Michael Masters

Michael Masters is the founder of Masters Capital Management. Over 17 years, the firm has compiled one of the best track records of any hedge fund, with an average annualized return of 26 percent. Such outperformance has been realized by a unique yet straightforward investing style that Michael has refined over the years—part fundamental and part trading—and rooted in an underlying belief that money moves markets and people move money. Market participants’ behavior, therefore, plays a central role in Michael’s investing style, but he has also drawn upon the study of other fields including philosophy, psychology, and intelligence. While Michael’s $200 million AUM firm flies under the radar, he is more widely known in Washington, D.C., where he has vigorously pursued financial legislative change. Over the past few years he has testified before Congress, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission arguing for tighter regulation on oil speculation. In April 2010, Michael also founded Better Markets, a D.C.-based nonprofit to promote transparency and accountability in the financial markets.