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Fed Up!: Success, Excess and Crisis Through the Eyes of a Hedge Fund Macro Trader
Fed Up! tells the story of a global macro trader working amidst the greatest market panic we have seen since the Great Depression. As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the world, readers are taken through the late-stage decadence of an exuberant market bubble to the depths of the market crash and into the early innings of a recovery. It provides readers with a front row seat on trading activity, allowing them to experience the heartbeat of the markets.
It’s also about money and opportunity. It’s about the moral dilemma of a man who is struggling as he reaches his own peak. Readers will experience the frenetic pace of life as a trader and will connect with the protagonist, experiencing his struggle to balance his personal values with the compromised values of the world around him. It shines a light on the largest policy issues confronting the U.S., while offering an entertaining and humorous look at the guys and gals who are the new market operators.
This riveting account of the 2020 market crash from inside the mind of a global macro trader will serve as an exciting, nail-biting record of current times. It is about making fortunes while the world slips into misfortune.
Will he beat the markets or will the markets beat him?
It’s also about money and opportunity. It’s about the moral dilemma of a man who is struggling as he reaches his own peak. Readers will experience the frenetic pace of life as a trader and will connect with the protagonist, experiencing his struggle to balance his personal values with the compromised values of the world around him. It shines a light on the largest policy issues confronting the U.S., while offering an entertaining and humorous look at the guys and gals who are the new market operators.
This riveting account of the 2020 market crash from inside the mind of a global macro trader will serve as an exciting, nail-biting record of current times. It is about making fortunes while the world slips into misfortune.
Will he beat the markets or will the markets beat him?
248 pages, Hardcover
Published May 4, 2021
21 people are currently reading
838 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 19, 2021
A journey through the eyes of a top macro hedge fund manager - amazing he could turn this out so quickly since the crisis began. Part economic history lesson, part hedge fund lifestyle glimpses, part social commentary on policy response effects to downturns - an easy read.
February 17, 2022
As global macro traders we are paid to get these calls right. Think George Soros and Stan Druckenmiller.
Equity experts will do a tremendous amount of work in understanding how a company operates. A macro expert tends to do the same, but on countries, not companies. The Holy Grail of macro is finding an imbalance. Maybe it’s related to growth, or interest rates, or a central bank’s reaction function, and then profiting from the moves in that country’s interest rates, or foreign exchange, or equity, or credit markets.
we macro traders have unique jobs. We are not paid to do anything productive for society. We are paid to turn a pile of money into a bigger pile of money. We are paid to compound wealth, generate alpha, deliver absolute returns
- Kobe beef sliced thin with ponzu sauce
- Hokusetsu Onigoroshi
- 1.8L bottles of liquid love
the Eeyore of the markets, negative on everything all the time
before the ‘08 crisis, before the tide went out, he made some of the greatest calls possible
One time, we were shown a deal from a guy in Los Angeles. It looked like a sure thing. A three-Sharpe-ratio business looking to grow. But the Rabbi was on it and told us to stay away. This Los Angeles guy had put all of his friends and family into it, for a small finder’s fee of course.
That bright-eyed, bushy-tailed stuff wears off fast in this business.
He often rants to me about what could have been. “You know, when I graduated and decided to go to Wall Street, we were supposed to be the next masters of the universe. These tech guys cramped in their parent’s basements not getting laid, while we were working eighty-hour weeks, shuttling around in black cars, client dinners at Nobu and Peter Luger’s, tables at the best clubs. We were busting our asses while they designed new photo filters and poop emojis. All nonsense. Except it wasn’t. They all got really rich.”
When the Rabbi is talking, everyone is pin-drop silent.
“Jerry, what did you learn from Liar’s Poker?”
“To watch the two-year, Boss.”
“What happens if you don’t watch the two-year?”
“If you don’t pay attention to the two-year, you get your fuckin’ face ripped off.”
Trading desks are no longer like the ones in the movie Wall Street. They’re not two old IBM box sets and a bunch of phones. Trading desks have evolved. The best execution guys now want their own sports books, something Derek Stevens would be proud of. They want walls of computer screens so high they block access and draw attention from fire marshals. Elias currently has a bank of nine screens in stacks that are three screens wide. He wants more. It’s all a big dick measuring contest. I know guys who have given their set-ups nicknames such as Death Star or Millennium Falcon.
JFK airport is a dump. The highway into the city looks like a war zone, and the car I’m in feels as if it has no shocks or suspension. Shit. I can barely hold my phone to my ear there are so many bumps
I guess experience has taught me that too much of a good thing isn’t really a good thing at all. It’s all sitting on a knife’s edge. If it weren’t for the central banks the markets would crash hard.
My annoyance comes through in my tone. I’m going to need to keep this a bit shorter than usual due to my meeting schedule.
The bubble all started in the late 1980s but really ramped in the 2000s, when the world moved away from rational thinking, away from Markowitz and modern portfolio theory to Pets.com. Alan Greenspan, the top guy at the Fed in those days
Greenspan gave us low interest rates. They dubbed it “lower for longer.” But this was really just lighter fluid on a fire. It told people to get greedy. I’m not talking about everyday risk taking and speculation, normal human greed. I’m not even talking about Gordon Gekko in the ‘80s. This is much more than “greed is good.” I’m talking about steal as much as you can, and if you’re wrong, we’ll bail you out.
I tell Jerry to go watch The Big Short. “Watch the bathtub scene and learn about these things,” I say.
“This is the age-old debate of wages versus capital. The rich folks live off their capital, which is invested in the markets. Everyone else lives off wages.
Okay, enough for now. I have to get to the rest of my meetings.”
Most people are taking a step backward. They try to create the illusion that it’s not happening, that they’re actually moving forward, sort of like a Michael Jackson moonwalk. But the facts don’t lie.
I guess it just means that we broke capitalism and now we’re stuck with this bastardized version of it. We turbocharged it. We never fixed the problems of 2008. We just reshuffled the deck. We just took on more debt and made the problems even bigger.
He tells me his portfolio is bulletproof. This makes me laugh.
the British Parliament does not usually meet on Saturdays
fulfill their role as lenders: they pay you to borrow your deposits and then lend at higher rates further out the curve.
A flattening yield curve indicates that the yield spread between longterm and short-term bonds is decreasing. Flat (or even worse, inverted) yield curves mean the economy is slowing and the central banks need to cut rates. They predict the next recession. This is the market voting with its money. The markets drive the shape of the yield curve, saying things are bad, they need to be fixed. Today, the front end of the Treasury curve is flat as a pancake; it has never been flatter. It’s telling us we are heading into a recession.
“I was just in the bathroom with the guy. He didn’t wash his hands. No way I’m shaking hands with him.”
The repo market is the building block of the financial system. Repo is short for repurchase agreements, which are short-term loans. This market should not break. It only breaks in times of incredible stress, as in 2008. When it breaks, we are all fucked because it means the banks can’t fund their own businesses
Repo deals let the big guys, such as mutual funds and sovereign wealth vehicles, make money by briefly lending cash that might otherwise sit idle, and it enables banks and hedge funds to get leverage by loaning out securities they hold in return.
Today is supposed to be Brexit day. It isn’t. The can got kicked again
Just add some ice and a couple of Oompa Loompas
It smells like her neroli and bergamot perfum
They don’t realize that Lifecoach is a beer pong expert.
They begin to talk louder about nonsense.
But Lifecoach is on fire. She makes four of her first six shots and sets the tone.
They up the ante.
China has one of the fastest growing middle-class populations in the world
Governments generally get money to pay those bills in one of three ways. They can impose taxes, they can create more currency, or they can borrow the money. Obviously, most people don’t like taxes. Central banks were created to help deal with the other two options. And central bankers are unique animals. They’re not elected officials and they have the power to create money with virtually no oversight.
Equity experts will do a tremendous amount of work in understanding how a company operates. A macro expert tends to do the same, but on countries, not companies. The Holy Grail of macro is finding an imbalance. Maybe it’s related to growth, or interest rates, or a central bank’s reaction function, and then profiting from the moves in that country’s interest rates, or foreign exchange, or equity, or credit markets.
we macro traders have unique jobs. We are not paid to do anything productive for society. We are paid to turn a pile of money into a bigger pile of money. We are paid to compound wealth, generate alpha, deliver absolute returns
- Kobe beef sliced thin with ponzu sauce
- Hokusetsu Onigoroshi
- 1.8L bottles of liquid love
the Eeyore of the markets, negative on everything all the time
before the ‘08 crisis, before the tide went out, he made some of the greatest calls possible
One time, we were shown a deal from a guy in Los Angeles. It looked like a sure thing. A three-Sharpe-ratio business looking to grow. But the Rabbi was on it and told us to stay away. This Los Angeles guy had put all of his friends and family into it, for a small finder’s fee of course.
That bright-eyed, bushy-tailed stuff wears off fast in this business.
He often rants to me about what could have been. “You know, when I graduated and decided to go to Wall Street, we were supposed to be the next masters of the universe. These tech guys cramped in their parent’s basements not getting laid, while we were working eighty-hour weeks, shuttling around in black cars, client dinners at Nobu and Peter Luger’s, tables at the best clubs. We were busting our asses while they designed new photo filters and poop emojis. All nonsense. Except it wasn’t. They all got really rich.”
When the Rabbi is talking, everyone is pin-drop silent.
“Jerry, what did you learn from Liar’s Poker?”
“To watch the two-year, Boss.”
“What happens if you don’t watch the two-year?”
“If you don’t pay attention to the two-year, you get your fuckin’ face ripped off.”
Trading desks are no longer like the ones in the movie Wall Street. They’re not two old IBM box sets and a bunch of phones. Trading desks have evolved. The best execution guys now want their own sports books, something Derek Stevens would be proud of. They want walls of computer screens so high they block access and draw attention from fire marshals. Elias currently has a bank of nine screens in stacks that are three screens wide. He wants more. It’s all a big dick measuring contest. I know guys who have given their set-ups nicknames such as Death Star or Millennium Falcon.
JFK airport is a dump. The highway into the city looks like a war zone, and the car I’m in feels as if it has no shocks or suspension. Shit. I can barely hold my phone to my ear there are so many bumps
I guess experience has taught me that too much of a good thing isn’t really a good thing at all. It’s all sitting on a knife’s edge. If it weren’t for the central banks the markets would crash hard.
My annoyance comes through in my tone. I’m going to need to keep this a bit shorter than usual due to my meeting schedule.
The bubble all started in the late 1980s but really ramped in the 2000s, when the world moved away from rational thinking, away from Markowitz and modern portfolio theory to Pets.com. Alan Greenspan, the top guy at the Fed in those days
Greenspan gave us low interest rates. They dubbed it “lower for longer.” But this was really just lighter fluid on a fire. It told people to get greedy. I’m not talking about everyday risk taking and speculation, normal human greed. I’m not even talking about Gordon Gekko in the ‘80s. This is much more than “greed is good.” I’m talking about steal as much as you can, and if you’re wrong, we’ll bail you out.
I tell Jerry to go watch The Big Short. “Watch the bathtub scene and learn about these things,” I say.
“This is the age-old debate of wages versus capital. The rich folks live off their capital, which is invested in the markets. Everyone else lives off wages.
Okay, enough for now. I have to get to the rest of my meetings.”
Most people are taking a step backward. They try to create the illusion that it’s not happening, that they’re actually moving forward, sort of like a Michael Jackson moonwalk. But the facts don’t lie.
I guess it just means that we broke capitalism and now we’re stuck with this bastardized version of it. We turbocharged it. We never fixed the problems of 2008. We just reshuffled the deck. We just took on more debt and made the problems even bigger.
He tells me his portfolio is bulletproof. This makes me laugh.
the British Parliament does not usually meet on Saturdays
fulfill their role as lenders: they pay you to borrow your deposits and then lend at higher rates further out the curve.
A flattening yield curve indicates that the yield spread between longterm and short-term bonds is decreasing. Flat (or even worse, inverted) yield curves mean the economy is slowing and the central banks need to cut rates. They predict the next recession. This is the market voting with its money. The markets drive the shape of the yield curve, saying things are bad, they need to be fixed. Today, the front end of the Treasury curve is flat as a pancake; it has never been flatter. It’s telling us we are heading into a recession.
“I was just in the bathroom with the guy. He didn’t wash his hands. No way I’m shaking hands with him.”
The repo market is the building block of the financial system. Repo is short for repurchase agreements, which are short-term loans. This market should not break. It only breaks in times of incredible stress, as in 2008. When it breaks, we are all fucked because it means the banks can’t fund their own businesses
Repo deals let the big guys, such as mutual funds and sovereign wealth vehicles, make money by briefly lending cash that might otherwise sit idle, and it enables banks and hedge funds to get leverage by loaning out securities they hold in return.
Today is supposed to be Brexit day. It isn’t. The can got kicked again
Just add some ice and a couple of Oompa Loompas
It smells like her neroli and bergamot perfum
They don’t realize that Lifecoach is a beer pong expert.
They begin to talk louder about nonsense.
But Lifecoach is on fire. She makes four of her first six shots and sets the tone.
They up the ante.
China has one of the fastest growing middle-class populations in the world
Governments generally get money to pay those bills in one of three ways. They can impose taxes, they can create more currency, or they can borrow the money. Obviously, most people don’t like taxes. Central banks were created to help deal with the other two options. And central bankers are unique animals. They’re not elected officials and they have the power to create money with virtually no oversight.
October 8, 2022
Fed Up is a photorealistic portrait of high finance – from an author who is literally at the top of the business, having run the macro business lines at Citadel and Balyasny. The book is a stream of consciousness account of Lancaster’s life in 2020, mixing technical observations of the economy, thoughts on trading, reflections on both the minor stresses of day to day life and the major stresses of running a book. Lancaster speaks plainly about what he sees in the markets, what he thinks distinguishes the great from the mediocre, and conveys deep battle-hardened wisdom.
Fed Up is brutally, uncomfortably, delightfully honest. Lancaster doesn’t try to hide away the less pleasant aspects of his life: marriage troubles, having to fire someone, waking up in the middle of the night with a “PnL dream”. This is what makes the book a must-read for anyone who aspires to be a “Master of the Universe” – it could indeed be a life of extravagance, intellectual stimulation, and agency, but it is a business that puts considerable strain on personal relationships.
I don’t suppose the book will be of much interest to people outside of the particular niche of hedge funds and prop trading – but if you want to understand the qualia of being a material risk taker, there is no better book. Fed Up is an unparalleled insight into the life – in all of its richness and tumult, the ups and the downs – of one of the top people in the industry. I guess this is one consequence of COVID that we can be grateful for: many people who would not otherwise write books because they are too busy playing at the top of their game found time to share their wisdom.
My highlights here.
The guys at the top are all trained assassins. No more time to be all coked up at Studio 54. They have trainers, psychologists, meditation coaches, anything to increase their edge. And they all have another trait in common. They’re paranoid about failure, paranoid it will all go away, and they don’t have enough.
Fed Up is brutally, uncomfortably, delightfully honest. Lancaster doesn’t try to hide away the less pleasant aspects of his life: marriage troubles, having to fire someone, waking up in the middle of the night with a “PnL dream”. This is what makes the book a must-read for anyone who aspires to be a “Master of the Universe” – it could indeed be a life of extravagance, intellectual stimulation, and agency, but it is a business that puts considerable strain on personal relationships.
I don’t suppose the book will be of much interest to people outside of the particular niche of hedge funds and prop trading – but if you want to understand the qualia of being a material risk taker, there is no better book. Fed Up is an unparalleled insight into the life – in all of its richness and tumult, the ups and the downs – of one of the top people in the industry. I guess this is one consequence of COVID that we can be grateful for: many people who would not otherwise write books because they are too busy playing at the top of their game found time to share their wisdom.
In trading, as in everything, it’s important to be a man of your time: understanding what animates the circumstances you’re given and trying to stay a step ahead. Play the game as it presents itself. And play to win.
My highlights here.
June 20, 2021
Entertaining? Yes. Detail analysis? No.
Read if you are interested in understanding how a macro hedge fund manager thinks during the COVID crisis. Readers aware, his style might rub people the wrong way. It's aggressive, cruel and calculating.
Read if you are interested in understanding how a macro hedge fund manager thinks during the COVID crisis. Readers aware, his style might rub people the wrong way. It's aggressive, cruel and calculating.
July 8, 2021
As someone who lives with people who are glued to CNBC weekdays from 7am-5pm, I thought reading Colin Lancaster's Fed Up!- Success, Excess, & Crisis Through the Eyes of a Hedge Fund Macro Trader would enlighten me, as I don't really follow what commentators on CBNC are saying.
Lancaster takes us through the pandemic year in the eyes of a hedge fund macro trader. As he explains it, macro "is about investing in assets on the basis of changes in the fundamental landscape: the ups and downs in growth and inflation rates. It's about understanding business cycles, and how government spending and central bank policies will impact those cycles."
Lancaster and his people spend a great deal of time, and money analyzing macroeconomic data, with a particular focus on central banks. There is a lot of studying, and some guesswork. During the pandemic, many central banks across the world scrambled to keep their economies from collapsing, which made for an interesting time, and lots of money for people like Lancaster.
I learned a lot, although I still am baffled by most of the acronyms in the book (thank goodness for the glossary of terms in the back of the book), and I found many of Lancaster's observations intriguing.
He said that working on Wall Street "warps your mind". Your first year, you can't believe how much money you made, feeling lucky. The next year, you believe your compensation is fair. Every year after that, you feel cheated. He says you lose all sense of reality.
I found his commentary on bailouts interesting, that along with monetary policy, have led to assets going up in value, with wealth inequality increasing. When central banks cut rates and buy assets, "capital flows to unproductive parts of the economy and the American dream withers on the vine". He believes these policies have led to the demise of the middle class, with the 1% getting richer, and everyone else suffering. He says that the US has exported the middle class to China.
Lancaster also analyzes recent Fed chairpeople, including Paul Volker, (under Carter and Reagan) whom he says was the "last person willing to deliver bad news and take appropriate action." Alan Greenspan was "the maestro" (from 1987-2006), a time during which capitalism exploded, along with greed. Ben Bernanke (2006-2014) came aboard just before the Global Financial Crisis. Janet Yellen (2014-2018) was even-keeled, and Jerome Powell's (2018 to current) "bubble will put Greenspan to shame".
After studying thirty years of employment data, Lancaster concludes that the "job market is more split than ever before. Middle-skill, middle-wage jobs are gone." He said that all the new jobs are in leisure and hospitality. "You're either a tech guy flying private or a bartender with no skills. Either polish up on your math skills or learn how to pour good margarita."
We meet the smart people on Lancaster's team, they all work insane hours and, but their compensation makes up for it. Lancaster and his family live in the poshest part of London, and when he tires of the lockdown in London in early 2020, he buys an expensive condo in Miami, where restrictions are looser.
If you are a CBNC junkie, you will get more out of Fed Up than I did. That being said, I found Lancaster's observations fascinating. There are many books out there about the pandemic from government and health care policy perspectives, so his take on the pandemic from a macro-financial perspective is unique, and I will have more to add to family conversations now. I recommend Fed Up.
Lancaster takes us through the pandemic year in the eyes of a hedge fund macro trader. As he explains it, macro "is about investing in assets on the basis of changes in the fundamental landscape: the ups and downs in growth and inflation rates. It's about understanding business cycles, and how government spending and central bank policies will impact those cycles."
Lancaster and his people spend a great deal of time, and money analyzing macroeconomic data, with a particular focus on central banks. There is a lot of studying, and some guesswork. During the pandemic, many central banks across the world scrambled to keep their economies from collapsing, which made for an interesting time, and lots of money for people like Lancaster.
I learned a lot, although I still am baffled by most of the acronyms in the book (thank goodness for the glossary of terms in the back of the book), and I found many of Lancaster's observations intriguing.
He said that working on Wall Street "warps your mind". Your first year, you can't believe how much money you made, feeling lucky. The next year, you believe your compensation is fair. Every year after that, you feel cheated. He says you lose all sense of reality.
I found his commentary on bailouts interesting, that along with monetary policy, have led to assets going up in value, with wealth inequality increasing. When central banks cut rates and buy assets, "capital flows to unproductive parts of the economy and the American dream withers on the vine". He believes these policies have led to the demise of the middle class, with the 1% getting richer, and everyone else suffering. He says that the US has exported the middle class to China.
Lancaster also analyzes recent Fed chairpeople, including Paul Volker, (under Carter and Reagan) whom he says was the "last person willing to deliver bad news and take appropriate action." Alan Greenspan was "the maestro" (from 1987-2006), a time during which capitalism exploded, along with greed. Ben Bernanke (2006-2014) came aboard just before the Global Financial Crisis. Janet Yellen (2014-2018) was even-keeled, and Jerome Powell's (2018 to current) "bubble will put Greenspan to shame".
After studying thirty years of employment data, Lancaster concludes that the "job market is more split than ever before. Middle-skill, middle-wage jobs are gone." He said that all the new jobs are in leisure and hospitality. "You're either a tech guy flying private or a bartender with no skills. Either polish up on your math skills or learn how to pour good margarita."
We meet the smart people on Lancaster's team, they all work insane hours and, but their compensation makes up for it. Lancaster and his family live in the poshest part of London, and when he tires of the lockdown in London in early 2020, he buys an expensive condo in Miami, where restrictions are looser.
If you are a CBNC junkie, you will get more out of Fed Up than I did. That being said, I found Lancaster's observations fascinating. There are many books out there about the pandemic from government and health care policy perspectives, so his take on the pandemic from a macro-financial perspective is unique, and I will have more to add to family conversations now. I recommend Fed Up.
September 8, 2021
As a dumbstruck world is trying to come to grasp with what arguably has to be the most severe onslaught of a pandemic since the Spanish Flu in 1917, the social, psychological and economic costs of this unpredictable event have been, putting it mildly, incalculable. That said, Fed Up by Colin Lancaster does an honorable job of broaching a subject that is still touchy despite being, by now, a familiar one. A confluence of forces related to financial markets nearly collapsed the economy as we knew it.
Fed Up by Colin Lancaster describes the experiences of a global macro trader as he attempts to survive the greatest market panic ever seen since the Great Depression. The author provides readers with an overview of the decadence of an exuberant market bubble to the depths of a market crash and the very beginnings of a market recovery. This book offers readers a close look at trading activity, letting them experience the rush of the markets. Additionally, there are also financial guidance given in the book. This book depicts the struggle of a man working towards his own peak while facing moral dilemmas.
This book gives the readers a glimpse of life as a trader as he tries to balance his personal values with the tainted morals of the world around him. It's an entertaining look at the new players on the market and it shines light on the biggest policy issues the United States is facing today. From the perspective of a global macro trader, Fed Up by Colin Lancaster is a riveting account that reveals the impact of the 2020 crash on the markets. What's impressive is how diplomatically the author dives into the juicy details, refusing to succumb to the sweet intoxication of finger-pointing and dogmatism.
Fed Up is a great book that makes a complex topic easy to understand in our current world situation. Colin Lancaster understands the MMT and why it is danger as a way to manage our economy. The steps we can take in order to achieve or continue to achieve freedom, regardless of what happen in the macroeconomic manner. The information in the book is organized and well written. This is a complex topic and Colin Lancaster wove the current pandemic within the current economic state brilliantly. If you want to start understanding what it going on with the Federal Reserve and Treasury and how it impacts you, pick up this book and start learning.
However, the book's main point is not a discussion of policy responses to pandemics. It gives an engaging view of how the 'literally unprecedented' shocks which have engulfed markets indicate an era of depression is about to begin, as well as how people might mitigate the effects of this coming depression on their own lives. Colin Lancaster is Hedge Fund Macro Trader and a smart man who manages to tell an interesting and informative story without resorting to hyperbole.
This book offers a really intriguing look at the pandemic, our response to it, and what we can expect to happen in the future in light of that response. It's not light or easy reading, but it is definitely worthwhile if you'd like to gain more understanding of what is going on and how you can offset some of the craziness from the world around you.
Fed Up by Colin Lancaster describes the experiences of a global macro trader as he attempts to survive the greatest market panic ever seen since the Great Depression. The author provides readers with an overview of the decadence of an exuberant market bubble to the depths of a market crash and the very beginnings of a market recovery. This book offers readers a close look at trading activity, letting them experience the rush of the markets. Additionally, there are also financial guidance given in the book. This book depicts the struggle of a man working towards his own peak while facing moral dilemmas.
This book gives the readers a glimpse of life as a trader as he tries to balance his personal values with the tainted morals of the world around him. It's an entertaining look at the new players on the market and it shines light on the biggest policy issues the United States is facing today. From the perspective of a global macro trader, Fed Up by Colin Lancaster is a riveting account that reveals the impact of the 2020 crash on the markets. What's impressive is how diplomatically the author dives into the juicy details, refusing to succumb to the sweet intoxication of finger-pointing and dogmatism.
Fed Up is a great book that makes a complex topic easy to understand in our current world situation. Colin Lancaster understands the MMT and why it is danger as a way to manage our economy. The steps we can take in order to achieve or continue to achieve freedom, regardless of what happen in the macroeconomic manner. The information in the book is organized and well written. This is a complex topic and Colin Lancaster wove the current pandemic within the current economic state brilliantly. If you want to start understanding what it going on with the Federal Reserve and Treasury and how it impacts you, pick up this book and start learning.
However, the book's main point is not a discussion of policy responses to pandemics. It gives an engaging view of how the 'literally unprecedented' shocks which have engulfed markets indicate an era of depression is about to begin, as well as how people might mitigate the effects of this coming depression on their own lives. Colin Lancaster is Hedge Fund Macro Trader and a smart man who manages to tell an interesting and informative story without resorting to hyperbole.
This book offers a really intriguing look at the pandemic, our response to it, and what we can expect to happen in the future in light of that response. It's not light or easy reading, but it is definitely worthwhile if you'd like to gain more understanding of what is going on and how you can offset some of the craziness from the world around you.
August 16, 2021
"You cannot succeed in the markets of your gambling." - Colin Lancaster
READ THIS BOOK!
This is not a book that I would've picked on my own, but I'm so glad I did! I don't know much about investing, the stock market, or hedge funds. I learned so much from this book. As a beginner, the stories and scenarios were fun & easy to follow. I love that this novel is fiction based on facts!
Fed Up! is very well written, fast-paced, easy read that really kept me captivated and wanting to learn more. Author Lancaster provides unique insight and perspective into the world of financial investments. His depiction of the chaos that resulted from the pandemic was so accurate. I didn't know much about the stock market but my husband is into it. The insights and explanations provided throughout the book gave me an overall better understanding of things. I still have a lot to learn. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to the author, @harrimanhousepublishing & @tlcbooktours for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
READ THIS BOOK!
This is not a book that I would've picked on my own, but I'm so glad I did! I don't know much about investing, the stock market, or hedge funds. I learned so much from this book. As a beginner, the stories and scenarios were fun & easy to follow. I love that this novel is fiction based on facts!
Fed Up! is very well written, fast-paced, easy read that really kept me captivated and wanting to learn more. Author Lancaster provides unique insight and perspective into the world of financial investments. His depiction of the chaos that resulted from the pandemic was so accurate. I didn't know much about the stock market but my husband is into it. The insights and explanations provided throughout the book gave me an overall better understanding of things. I still have a lot to learn. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to the author, @harrimanhousepublishing & @tlcbooktours for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
November 21, 2022
- Amazing modern insight into the daily life and thoughts of a global macro hedge fund manager
- Funny to see him mention places near my old work
- Interesting take on QE and the role of central banks in the last 10 years, markets have done well but at what cost? inequity has widened, inflation is high, and the amount of debt in the economy makes it difficult to raise rates
- Shows not only the professional side, but also how to manage and entertain a team such as the vegas trip or the london nights out or conversely the firing of one of the team and how to handle the fall out
- Funny to see him mention places near my old work
- Interesting take on QE and the role of central banks in the last 10 years, markets have done well but at what cost? inequity has widened, inflation is high, and the amount of debt in the economy makes it difficult to raise rates
- Shows not only the professional side, but also how to manage and entertain a team such as the vegas trip or the london nights out or conversely the firing of one of the team and how to handle the fall out
August 24, 2025
I have honestly loved it.
I believe there are no other bios of active (as in, still actively working) macro hedge fund managers -as they tend to be memoirs or more philosophical reads (see Soros).
So this is definitely a unique read.
I only wish the book were not based around the Covid time, but instead in 'normal' times, although as it's self-evident that discretionary macro investors thrive in times of big shifts and dislocation, so I fear it would not have been as entertaining.
Great read!
I believe there are no other bios of active (as in, still actively working) macro hedge fund managers -as they tend to be memoirs or more philosophical reads (see Soros).
So this is definitely a unique read.
I only wish the book were not based around the Covid time, but instead in 'normal' times, although as it's self-evident that discretionary macro investors thrive in times of big shifts and dislocation, so I fear it would not have been as entertaining.
Great read!
August 19, 2021
Some interesting bits and bobs but …
Enjoyed reading a trader’s diary through the turbulent market times of Covid, although the key messages are somewhat repetitive. The narrative is a bit bland and attempts at humour are hit and miss. I feel that the world of hedgies can be much more interesting than described in the book.
Enjoyed reading a trader’s diary through the turbulent market times of Covid, although the key messages are somewhat repetitive. The narrative is a bit bland and attempts at humour are hit and miss. I feel that the world of hedgies can be much more interesting than described in the book.
March 9, 2024
Personal diary of a global macro hedge fund manager at tier-1 firms, primarily focusing on his trading days during the 2020 pandemics; he emphasises how global central banks, especially the Fed, keep injecting money supply into the financial system to pop up assets prices, exacerbating wealth inequality. A bit verbose and sometimes irrelevant, but a no-nonsense candid peek into his work life.
January 15, 2022
It was interesting to read the current situation from the eyes of a professional hedge fund macro guy. However, his ideas that the FED is increasing the inequality and the situation is very dangerous, unfortunately, it is not real news.
May 27, 2021
Entertaining and informative look at the past year. Highly recommend this book.
May 30, 2021
Fairly entertaining but light on any real financial detail. The views presented were uninspiringly generic, and the author kinda ranted about a few select topics over and over.
November 1, 2021
A brilliant read!
I really enjoyed this book into the world of hedge funds. Very well written; in a way that the average person can understand it.
I really enjoyed this book into the world of hedge funds. Very well written; in a way that the average person can understand it.
January 23, 2022
This book gives a nice peep into the life of macro traders. It's entertaining, but doesn't give much details on the business front.
February 13, 2022
So much potential yet so awkward
May 1, 2022
A multidimensional account of the Covid-19 pandemic through the eyes of a seasoned global macro trader.
October 29, 2022
Liar’s poker style recount of Covid period financial market brimming with macro trader style pessimism. Shallow but entertaining.
April 24, 2025
not long enough and not enough detail
October 30, 2025
Long live the markets
July 18, 2025
1 The Fed fed up a gambling belief that it will rescue stock market anyway, then why not gamble? why work? why care manufacturing?
2 More FED UP accumulatively create more debt and higher prices, which means declined margin effect. Doomed spiral, more printing, more debt, more wealth disparity.
3 Printing for gambling is a choice prefer the rich over working class who suffered inflation. Meanwhile, bigger money volume float bigger market swings, then bigger hurt for small gamblers.
4 How ridiculous to say Fed affected by politics? It is totally political from its early birth, monetary policy represents the result of class war.
2 More FED UP accumulatively create more debt and higher prices, which means declined margin effect. Doomed spiral, more printing, more debt, more wealth disparity.
3 Printing for gambling is a choice prefer the rich over working class who suffered inflation. Meanwhile, bigger money volume float bigger market swings, then bigger hurt for small gamblers.
4 How ridiculous to say Fed affected by politics? It is totally political from its early birth, monetary policy represents the result of class war.
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