Women working in the hedge-fund world know how hard it is for them to get ahead.
That could explain why so few of them were willing to speak out against hedge fund legend Paul Tudor Jones, whose recent comments that having babies turns women into lousy traders kicked off a storm of controversy on Thursday.
Hedgie women sprang to the defense of Jones, 58, who founded Tudor Investment Corp. in 1980, even as they hoped that the controversy would further their cause.
Renee Haugerud, a 20-year macro trader who runs the nearly $1 billion Galtere hedge fund, said “Paul is a very good person” who had been supportive of her.
But she sees the issue Jones raised — women become too emotionally distracted after children and lack the focus required for macro trading — in a different light.
“Focus is a function of choice, not gender,” said Haugerud, who two years ago started the only global macro trading school in the world.
The Galtere Institute at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga takes a “female-centric” view of trading that combines analytical skills with the more creative aspects often associated with women.
Kathleen Kelley, who worked at Tudor for 10 years and had two children while she was there, said, “Paul’s been a huge mentor in my life.” Still, she said, everyone needs a support system to succeed.
Some were critical of Jones, but in an understated way.
“It’s disappointing,” said Pamela Lawrence, whose Restoration Capital hedge fund shut down last year after a 11–year run. “There are many smart, hard-working female investment professionals who are just not given the opportunity. What’s wrong with the whole process?”
Haugerud said studies showing women outperforming men have been around for decades, but women aren’t given the access to capital because of outdated perceptions about their abilities.
She thinks this is already changing and hopes that women start supporting other talented women the way men support their peers.