"Am I worth $250m+ ? I think so." Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Greg Coffey is leaving approximately $250m in stock options behind as a consequence of resigning from GLG to set up his own firm. He currently manages about US$7bn of GLG's US$24bn of funds under management, reportedly generating about 60 per cent of its performance fees last year.
Mr Coffey, a 36-year-old Australian, took home $300m (£150m) in pay last year but was reportedly unable to agree a new compensation package. Many articles on the matter can be found here.
The news of his departure initially knocked about $375m off the value of GLG, but the share price has since rebounded.
When I chat with folks outside of capital markets they often challenge me about the spectacular sums paid to individuals in the City. In this case, it's relatively easy to point to the worth the market attached to his value at GLG. Moreover, as a major contributor to the bottom line, his abilities were evidently a major appeal to GLG clients and validated by the performance of his funds.
As for the headline of this piece it was unrelated to me [unsurprisingly] but to Greg who obviously thinks he is, otherwise he wouldn't be leaving behind $250m of stock and a probable $300m of compensation per year to run his own firm. Will his bosses be bitter - perhaps initially but a) they left their employers to set up GLG and b) will probably seed his new fund and thereby continue to benefit from his skills.
Labels: GLG, Hedge Funds, markets
posted by John Wilson @ 5:26 PM Permanent Link
newsvine
reddit
