A couple months back Dan Zwirn was featured in the Market & Finance section of Bloomberg Businessweek. William (Bill) Cohan wrote the article and provided a case study of D.B. Zwirn & Co - recounting the steps that lead to the rapid rise and horrifying fall of the hedge fund that once managed assets of $12 billion. Bill Cohan is a Bloomberg Television contributing editor and the author of House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street and The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co. His article explained how Dan Zwirn found quick success as Founder and Managing Partner of D.B. Zwirn & Co but ultimately lost everything trying to do the right thing when irregularities in paperwork were discovered. Cohan was interviewed on Bloomberg Radio where he further emphasized his support of Zwirn's character and capabilities.
In summary, Zwirn was an excellent hedge fund manager, pioneering a method to earn great returns from a large number of relatively smaller investments. Cohan credits Zwirn with creating the market in which he found success. He later spent millions of dollars to hire a private investigation team to uncover misfiled paperwork. He then submitted all of the information to the SEC. Ultimately, the SEC exonerated Zwirn of any wrong-doing but sought legal ramifications for the former D.B. Zwirn & Co CFO for mishandling [a relatively minute amount of] funds that the firm was ultimately responsible for. Additionally, it was noted that there was no indication that any personal gain was achieved from the irregularities in paperwork. However, Dan Zwirn lost D.B. Zwirn & Co and billions in assets as a result of the duration of the investigation. The SEC took so long to review the information surrounding the case that by the time they responded, investors were left without resources they need to appropriately file their taxes and ultimately pulled their funds. Despite a long endured attempt to try to do everything right, Dan Zwirn ultimately sacrificed everything.
