigation centered on a dispute with the board of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.

Fletcher founded Fletcher Asset Management in 1991. His main fund, Fletcher International, may have been insolvent since 2008 and was declared bankrupt in 2012. Money from the fund was used to finance his brother's movie project, according to the bankruptcy court trustee.[5]

Early life and education

Fletcher was raised in Waterford, Connecticut.[6] His father, Alphonse, Sr., was a technician at the Electric Boat Corporation in Groton,[7] a company that makes submarines. His mother, Bettye, a long-time teacher and later a social worker, dean, and school principal, received a Ph.D. in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.[6][7] Fletcher has two younger brothers, Todd and Geoffrey,[8] a screenwriter, film director and Academy Award winner.

He attended Harvard College where he received an A.B. degree as an applied mathematics major in 1987.[9] He was elected first marshall (ceremonial position) of the 1987 class.[10] He earned a Master's degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2004.[11]

Career

After graduating from Harvard College in 1987, Fletcher began his career at Bear Stearns as a quantitative equity trader who capitalized on dividend-related arbitrage.[12] He was recruited to Kidder Peabody as a trader in the equity trading group.[9][10]

Fletcher Asset Management

After his tenure at Kidder Peabody, he founded Fletcher Asset Management,[9][10] which makes private investments in small-capitalization public companies.

During Fletcher Asset Management's first four years, it traded with heavy leverage.[13] His general strategy was trading public instruments for his own account and on behalf of clients, but he also made longer-term equity investments. He used hedges with both types of investments.[14] He has also been involved in PIPE deals.[15] At one time, his firm's trading activity occasionally accounted for 5% of the volume on the New York Stock Exchange.[16] In 1994, Fletcher surrendered his broker-dealer registration and became a registered investment adviser, which made managing money more convenient.[12]

Fund bankruptcy

In July 2011, FIA Leveraged Fund, an investment vehicle managed by Fletcher Asset Management, was unable to meet a redemption request, totaling $144 million, by three Louisiana pension fund investors.[17][18] In April 2012, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands ruled that the fund was insolvent and ordered that it be wound up (liquidated).[19][20]

In June 2012, Fletcher International Ltd., the Bermuda-based "master fund" for the Fletcher funds, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Manhattan.[5][21]

In November 2013, Richard J. Davis, the court-appointed Chapter 11 Trustee of Fletcher International Ltd., said his investigation showed that Fletcher investors were victims of a fraud perpetrated by Alphonse Fletcher and others at Fletcher Asset Management, which enabled them to divert investors' funds for their own benefit. Davis said that Fletcher International Ltd. and its feeder funds were likely insolvent as early as 2008[22][23] and his report stated: “In many ways, the fraud here has many of the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme, where, absent new investor money coming in, the overall structure would collapse due to an inability to meet existing redemption and other obligations".[5]

Litigation

Alphonse Fletcher vs. Kidder Peabody

In 1991, after working as an equity trader at Kidder Peabody, Fletcher filed a lawsuit in New York state court for employment racial discrimination.[24] The New York Court of Appeals ruled that Fletcher's claim must be arbitrated.[25] In a NYSE arbitration, Fletcher was awarded $1.26 million, and in a subsequent arbitration, the racial discrimination claim was dismissed.[26][16]

Dakota lawsuit

In February 2011, Fletcher filed a lawsuit against the Board of Directors of The Dakota co-op building in Manhattan, where he had lived since 1992 and owned four apartments.[4] Among other things, he alleged defamation and unlawful discrimination.[27] In March 2010, Fletcher had signed a contract to purchase a fifth apartment at The Dakota, intending to combine it with his current home. The Dakota board said it rejected Fletcher's application based on the financial materials he provided in his application.[8][28]

Fletcher Foundation and philanthropy

In 1993, following the death of friend and advisor Reginald Lewis, Fletcher donated $1 million to the Reginald F. Lewis Memorial Endowment. The endowment had been created by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People after Lewis instructed his wife to bequeath $2 million to the organization.[29]

In 1996, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), Fletcher endowed a University professorship at Harvard College.[6][9]

In 2004, Fletcher created the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor Fellowship program to financially support professors working to improve race relations at Harvard.[6][30] Funded as part of the Fletcher Foundation, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard.[31][32]

Personal life

In 2007, Fletcher married Ellen Pao, then a junior partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and along with Fletcher, a Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.[8][33] As of November 2014 Pao is interim chief executive officer[34] of Internet company Reddit Inc.[35] Fletcher has a daughter, Matilda Pao Fletcher.[8][36][37]

Prior to his marriage to Pao, Fletcher was in a same-sex relationship with Hobart V. "Bo" Fowlkes, Jr. for more than 10 years.[37][38][39]

Fletcher and his wife have lived in the St. Regis Residence in San Francisco.[39][40] Fletcher also owns homes in The Dakota in New York City.[39][41] He put his Cornwall, Connecticut home up for sale in August 2013.[42][43]

Notes

  1. ^ Skadden to Pay $4.25 Million in Fletcher Bankruptcy Case by Rachel Abrams March 21, 2014 Deal Book New York Times
  2. ^ Buddy Fletcher headed for the big house? Richard Bradley November 29, 2013 ShotintheDark
  3. ^ Trustee report in Fletcher Hedge Fund bankruptcy
  4. ^ a b Bradley, Richard (March 2012). "Is Harvard's Buddy Fletcher a Financial Genius- or a Fake?". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Pension Funds Sue on a Deal Gone Cold February 24, 2014 Deal B%k by Rachel Abrams New York Times
  6. ^ a b c d Rimer, Sara (2004-05-18). "$50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  7. ^ a b Martin, Amy (2005-04-25). "Community philanthropist, Waterford native Buddy Fletcher May 5". Connecticut College. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
  8. ^ a b c d Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman (2011-02-26). "The Man at the Center of a Dispute at the Dakota". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  9. ^ a b c d "University Professorship Named for Fletcher: Honors graduate of Harvard Class of 1987". Harvard University Gazette. President and Fellows of Harvard College. 1996-04-25. Archived from the original on September 3, 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b c "Professorship Challenge Fund set into motion: Harvard donors aim to increase faculty resources across University". Harvard University Gazette. President and Fellows of Harvard College. 2006-02-16. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  11. ^ Dipnarine, Danny, James Kocienski, and Apollo Marmarinos. "Alphonse Fletcher, Jr". Michael Hover. Retrieved 2008-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) [dead link]
  12. ^ a b "To Be Young, Gifted, and Sitting Pretty". BusinessWeek. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. 1994-10-24. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  13. ^ Schwager, Jack D. (2003), Stock Market Wizards, Harper Collins
  14. ^ Heller, Zoe (1996-04-29). "The Buddy System". The New Yorker. CondéNet. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  15. ^ Atlas, Riva D. (2004-06-05). "When Private Mixes With Public; A Financing Technique Grows More Popular and Also Raises Concerns". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  16. ^ a b Birger, Jon. "40 Under 40 > 1998 > Alphonse Fletcher Jr". Crain's New York Business. Crain Communications. Retrieved 2008-09-12. Cite error: The named reference "4U41AFJ" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ Lattman, Peter (12 July 2011). "SEC and Pension Systems to Examine Fletcher Fund". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  18. ^ Barbanel, Josh (20 December 2011). "Louisiana Pension Sets Plan for Fletcher Fund Loss". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  19. ^ Eder, Steve (19 April 2012). "Judge Orders Liquidation of a Fletcher Hedge Fund". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  20. ^ Thompson, Richard (April 20, 2012). "Liquidation ordered for hedge fund that 3 local pension funds invested in". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  21. ^ Eder, Steve (4 July 2012). "Hedge Fund Files for Bankruptcy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  22. ^ Barbabnel, Josh (23 November 2013). "Bankruptcy Trustee Says Fletcher Investments Inflated Through Fraud". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  23. ^ Davis, Richard (23 November 2013). "Trustee's Report and Disclosure Statement" (PDF). The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  24. ^ "Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., Appellant, v. Kidder, Peabody & Company, Inc., Respondent. / Rita Reid, Appellant, V Goldman, Sachs & Co. Et Al., Respondent". Cornell University Law School. 1993-07-09. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  25. ^ Brant, Martha and Jolie Solomon (1993-07-19). "Taking On The Great White Way: Wall Street: Will Recent Discrimination Suits Open The Door For Women And Minority Executives?". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  26. ^ Bradley, Richard (February 2012). "Buddy Fletcher: Financial Genius — or a Fake?". Boston Magazine. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  27. ^ Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman (2011-02-28). "Dakota Co-op Board Is Accused of Bias". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Lattman, Peter Lattman (2011-02-02). "The Money Manager Who Is Suing the Dakota". The New York Times.
  29. ^ Teltsch, Kathleen (1993-09-26). "Gifts Help N.A.A.C.P. Focus on Economic Agenda". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-12. [dead link]
  30. ^ "Alphonse Fletcher announces 2006 Fletcher Fellows". Jet. CNET Networks, Inc. 2006-06-05. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  31. ^ "Gates Named Univ. Professor". thecrimson.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  32. ^ http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2012/02/is-harvard-graduate-buddy-fletcher-financial-genius-or-fake/4/
  33. ^ "Aspen Institute Names Emerging Leaders As 2007 Henry Crown Fellows". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  34. ^ Ohanian, Alexis (November 13, 2014). "Reddit Blog: Coming home". blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  35. ^ Streitfeld, David (April 11, 2013). "Ellen Pao, Who Sued Kleiner Perkins, Joins Reddit". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  36. ^ http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2012/02/is-harvard-graduate-buddy-fletcher-financial-genius-or-fake/5/
  37. ^ a b Lashinsky, Adam; Benner, Katie (October 25, 2012). "A tale of money, sex and power: The Ellen Pao and Buddy Fletcher affair". Fortune. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  38. ^ Rimer, Sara (2004-05-18). "$50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  39. ^ a b c http://www.vanityfair.com/society/2013/03/buddy-fletcher-ellen-pao
  40. ^ "San Francisco real estate news, data and statistics, home sales and real estate listings - San Francisco". blockshopper.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  41. ^ http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/2Fletchervs.DakotaOpposingAffidavits.pdf
  42. ^ "Connecticut's Storybook Hidden Valley Castle Listed for $8.85M". Curbed National. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  43. ^ "Waterford success story Buddy Fletcher accused of fraud - News from southeastern Connecticut". The Day. Retrieved March 23, 2015.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buddy_Fletcher&oldid=653891102"