The American Kill Line: I Can Predict the Future

"Five hundred million dollars? Is that his exact quote?"

"Yes, sir."

"Interesting, the little guy seems quite confident. Well then, guys, what do you think?"

Executives in the Merrill Lynch conference room whispered among themselves.

After a moment, someone suggested, "I suggest we recommend it, but we shouldn't follow suit yet."

"I agree."

I agree.

Merrill Lynch’s top global head of debt and equity capital markets issuances looked around:

"Since no one objects, Tony, I'll leave this to you."

"Yes, sir."

Tony, sitting at the end of the table, immediately perked up.

A week later, on May 28, Merrill Lynch hosted a private equity investment briefing in the conference room at Merrill Lynch headquarters.

The invited guests included top Wall Street investment bank executives, internet upstarts, clients with net worths exceeding ten million, and politicians.

The meeting lasted for two hours.

The speaker was a semi-retired, legendary trader from Merrill Lynch, renowned in the industry.

He also serves as the honorary partner and investment advisor of Hunter Capital No. 1 hedge fund.

An annual salary of five million US dollars is used to endorse in these kinds of situations.

They are using his fame and resources.

Ron, the owner of the "Hunter Capital" hedge fund, also took the stage and introduced his resume with a prepared speech.

Many people at the scene didn't know much about him.

They were all just trying it out.

Even a series of precise and dazzling figures cannot entice these shrewd investors to make deep purchases.

The main reason for this is that the funds managed by Merrill Lynch did not participate in the investment.

Not only Merrill Lynch, but also funds managed by other top investment banks on Wall Street have chosen to wait and see.

In addition, Hunter Capital is a newly established hedge fund, and Ron has no prior management experience.

Ultimately, 17 people chose to subscribe, raising a total of $2 million.

The cycle is one year, and the profit and loss are announced on the 20th of each month.

Among them is Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

This guy invested ten million, but he didn't show up.

Tony guessed that he was probably returning a favor from last time.

"This guy has a really good eye."

"Two hundred million it is. Tony, please have them transfer the money as soon as possible. I'm going to start building my position tomorrow. Tell them that if the funds don't arrive by 8 p.m., it's considered invalid."

Ron was very confident in himself. He didn't care if he didn't raise a single penny, let alone two hundred million; he had planned to go all in on this market rally anyway.

Time is running out, and we've already missed the opportunity to buy at the peak.

Now the market is starting to question the euro again.

The following day, at the TEP Building, Ron sat in his office and turned on his computer.

The shackles on their bodies disappeared with the establishment of the private equity fund.

Ron is more confident now than before.

He used to have to pretend, but now that he has private equity funds as a cover, he doesn't have to act anymore.

He remotely controlled Victor and Tony directly over the phone.

Merrill Lynch assembled a temporary trading team specifically for him.

Unfortunately, time was tight, and we didn't have time to recruit excellent traders.

"Victor, put option, strike price 1.2410."

"Ron, I must remind you, you are not the same as before, it's impossible for you to buy euro options with your entire portfolio now."

A $5 million euro options deal—even in a market as large as the euro, this order size has become a beacon for the market.

Although it wasn't Merrill Lynch's money that was lost, it was Merrill Lynch that spearheaded the attack.

Most of these investors were drawn in by Merrill Lynch's reputation.

If Merrill Lynch were to be wiped out immediately after investing, the industry would be laughing all the way to the bank, and its parent company, Bank of America, would certainly hold them accountable.

"Let's go with 1 million, spread over three days to build the position," Ron said with some regret.

He's already used to going all in.

After weighing the options, Viktor agreed.

"With the remaining $4 million, let's short the euro spot market. Use $1 million as a safety cushion, and leverage it to 20x."

Ron has never dealt with spot trading before, so he feels it's better to be conservative.

"Are you crazy? Impossible! A $3 million leveraged 20 times is too risky, at most $1 million."

"What?! Are you kidding me?! Who's the boss here?!"

"Ron, you need to understand, not all of this money is yours." Victor was genuinely helpless, as he was both making the purchases and dealing with the unscrupulous "boss's" persistent questioning.

"Don't give me that. Minimum 200 million. The remaining 200 million is a safety cushion, 20x leverage, to be entered over three days!"

"But……"

"Victor!"

Victor was about to offer further advice when Tony interrupted from behind, saying, "Remember who you are and follow Ron's orders."

Even though Tony thought Ron's actions didn't meet the standards of a mature and rational professional fund manager, what could he do when Ron had made the right bets the previous times?

He did not intend to intervene forcefully until the other party suffered a setback.

This is a test for Ron.

He passed the test, and from then on, all the investment banks in New York would look at him differently.

$2 million, leveraged twenty times, equals $40 billion in notional funds.

To enter the market undetected, the price cannot be too low. Even for a seasoned trader like Victor, it took a lot of effort.

Finally, the last transaction of the first batch was completed at 3 p.m.

"Victor, what's the current VIX value?"

VIX, or Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index.

It is an indicator that measures the market's expectation of the volatility of the S&P 500 index over the next 30 days, commonly known as the "fear index".

"Around 36." Victor had helped Ron trade many times and instantly understood his plan, saying somewhat nervously:

"If you want to go long on VIX spot, I suggest not to exceed 10 times leverage, and it's best to reserve more than 50% of your position as a safety cushion."

"Very good, Victor, I'm starting to like you. My company is short of a technical director, and I think you could be the right person."

Ron operated the computer with one hand, opened the JPMorgan Chase system, and logged into his personal account.

Looking at the $1.5 million inside, I clicked on the VIX page again.

"Thanks for the invitation, but you'd better find a different place to say something like that next time." Viktor rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone, his fingers flying across the computer screen.

Tony, standing nearby, couldn't help but mutter angrily, "Couldn't you two come somewhere else next time?"

Too embarrassing!

On Merrill Lynch's turf, using Merrill Lynch employees, they blatantly used another brokerage firm's services with their phones on speakerphone right in front of him, the manager.

Viktor coughed awkwardly.

Ron pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, let's go with your plan and enter over two days."

He is currently a hedge fund manager, and according to regulations, individuals are not allowed to trade the same type of products simultaneously.

For example, if he uses a hedge fund to buy euro spot today, then he personally cannot invest in any products related to the euro during this period.

You also cannot operate with the same brokerage firm or investment bank.

Complete isolation is necessary.

You can choose products that are not directly related to the euro, such as gold, US Treasury bonds, US stocks, and foreign exchange from other countries.

Gold is currently at a high level, so there's not much profit potential if you buy it.

He doesn't know much about US Treasury bonds and other foreign exchange, so all he knows is US stocks.

Ron's bullish view on VIX is the result of careful selection.

Throughout May, when the euro plummets, the VIX is bound to surge.

When the euro surged on the 21st, the VIX fell from 41 points to 36 points.

After the transaction was completed, Ron pressed the pager on his desk: "Linda, could you make me a cup of black tea? Thanks!"

Then he went to the floor-to-ceiling window and stretched his waist.

The Trump Tower is located at 40 Wall Street, in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district.

The New York Stock Exchange is right across the street.

Therefore, most of the companies here are financial companies, with private equity firms making up the largest proportion.

Ron chose to temporarily place the company here for this reason.

dong dong——

A tall, red-haired woman, dressed in a business suit, carrying a coffee, walked in through the door with a clatter of high heels.

"Mr. Hunter, your black tea."

"Thanks."

Ron turned around, took the black tea, took a sip, and asked:

"Linda, how many resumes did you receive today? Were there any suitable candidates?"

His company moved in not long ago and hasn't had time to hire anyone yet.

Including the receptionist, only the financial director introduced by lawyer Matthew is left.

Linda said sweetly, "We received a lot of resumes, and after a preliminary screening according to your requirements, they have been sent to your email address."

OK.

Ron sat at his desk, opened his email, and browsed the resumes referred by various headhunting firms and organizations.

His requirement for talent is only one:

Young and obedient.

Other companies may need people with seniority, a good track record, or experience working at an investment bank or private equity firm.

Ron, however, was different; he relied on "precognition."

Therefore, all his team needs to do is have strong technical skills and be obedient.

His first choice was students who had graduated a few years prior.

Because these students, who have only graduated a few years ago, are motivated and their minds are not so complicated.

Unlike those seasoned veterans who have been in the workplace for years.

Ron himself was a seasoned veteran in the workplace, and he was very clear about the characteristics of this type of person.

An hour later, Ron selected ten resumes that suited his taste from the large pile and sent them to Linda's email address.

Tell her to notify these people to come for an interview tomorrow.

A few minutes later, Linda knocked on the door again and came in.

He was carrying a large stack of documents.

Then it was slammed onto the desk.

Ron rubbed his swollen forehead. "Are they asking me for investment again?"

Linda nodded helplessly in agreement.

"Damn it! Who recommended this?"

Ron cursed.

Since donating millions of dollars at a charity event held at Presbyterian Hospital last week, people have been flocking to him seeking investment opportunities.

The investment projects are diverse.

Some people claim to have discovered an energy source that can replace oil.

Someone even claimed to be his distant cousin, speaking with a Texas accent, saying there was a piece of land that could be developed into a tourism project for only $600 million.

Fuck!

They really treat him like an idiot, a nouveau riche.

For these kinds of guys who come to your door to scam you out of money, Ron has only one answer—fuck off.

There's another type, like the pile Linda brought over now.

They were all recommended by close friends and well-known figures in the industry.

Of course, whether or not to invest is up to Ron's own decision.

"They're all pretty much the same as before, sent via email. But..."

Linda pulled out four documents and placed them on top: "These four film investment projects were delivered this morning by someone from a fund under Bank of America."

The meaning is clear: you should at least take a look at these documents.

Instead of throwing it away as trash as before.

"Investing in movies?" Ron scoffed. "I'd never invest in movies in my entire life!"

He had long heard of the century-old tradition of Hollywood accountants.

Wall Street financial tycoons, in particular, have the most say in this matter.

Even the dogs on the street want to pee on it when they see it.

Out of politeness, after Linda left, Ron casually opened the film project proposals recommended by Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

Just to kill time.

Soon, he discovered that things were not as he had imagined.

Everyone in the world knows that Hollywood movies make money.

It's common knowledge worldwide that making money from Hollywood film companies is virtually impossible.

However, this does not include top investment banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America.

These top investment banks have their eyes on the huge potential of Hollywood, so they have set up special investment funds specifically for investing in Hollywood movies.

For example, the MGM bankruptcy reorganization investment plan led by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.

And then there's the "Melrose II Fund," which was just taken over from Deutsche Bank this month by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America and is preparing for restructuring.

This special fund is dedicated to investing in Hollywood film "anthology investments".

Its main partner is Paramount Pictures.

These four films are the projects Paramount will be undertaking this year.

Just then, a text message popped into my mind:

[On May 6, 2011, "Thor" was released, grossing $4.49 million worldwide.]