A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 47

“You seem to have forgotten who you’re dealing with. He’s not a conman but a seasoned hunter.”

Raymond redefined the situation with a subtle smile.

“Judge him not by the standards of a swindler but as a hunter. The two things a hunter needs most are skill and bullets. This one has the skill but seems to lack the bullets. In a sense, you could say you’re hunting the hunter.”

Gerard nodded at his father’s metaphor.

“However, this hunter seems determined to showcase a brilliant stunt for his first hunt. While you’re desperately trying to uncover the trick and expose his con, he looks confident. He seems convinced of his success, doesn’t he?”

“That’s correct. It’s hard to dismiss this as just insider trading, given the suspicions he’s already faced…”

“Forget the stunt.”

“Pardon?”

As Gerard looked puzzled, Raymond offered his advice in a firm tone.

“Hunt the hunter in a way that has nothing to do with his stunt.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Why do you think he’s putting on such an elaborate show from the start?”

“Well…”

Gerard paused, deep in thought, and began piecing together the information he had gathered.

Ha Si-heon… He had said he wanted to create a legendary hedge fund.

“He wants to attract more investors. By flaunting his prowess, he hopes to draw in major players.”

“Exactly. His real goal is securing bullets—capital. The more bullets he has, the easier future hunts will be, and the simpler it will be to prove his skill. The stunt is a means to recruit investors willing to supply those bullets out of curiosity. Now, how would you bring down such a hunter?”

The answer was simple.

“Take away his bullets, regardless of whether he succeeds or fails.”

“Correct.”

A satisfied smile spread across Raymond’s face.

“If his most powerful investor withdraws their capital right after his success, everyone will be left baffled.”

“But wouldn’t that…”

“If that happens, there will be no need to prove that his stunt is a sham.”

“…!”

“In fact, the less explanation given, the more effective it will be. It will provoke speculation.”

Even if Ha Si-heon’s investment succeeded, if major investors withdrew en masse while keeping silent, observers would assume the worst. They would suspect that Ha Si-heon hadn’t earned the money through legitimate means.

Perhaps fraud or even criminal activity was involved. If profit was gained through illicit actions, investors would also come under scrutiny.

This would lead to their assets being frozen, which might explain their reluctance to speak now.

“You wouldn’t need to spread lies yourself, but you’d gain control over the narrative. Most importantly…”

Raymond’s smile deepened.

“No one would ever dare entrust their bullets to him again. Who would invest in a fund that risks having its capital frozen at the slightest misstep?”

Once tainted by such suspicions, Ha Si-heon would never be able to recruit investors again. It was a method of casting a shadow over his future.

“As expected… you’re incredible.”

Gerard couldn’t help but admire his father’s ingenuity.

But his awe was short-lived. Seeing his son’s expression darken, Raymond posed a question.

“You seem to have something you haven’t told me.”

“Yes, that’s correct. In fact, there’s still one puzzle piece remaining.”

Gerard hadn’t shared every detail with his father. He had deliberately withheld one crucial element to prevent it from clouding his father’s judgment.

“This is the first target he’s chosen. The number one stock.”

Gerard handed his smartphone to Raymond, showing the investment prospectus sent by Ha Si-heon.

Raymond read through it in silence.

One minute… Two minutes…

After three minutes passed, Gerard pressed him.

“How should this be interpreted?”

“….”

Raymond’s eyes betrayed the confusion of someone unable to find an answer.

There was good reason for their shared consternation.

Due to the Information in Ha Si-heon's Report

Genesis Pharmaceuticals

-Currently developing three treatments, all specializing in liver diseases, with obeticholic acid (OCA) receiving the most attention.

-OCA is expected to be highly effective in treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). If its efficacy is proven, it would become the first-ever NASH treatment.

-Should its effectiveness be demonstrated, the valuation of the company is projected to rise to $400, considering the market potential of NASH.

If the company succeeds, it will introduce the first NASH treatment in the industry, establishing a dominant position in the market.

The issue lay in Ha Si-heon’s stock price projection.

<Target Price: $400>

Ha Si-heon predicted that Genesis’s stock price, currently at a mere $58, would soar to an astonishing $400.

When calculated as a return on investment…

That’s a staggering 589.66%.

“Are we really fine ignoring this stunt and moving forward?”

Raymond couldn’t offer a definitive answer.

***

At the Same Time, 25th Floor of Goldman Headquarters

A man staring at a monitor let out a deep sigh.

It was Faber, the individual who had publicly clashed with Ha Si-heon and was ranked fifth on the investor list.

Faber had invested a total of $55,000.

Though it was a modest sum compared to other investors, it was nearly all of Faber’s personal assets as an associate-level employee.

However.

Ha Si-heon had funneled all that money into just one stock.

No diversification was allowed, and Faber was left with only two choices: Withdraw or stay in.

All-in.

It was a hard pill to swallow. If anything went wrong, he could lose everything.

Yet withdrawing was equally difficult…

The expected return was a staggering 589.66%.

If that projection turned out to be true…

Jackpot.

Faber swallowed hard.

If Ha Si-heon’s prediction proved accurate, his investment would balloon to $370,000.

Faber shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to stay grounded.

“Get it together. There’s no way that’s possible… Those numbers are far too unrealistic.”

Logically, withdrawing the funds made sense.

But…

“The algorithm is real, isn’t it?”

Ha Si-heon, a former medical student, possessed a unique informational advantage.

His algorithm, built on that edge, had already demonstrated an 80% accuracy rate twice before.

Predicting FDA approval was nearly impossible, yet Ha Si-heon’s algorithm had done so.

It had succeeded five times in the past.

“No, I can’t trust him. He’s just a greenhorn… a kid so desperate to prove himself that he’s gone all-in. I can’t trust his judgment.”

But…

“Isn’t the stock selection made by the algorithm?”

This wasn’t about Ha Si-heon’s judgment but rather the domain of mathematics and statistics.

Which meant it was hard to dismiss the unicorn stock pick as outright wrong.

“Haah…”

Letting out a long sigh, Faber made up his mind.

“I’ll dig into it myself.”

As a retail division employee, Faber lacked the expertise to accurately assess the value of Genesis Pharmaceuticals.

So, he turned to the opinions of other experts.

The findings were as follows:

-[Global IB Oppenheimer] raised Genesis’s target price to $60, noting that the upcoming clinical results could push it to double that amount.

-[NIH] evaluated that OCA’s clinical trial results significantly exceeded expectations.

-[ASC Capital] secured a 5.1% stake in Genesis.

Renowned analysts, national institutions, and legendary hedge funds all had an optimistic outlook on Genesis’s future.

And beyond that…

Within Goldman itself, MD Ferguson had invested a whopping $5 million.

Ferguson was a veteran. If he had heard about the all-in investment, he would have reached out to his network for opinions.

If it were truly risky, he would have withdrawn long ago.

‘In that case…’

Faber picked up his smartphone and began drafting a redemption request message. But he didn’t press send.

Ha Si-heon had stated that redemptions would follow a formal notification period.

This meant Faber could monitor the stock trend for a while before making a final decision.

If it kept rising, he’d ride the wave.

If it started to decline, he’d exit immediately.

$68.97

$69.09

The stock price, which had started at $58, was steadily climbing.

It was already nearing $70, but Faber couldn’t let his guard down.

‘It could drop at any moment.’

The company’s fate hinged on one thing: clinical trial results.

If the drug’s efficacy was proven, the stock price would soar to the sky.

If not, it would plummet in an instant.

Faber couldn’t afford to miss that critical timing.

He kept his eyes glued to the chart, not even glancing around, focusing solely on the screen with a sense of desperation.

But because of this, he failed to notice the whispers spreading throughout the office.

“Hey, did you see that?”

“It’s up again!”

Faber wasn’t the only one who had invested in Genesis.

During his public debate with Ha Si-heon, the “unicorn pick” had been leaked.

“You can’t blame the pick itself.”

Most of the associates came to a similar conclusion: the stock chosen by Ha Si-heon might actually be a potential winner.

While Faber agonized over risking his entire fortune, the other associates didn’t share the same concerns.

They could invest without putting their entire savings on the line.

And so they did.

From a few hundred dollars to a few thousand, they took a free ride.

Those who hitched a ride on Ha Si-heon’s “unicorn pick” couldn’t tear their eyes away from the monitors.

$70.97

$71.09

Meanwhile, Ha Si-heon himself welcomed the situation.

After all, he had thrown down the gauntlet with an all-in bet—how meaningless would it have been if no one cared about the outcome?

He needed an audience.

‘No matter how provocative a gamble is, if it’s not someone’s own affair, they’ll quickly lose interest.’

Humans are inherently indifferent to others’ matters.

No matter how exciting a topic might be, who would find joy in obsessively checking whether someone else’s stock is rising or falling?

But if it’s your stock?

If it’s a stock you’ve invested your own money in, checking the chart multiple times a day can be endlessly entertaining.

The leak of Ha Si-heon’s pick was, in that sense, a deliberate move.

He intentionally let the stock name slip, turning everyone at Goldman into shareholders of Genesis.

As a result, interest in the unicorn pick remained insatiable.

“Did you see that?”

“It’s still climbing!”

Even as major events like Christmas and New Year’s approached, everyone’s attention remained fixed on Genesis.

And so, time passed.

January 2014

The year 2014 had arrived.

Looking at the new year’s calendar, a faint smile played on Ha Si-heon’s lips.

‘It’s about time.’