Hedge-Fund Manager Citrone Posts Big Gains - Hampden

Hedge-Fund Manager Citrone Posts Big Gains
O
n September 20, 2013, The
Wall Street Journal profiled
hedge fund manager and HampdenSydney alumnus Robert Citrone ’87
in an article by Juliet Cung.
rarely speaks at investment conferences, appears on television or tweets
his investment picks as some of his
peers do. Several Discovery investors
said they find his low profile refreshing.”
Rob came to Hampden-Sydney
from York Catholic High School
in York, Pennsylvania. He majored
in Economics & Mathematics and
received a Bachelor of Arts. His senior
thesis focused on Latin American debt.
He was a Venable Scholar and a member of the Honors Program. Rob was
a member of the social fraternity Phi
Gamma Delta, where he was president,
and the honorary fraternities Omicron
Delta Kappa (leadership), Omicron
Delta Epsilon (economics), Pi Mu
Epsilon (Mathematics), and Eta Sigma
Phi (classics).
“Mr. Citrone is ‘not afraid’ to explore
new areas, said Mr. Robertson, founder
of Tiger Management…Mr. Citrone
was behind Tiger’s contrarian bet
against Thailand’s currency, the baht,
in 1997, a hugely profitable trade on
a development that was at the leading
edge of the Asian financial crisis.”
A portrait of the team hangs outside
his office…Mr. Citrone and his wife,
Cindy, both longtime Steelers fans,
bought a minority share of the franchise in 2012.”
Hampden-Sydney is committed to
the belief that a liberal arts education
provides a student with the intellectual background and mental dexterity necessary to succeed in a diverse
and ever-changing global economy
and society. Rob Citrone exemplifies
the College’s commitment. “The guy’s
a walking encyclopedia,” said inves“Like some other investors focused on
tor Chris Shumway, who has known
global markets, Mr. Citrone has a regMr. Citrone since their days workular 3 a.m. call so he can be briefed on
ing together at Tiger. “He’s not going
the opening of European markets and
to be an expert on everything all the
the close in Asia. Unlike most other
time, but he tries to be an expert on
managers, his conference calls with clithe things that matter’ at a given time.”
ents are an open forum where they can
ask him any questions they like, on
topics as disparate as his expectations
for the German elections to the development of cane sugar in Botswana.”
In 1990 Rob received an MBA from
the Darden School at the University of
Virginia and began his career that year
as a corporate-bond analyst at Fidelity
Investments. He left Fidelity in 1995
“The first three months of the year, Mr.
and joined Tiger Management. In
Citrone or members of his investment
1999, Mr. Citrone started Discovery
team traveled to 15 countries, includCapital Management LLC, which
ing Brazil, Japan and Turkey.”
manages more than $12 billion.
“People who know Mr. Citrone say
The Wall Street Journal profile says of
he prefers to listen rather than domRob, “The bald, barrel-chested forinate conversations and that his fashmer high-school wrestler has attracted
ion choices run more to Pittsburgh
money from legendary investors
than Greenwich: he favors shorts
George Soros and Mr. Citrone’s forand Hawaiian shirts in the summer
mer boss Julian Robertson. But he
and regularly sports a Steelers jacket.