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thing for man to do is sit quietly in a room.'" By year-end, Kingdon was up 20 percent for the year; it caused people to notice. "It indicates the importance of doing what you think is right, if you have sound reasons. If it is a minority view, all the better."

MOTIVATIONS/INFLUENCES

Kingdon says his interest in trading developed when he received two shares of stock for his bar mitzvah. He found the stock market fascinating. As a competitive child, he liked to win. During the summer of 1965 when he was 16 years old, he worked at Hayden Stone.

He graduated from Columbia College Phi Beta Kappa and then received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

His first job was at AT&T, at the pension fund administration group. In 1975, he joined Century Capital Associates, a hedge fund, where he stayed for eight years. Here he worked for Jim Harpel as an analyst, a portfolio manager, and then as a general partner.

As a trader who is guided by fundamentals and an investor who uses trading techniques, Kingdon has been inspired/influenced by everyone from Benjamin Graham to Jesse Livermore, and a lot of people in between. "Jim Harpel was a major influence. During the eight years I worked for him, Jim taught me the importance of spending your time and capital where it can do the most good—by focusing on large potential return ideas and cutting losses."

Kingdon sees his New York location as a big plus. "Every IPO and secondary road show goes through here, and we are able to arrange one-on-one meetings with almost anyone we want to see. New York has more industry conferences, securities analysts, and money managers than anywhere else. The free flow of ideas outweighs the dangers of groupthink. The excitement and pace of the city, which has gotten cleaner and safer under Mayor Guiliani, is also a positive in attracting bright, energetic people to our company." In the future, Kingdon may consider adding small satellite offices in Silicon Valley, London, and Tokyo, but right now New York is the firm's only office.

Kingdon leads a balanced life. In his spare time, he studies tae kwan do (Korean karate); he is a third-degree black belt. He has been attending tae kwan do classes two or three times a week for the past 19 years.