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www.privateairny.com Private Air New York | Spring 2015 33 HEDGE FUND WITH A MIDAS TOUCH, CHRISTOPHER TSAI TAKES THE FINANCIAL WORLD BY STORM. | BY: GINA SAMAROTTO It's been said that in the financial world the best minds in the business are born, not made. While the talent that exists may be honed, it seems to be a trait among the sharpest and brightest financial minds that it is as intrinsic as it is learned. Christopher Tsai, President and Chief Investment Officer of Tsai Capital Corporation, is an apropos case in point. Born into one of the financial world's most illustrious families, Christopher is the son of the late Gerald Tsai, Jr.; a man noted for being America's first 'celebrity' fund manager and the first Chinese- American CEO of a Dow Jones Industrial company. Rising to financial fame during the 1960s, it was reporting by Newsweek that Gerald Tsai Jr. "Radiates total cool" - heady words usually reserved to describe traditional rock stars as opposed to financial ones. With such a notable pedigree it can be argued that, at least for Christopher Tsai, lucrative investing is in the blood. A privileged childhood fueled by his father's bullish achievements undoubtedly afforded Christopher access to a singularly sensational financial education – yet the younger Tsai's approach to investing is all his own. "My father was hugely successful. He was a gunslinger. He built his success on momentum whereas I am focused on the fundamentals. His style of investing was completely different than mine – but there was one thing we had in common – neither of us like to lose money," Tsai explains. Growing up in the well-heeled Connecticut enclave of Greenwich, Tsai cut his teeth in a world of quiet privilege. While other kids were focused on trading baseball cards Tsai was more interested in trading stocks. "I was still in high school when I worked with what was essentially my first client" says Tsai, recalling the early experience. "ere was a restaurant in town that I loved and I would spend a good amount of time there talking to the owner. We had a lot of conversations about money, about stocks and about investing. Eventually, this man asked me to invest for him. I was sixteen and he gave me access to about $400,000.00 in liquid assets - basically his entire life savings. ankfully, the transaction was successful. Very successful. at was the start of my career investing for others and I haven't stopped since." Following that initial foray into the sometimes-volatile waters of professional investment, Tsai went to work for two well-known financial gurus until eventually landing at Bear Stearns. Growing his portfolio as he honed his skills Tsai parlayed his successes until 1997 when, at the tender age of twenty-two, he launched Tsai Capital Corporation and an entirely new generation of financial superstardom was born. Today he sits at the helm of his own ship, Tsai Capital Corporation where he works with a client base of ultra high net worth individuals. Following the sagely timeless advice of Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of the Warren Buffett chaired Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, who suggested that, "Financial professionals choose their clients as they would friends." Tsai continues to build his empire with investors that are willing to place their trust in his philosophies; those who embrace his style and those who are attuned with his firmly grounded business sensibilities. Specializing in the management of global equity portfolios Tsai is in it for the long haul, eschewing short-term opportunities during a strong bull market and effectively managing core holdings. e practice has proven to be, as Tsai says, "Very effective and tax efficient – which is very popular with my clients and their accountants." It's a philosophy and indisputably successful practice that underscores Tsai's belief that, "Investing in stocks is essentially buying pieces of companies and not pieces of paper." M odern Alchemy

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