Timothy Sykes

Last updated
Timothy Sykes
Timothy Sykes Young Money November 2007.jpg
Sykes on the cover of Young Money magazine for November 2007
Born (1981-04-15) April 15, 1981 (age 43)
Orange, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater Tulane University
Website timothysykes.com

Timothy Sykes is a penny stock trader [1] [2] who claims to have earned $1.65 million from a $12,415 Bar mitzvah gift through day trading while in college. [3] [4]

Contents

Career

Timothy Sykes graduated from Tulane University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a minor in business. He is Jewish. [5] While at Tulane, Sykes routinely cut classes to day trade. [6] In 2003 he founded Cilantro Fund Management, a small-short bias hedge fund, [7] [8] using $1 million mostly from his friends and family. [9] After initially acquiring profits the fund shut down 3 years later due to heavy losses. [10]

In 2006, Sykes was included on Trader Monthly's "30 Under 30" list of up-and-coming traders in the market, [11] a selection which editor Randall Lane later called "our worst pick" among the chosen honorees. [9] Sykes claimed that the Cilantro Fund was "the number one long-short microstock hedge fund in the country, according to Barclays"; [9] Lane later discovered that the rating came from "the Barclay Group," a small research company based in Fairfield, Iowa, and not the well-known Barclays British bank. [12] [13]

In 2008 Sykes attempted to recreate his initial investing success by again starting with $12,415. [14] [15]

Sykes self-published An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund in 2007. [16] The book documented Sykes' experiences as a day-trader and the difficulties he encountered in attempting to start a hedge fund. [17]

In 2012, Sykes created "Miss Penny Stock," a financial beauty pageant among the female representatives for his brand and company. [18]

Sykes has appeared on Below Deck twice, on season 2 episode 10 and season 5 episode 13.

Teaching and other projects

After the shutdown of Cilantro Fund Partners in 2007, Sykes wrote the book "An American Hedge Fund" and launched TimothySykes.com.> [19]

In 2009, Sykes launched Investimonials.com, a website devoted to collecting user reviews of financial services, videos, and books, as well as financial brokers. [20]

Sykes co-founded Profit.ly in 2011, a social service with about 20,000 users that provides stock trade information online. [21] Sykes said the service serves three purposes: "creating public track records for gurus, newsletter writers and students. He also wants everyone to learn from both the wins and losses of other traders to benefit the entire industry." [22] One of Sykes’ students, Tim Grittani, was able to turn $1,500 into $1 million in three years by trading stocks. [23] Another student, Jack Kellogg, made more than $10 million by stock trading under Sykes’ tutelage. [24]

Sykes founded The Timothy Sykes Foundation, which has raised $600,000 and has partnered with Make-a-Wish Foundation and The Boys and Girls Club. [25]

In February 2017, Sykes donated $1 million to Pencils of Promise to help build 20 new primary schools across Ghana, Guatemala and Laos which are to be completed between 2017 and 2018. [26]

The Timothy Sykes Foundation was eventually renamed the Karmagawa Foundation and by 2019, Karmagawa had built 57 schools and donated more than $4 million to 45 charities for environmental causes. [27] [28]

In 2020, Sykes and Karmagawa made a joint pledge to donate $1 million for relief efforts in Yemen during the Yemeni civil war and the cholera and COVID-19 epidemics. [29] Karmagawa built its 100th school in Myanmar in 2022. [30]

Controversy

Sykes has publicly criticized various businesses and celebrities, including Shaquille O'Neal [31] and Justin Bieber, [32] [33] for promoting "pump and dump" schemes, [32] [34] [35] in which an investor purchases stock, hypes others into buying that stock to inflate its price, then sells the shares at a higher price. The investor subsequently shorts the stock to profit from the resulting decline.

In May 2017, Sykes and Bow Wow had an Instagram feud in which at least one user accused Sykes of using "coded racist language". [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insider trading</span> Public company stock or securities trading using nonpublic information

Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information are illegal. This is because it is seen as unfair to other investors who do not have access to the information, as the investor with insider information could potentially make larger profits than a typical investor could make. The rules governing insider trading are complex and vary significantly from country to country. The extent of enforcement also varies from one country to another. The definition of insider in one jurisdiction can be broad and may cover not only insiders themselves but also any persons related to them, such as brokers, associates, and even family members. A person who becomes aware of non-public information and trades on that basis may be guilty of a crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldman Sachs</span> American investment bank

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many international financial centers. Goldman Sachs is the second largest investment bank in the world by revenue and is ranked 55th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. In Forbes Global 2000 2023, Goldman Sachs ranked 34th. It is considered a systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Cohen (businessman)</span> American billionaire hedge-fund manager, sports team owner (born 1956)

Steven A. Cohen is an American hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning just over 97% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Management and S.A.C. Capital Advisors, which closed after pleading guilty to insider trading and other financial crimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point72 Asset Management</span> American hedge fund

Point72 Asset Management is an American hedge fund. It was founded in 2014 by Steve Cohen, after his previous company S.A.C. Capital Advisors pled guilty to insider trading charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Tudor Jones</span> American hedge fund manager and investor

Paul Tudor Jones II is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, conservationist and philanthropist. In 1980, he founded his hedge fund, Tudor Investment Corporation, an asset management firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Eight years later, he founded the Robin Hood Foundation, which focuses on poverty reduction. As of July 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$8.1 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citadel LLC</span> American hedge fund and financial services provider

Citadel LLC is an American multinational hedge fund and financial services company. Founded in 1990 by Ken Griffin, it has more than $63 billion in assets under management as of June 2024. The company has over 2,800 employees, with corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida, and offices throughout North America, Asia, and Europe. Founder, CEO and Co-CIO Griffin owns approximately 85% of the firm. As of December 2022, Citadel is one of the most profitable hedge funds in the world, posting $74 billion in net gains since its inception in 1990, making it the most successful hedge fund in history, according to CNBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Dalio</span> American investor and hedge fund manager (born 1949)

Raymond Thomas Dalio is an American investor and hedge fund manager, who has served as co-chief investment officer of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, since 1985. He founded Bridgewater in 1975 in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Israel III</span> American fraudster and hedge fund manager

Samuel Israel III is an American fraudster and former hedge fund manager for the Bayou Hedge Fund Group, which he founded in 1996. In 2008, Israel was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $300 million for defrauding his investors.

High-frequency trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic trading in finance characterized by high speeds, high turnover rates, and high order-to-trade ratios that leverages high-frequency financial data and electronic trading tools. While there is no single definition of HFT, among its key attributes are highly sophisticated algorithms, co-location, and very short-term investment horizons in trading securities. HFT uses proprietary trading strategies carried out by computers to move in and out of positions in seconds or fractions of a second.

Boaz Weinstein is an American hedge fund manager and founder of Saba Capital Management. He rose to prominence at Deutsche Bank in the early and mid 2000s with his credit default swap and capital structure arbitrage trading strategies. He then formed a proprietary trading group within Deutsche Bank. After leaving the bank in 2009, Weinstein started Saba Capital Management as a separate hedge fund. As of September 2022, Saba manages $4.8 billion in assets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highbridge Capital Management</span> Alternative investment management firm

Highbridge Capital Management, LLC is a multi-strategy alternative investment management firm founded by Glenn Dubin and Henry Swieca in 1992. In 2004, it was purchased by JPMorgan Chase; as of 2019, it had about $3.9 billion in assets under management, out of $150 billion in JPMorgan's global alternatives division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pershing Square Capital Management</span> American hedge fund

Pershing Square Capital Management is an American hedge fund management company founded and run by Bill Ackman, headquartered in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Novogratz</span> American businessman

Michael Edward Novogratz is an American investor, formerly of the investment firm Fortress Investment Group. He is currently CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners which focuses on investments in cryptocurrency.

Israel “Izzy” Englander is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. In 1989, he founded his hedge fund, Millennium Management, with Ronald Shear. The fund was started with US$35 million, and as of 2024 had US$61.1 billion in assets under management.

Agora Financial is a privately held publishing company, based in Baltimore, Maryland, that produces print and email publications, books, and conferences directed toward providing financial advice, commentary, and marketing predictions. They participate in several spam campaigns under several names such as Event Horizon LLC, Paradigm Publishing and several other suedo company names

Michael Edward Platt is a British billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the co-founder and managing director of BlueCrest Capital Management, Europe's third-largest hedge-fund firm which he co-founded in 2000. He is Britain's wealthiest hedge fund manager according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaires List, with an estimated wealth of US$15.2 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interactive Brokers</span> American financial services firm

Interactive Brokers, Inc. (IB), headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, is an American multinational brokerage firm. It operates the largest electronic trading platform in the United States by number of daily average revenue trades - in 2023, it processed an average of 3 million trades per trading day. The company brokers stocks, options, futures contracts, EFPs, futures options, forex, bonds, mutual funds, and cryptocurrency. It offers omnibus and non-disclosed broker accounts and provides clearing services to 200 introducing brokers worldwide. It has operations in 34 countries and 27 currencies and has 2.6 million institutional and individual brokerage customers, with total customer equity of $426 billion as of December 31, 2023.

Pantera Capital is an American hedge fund and venture capital firm focused on digital assets headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The fund specializes in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It is one of the largest digital asset funds in the world by managed assets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stake (platform)</span> Financial services company (e. 2017)

Stake is an Australian financial services company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in 2017 by Matt Leibowitz, Dan Silver and Jon Abitz. Stake predominately offers low-cost brokerage services to retail investors in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

References

  1. ↑ Yousuf, Hibah (December 16, 2013). "Trader turns $1,500 to $1 million in 3 years". CNN Money. Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  2. ↑ de la Merced, Michael (December 8, 2006). "Culturally, Hedge Funds Go Public". New York Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Timothy Sykes Will Not Be Stopped, Gosh Darn It". New York Magazine. November 1, 2007. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  4. ↑ Neal, Jeff (March 13, 2009). "Interview Central: Timothy Sykes, Part 1". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Timothy Sykes' LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  6. ↑ Toren, Adam (October 25, 2011). "Young Entrepreneurs: "Quit being such babies!" Tim Sykes Tells it Like it Is". YoungEntrepreneur.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  7. ↑ "US magazine toasts star traders aged 30 or younger" (PDF). Reuters. July 27, 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ Joe, Michael (May 8, 2012). "Two students win Sykes Award recognizing nontraditional abilities and interests". Tulane.edu. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 Lane, Randall (2010). The Zeroes. Penguin Group. p. 56. ISBN   978-1-59184-329-0.
  10. ↑ "Failed hedge fund manager tries again on Internet". Reuters. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  11. ↑ Barber, Andrew (August 2006). "30 under 30" (PDF). Trader Monthly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2013-05-08. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
  12. ↑ Thomassen, Lucilla. "5 Things You Should Know about Tim Sykes". TopTenPK.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
  13. ↑ Lane, Randall (2010). The Zeroes. pages 151-153: Penguin Group. ISBN   978-1-59184-329-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  14. ↑ Hansard, Sara (November 12, 2007). "Wunderkid is Back". Investment News. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  15. ↑ "'Wall Street Warriors' TV Star Timothy Sykes Sets Up New & Transparent Challenge". PR Web. November 1, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  16. ↑ Sykes, Timothy (2007). An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund. BullShip Press. p. 235. ISBN   978-0979549700. Archived from the original on 2021-02-07. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  17. ↑ Chatzky, Jean. "An American Hedge Fund". Oprah.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-15. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  18. ↑ La Roche, Julia (Aug 23, 2012). "Penny Stock King Tim Sykes Is Hosting A Beauty Pageant Where Girls Will Parade Around In Bikinis And Cocktail Outfits". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2017-02-19. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  19. ↑ "Best Penny Stocks Guide: The Ultimate Plan on Trading in 2019". Archived from the original on 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  20. ↑ Kincaid, Jason (November 25, 2009). "Investimonials Wants To Be Your Guide To Quality Financial Products". Tech Crunch. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Best Advice I Ever Got: Timothy Sykes". Inc. June 1, 2011. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  22. ↑ Anderson, Tom (September 15, 2011). "Profit.ly Mines The Masses For Stock-Trading Gold". Forbes. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  23. ↑ Yousuf, Hibah (2013-12-16). "Penny stock trader: From $1,500 to $1 million in three years". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  24. ↑ Maidan, Laila. "A 24-year-old stock trader made over $8 million in 2 years. Here's how he identifies a winning trade regardless of stock-market conditions". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  25. ↑ Rampton, John The Man Who Wants Everyone to Be a Millionaire Archived 2015-09-25 at the Wayback Machine Inc. September 24, 2015
  26. ↑ "Make Money and Make an Impact with Tim Sykes". Lewis Howes. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  27. ↑ "Represent Launch Charity Collection Alongside Karmagawa to Spread Awareness". Complex. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  28. ↑ Fox, MeiMei. "Penny Stocks Trader Tim Sykes On Finding His Life Purpose With Karmagawa". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  29. ↑ "Why millionaire stock trader Timothy Sykes donates $ 500,000 to the children of Yemen". Radar 2014. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  30. ↑ Team, The Karmagawa (2022-01-27). "Karmagawa Announces Big Milestone: 100th School Opened To Help Children Escape Poverty". Karmagawa. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  31. ↑ Veneziani, Vince (March 3, 2010). "Tim Sykes: I Dare Shaq To Take Me To Court!". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  32. 1 2 Cunningham, Brandon (20 May 2011). "The Curious Case of Justin Bieber and Options Media Group (aka PhoneGuard)". Motley Fool. Archived from the original on 2018-08-19. Retrieved 2013-01-28.
  33. ↑ Peterson, Kim. "Justin Bieber's penny-stock trouble". MSN Money. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
  34. ↑ Veneziani, Vince (May 5, 2010). "SpongeTech CEO Arrested For Fraud A Week After Suing Short-Seller". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  35. ↑ Elstein, Aaron (2011-04-11). "Bill for Spongetech fraud: $52 million". Crain's New York Business. Archived from the original on 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  36. ↑ Willis, Kiersten (2017-05-17). "Black Twitter Comes to Bow Wow's Rescue After White Entrepreneur Disses Rapper". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 2018-01-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.