Are his fifteen minutes finally up?: Super self-promotional boy hedge fund manager Tim Sykes, who started his Cilantro Fund just out of college with his Bar Mitzvah money, has been roundly dissed by Trader Monthly, where he was profiled last year in their "30 under 30" list. Sykes never impressed us in his silly but hysterically funny appearances on CNBC where he touted stocks often without even knowing what his chosen companies did or even their names. You can watch his dazzling analysis and commentary on the video below where he appeared on CNBC in connection with their "Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge" when the network shamefully gave him a platform to spew his idiocy. Sykes emailed us awhile ago, looking for a positive review of his recently self-published book, but we never responded to his spam. (That's also shown below.) But we digress. In any case, here's the scoop on the Trader Monthly diss, from Page Six of the NY Post:
A WALL Street war has erupted between influential Trader Monthly magazine and boisterous money manager Timothy Sykes, who says he was rudely disinvited to its "30 Under 30" party at Gold Street restaurant celebrating young financial whizzes after his once-mighty hedge fund tanked.
"Everything was fine, and then I get a call from their p.r. lady telling me I was no longer invited," Sykes, star of last year's Internet reality show "Wall Street Warriors," told Page Six"Then I spoke with the editor-in-chief, Randall Lane, and he said I wasn't welcome. My friends couldn't believe it - they were like, 'What did you do to him, screw his girlfriend or something?' "
Lane says Sykes is a shameless publicity hound whose Cilantro Fund lost a third of its value since last year. In an e-mail to Sykes, he wrote: "Acclaim comes with performance. While you've been busily self-promoting, your track record this past year for yourself and your investors has been pitiful. Laughably horrid. If you ever again become a real trader - rather than ignore the hard work required to instead play one on TV - you'll be welcome in our community.
"Until then . . . we will have nothing to do with you, as we celebrate those who actually perform versus those who pretend to."...Lane told us Sykes no longer fits in with Trader Monthly's audience: "This guy has decided to become Mr. Media as his hedge fund loses money." But Sykes said Lane and his magazine are losing face. "For the editor-in-chief of a magazine I used to worship, this is crazy," he said. "It's a slap in the face."
A well deserved slap in the face as far as we can see. And you really must watch this video if you want a good laugh:
And here's the email that Sykes spammed us with on July 6, 2007:
Hey--
I'm a big fan of your website--you educate and entertain so many people about the markets and that's exactly what I'd like to do with my upcoming book, An American Hedge Fund (10.01.07). So many people try to go for the big bucks playing penny stocks, but there's never been anybody to go on record with all the risks and rewards like I do. I want to help people through my mistakes so I'd love to send you an advance copy for your review.
The hedge fund industry is now a $2 trillion industry and yet, due to industry regulations, the general public knows little about them. This needs to change. I promise this not the typical boring finance book!
My claim to fame is that I turned $12k into $2 million trading waaaaay too many microcap stocks from 1999-2002, created a hedge fund, became the #1 Short Bias Hedge Fund from 2003-2006, starred in the TV documentary Wall Street Warriors (500 airings now!!), and began appearing regularly on CNBC all before the age of 25.
This is no BS "How To" book--its the true story of a hedge fund created from scratch. People need to realize the hedge fund industry is not just about billion dollar blow ups and huge funds created by investment professionals who are already wealthy. My 'Rocky'-like story will surely inspire generations to come to take part in our true national sport, finance.
If you like it, I'd love to get a blurb from you by August 1st that I'll print on the inside or back cover (which should drive a few people to your site) and hopefully you could post a review around press time in October. No pressure either way. Check out what some other people have been saying:"This book isn't just about making money; it's an inspirational yet realistic look at the world of trading and startup hedge funds."--Chad Brand, President, Peridot Capital Management, LLC and author of The Peridot Capitalist"a highly entertaining read, bristling with energy and passion. Tim possesses the rare gift of being able to teach market truths and entertain simultaneously. This book is a must read for all start up hedge fund managers and aspiring traders. It�s potentially the new Reminiscences of a Stock Operator as it's definitely a future classic in this genre.""If you love the markets, you will love this story."--Microcapspeculator.net"This is a great book about trading--I could hardly put it down! This is right up there with Confessions of a Street Addict as one of my all-time favorite books about stock traders."
Timothy K. Sykes
President
Cilantro Fund Partners, LP
16 Leroy St. Suite #3
New York, NY 10014
tim@timothysykes.com
Phone: 407-716-4422
Fax 407-386-3066
http://www. timothysykes. com
Sykes is such a tool.
Posted by: Shawn | September 21, 2007 at 12:19 PM
He sure does provide comic relief. That video is classic. Even Carl Quintanilla can't believe what he's hearing. I agree that he doesn't deserve a platform on CNBC. He reminds me of the classic internet bubble day traders. Most of them knew nothing of what they traded, but got lucky when everything, even the total crap, skyrocketed. Then most of them imploded when the bubble burst. He's the cocky type that will just flame out - publicly.
Posted by: Matt | September 21, 2007 at 01:58 PM