David A. Rocker (born 1943) founded the

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as ...

Rocker Partners, LP. Rocker holds a

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

bachelor's degree from Harvard College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Rocker and his wife, Marian, reside in Florida and New Jersey. They have two sons.

Early life and career

Rocker's grandparents were Austrian and Russian immigrants. His father was an accountant in West Orange, NJ, where Rocker was raised and married his high school sweetheart, Marian. After graduating from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

, Rocker served for two years as an officer in the US Navy. He returned to Harvard Business School for his MBA. In 1969, Rocker joined

Mitchell Hutchins Mitchell, Hutchins & Co. was a securities research firm based in New York City. In 1977, it was acquired by Paine Webber. History The firm was founded in 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, by William H. Mitchell and James C. Hutchins, Jr., members of tw ...

, where he was a research analyst and

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...

. In 1972, he hired on at Steinhardt, Fine, Berkowitz & Co., a pioneering

, and was a general partner there from 1973 to 1981. Rocker joined Century Capital, a registered investment adviser, as a partner in 1981. While there, he was a

portfolio manager A portfolio manager (PM) is a professional responsible for making investment decisions and carrying out investment activities on behalf of vested individuals or institutions. Clients invest their money into the PM's investment policy for future gr ...

for institutional clients. After Century Capital was acquired in 1985, he formed Rocker Partners with $25 million. Originally based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, the firm expanded over the years adding offices in Larkspur, California and Millburn New Jersey. The firm also managed Compass Holdings and Helmsman Holdings in the BVI which pursued similar strategies for foreign clients. Rocker Partners became incorporated as Copper River Management, LLC. Rocker's former co-manager at the firm, Marc Cohodes, fully assumed managerial duties after Rocker's retirement in early 2007. Rocker is a strong believer in the value of short selling both as an investment strategy on its own but also, more importantly, to provide investors with alternative points of view in an industry famous for its overtly bullish bias. Rocker was known to openly share his views on the market itself as well as on individual stocks. In 2003, he testified on the industry before the House Subcommittee on capital markets. He also wrote numerous articles for Barrons and other publications and was a frequent guest on

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...

.''New York Magazine'', James Cramer, June 2002
/ref>

Philanthropy and personal life

In retirement Rocker and his wife are involved in numerous charities, with a particular focus on Jewish issues. He currently serves on the investment committees of the

New Jersey Performing Arts Center The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in downtown Newark, New Jersey, United States, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors ( ...

and the

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building cons ...

in Miami. He has been a guest lecturer at the law and business schools at Harvard,

Rutgers Law School Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

, Florida International University and the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute.

References

"Profile of a Short Seller", The New York Times, April 2006

"Overstock.com May Seek $1 Billion From Rocker Partners" - May 12, 2006 - The New York Sun

* ttp://nymag.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/columns/bottomline/6077/ "New York Magazine, James Cramer", June 2002

External links

Fortune, 'Lehman collapse puts hedge fund in dire straits'Transcript of Rocker testifying before House Subcommittee in 2003

* ttp://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/58/ganders.html FastCompany.com, ''How to Spot the Next Enron'
''The New York Times'', Rocker comments about America Online, 1996
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocker, David 1943 births All-American college football players American columnists American financial analysts American investment bankers American investors American financiers American finance and investment writers American hedge fund managers American people of Russian descent American people of Austrian descent American stock traders Living people Harvard Business School alumni Stock and commodity market managers Harvard College alumni