LAS VEGAS — Billionaire investor David Tepper, the irreverent hedge-fund manager who made more money last year than any of his peers, is getting nervous.
“The market is dangerous right now,” said Tepper, who gained a reputation in late 2008 for his prescient bet that US banks would survive the financial crisis. Last year, his $20 billion Appaloosa Management distressed-debt hedge fund earned a return of almost 40 percent, net of fees — enough to give Tepper a personal $3.5 billion payday.
But the good times could be coming to an end, he said, adding it’s “nervous time.”
Central banks are too complacent these days, Tepper said in a one-on-one interview here with Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital at the SALT conference — the annual get-together of the hedge-fund sector’s heavy hitters that also draws movie stars and politicians, who mix it up with Wall Street’s brightest stars in the freewheeling atmosphere of this desert casino town.
Tepper said the European Central Bank “better ease in June” given the low level of inflation there. “If they don’t, it may be too late,” he warned.
While most of the financial world, and central bankers, have focused on inflation, he said deflation could be worse, pointing to the tepid economic growth more than five years after the financial crisis.
“I’m not saying go short,” he told the investors in the audience. “I’m just saying don’t be too frickin’ long right now.”
Tepper, known for his salty language, cleaned it up for the crowd until he told a story about how his fund’s recent winning streak followed his decision in 2008 to make sure all food banks, shelters and pantries in his home state of New Jersey had enough money to keep going.
“So you believe in karma?” asked Scaramucci.
“Are you f–king kidding me? Of course I believe in that sh-t” replied Tepper.
Tepper started his hedge fund in 1992 after a stint helping put Goldman Sachs’ junk bond operation on the map. The 56-year-old investor, who proudly touts his “inner city” roots, was considered too rough to be named partner. “I couldn’t stand that place,” he said, so he struck out on his own and starting lining up investors for a hedge fund.
An investor who gave him $1 million in 1992 would have $149 million today — one of the best returns in the industry.