Inside the House of Money: Top Hedge Fund Traders on Profiting in the Global Markets, Revised and Updated

Chapter 11

The Commodity Specialist

Dwight Anderson

Ospraie Management New York City

At the beginning of our meeting, the big, smiley, affable guy that is Dwight Anderson explained that he was slightly reticent to conduct this interview. The ex–Tiger Management star and commodities/basic industries specialist elaborated that, of late, others have been trying to copy his style. Although Anderson is no longer working for a $20 billion-plus mega-fund, his reputation and stellar returns have the market gunning for any and all information they can get about the reigning king of commodities.

Anderson’s clout in the markets has grown rapidly since founding Ospraie Management in 1999, a multibillion-dollar hedge fund complex that seeks to exploit Anderson’s talent for analyzing commodity markets. “Dwight is our secret weapon,” his head trader and longtime friend, Jason Mraz, confides to me. What he means is that no one can quite do what Anderson does, despite the fact that many are trying. What does Anderson do that is so special? Mountains of primary, bottom-up, traditional supply and demand research. Where some traders take directional positions based on top-down analysis, Anderson starts by drilling down and ripping apart the numbers inside every commodity market and related equity. He flies around the world to gather and compile endless data, building very sophisticated financial models in search of solid risk versus reward opportunities.

What makes him unique is not merely his stellar ...