David A. Rocker (born 1943) founded the

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

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 Sout ...

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 education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, 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, where he was a research analyst and

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

. 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 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 is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

.''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 in Newark, New Jersey, 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 (incl ...

and the

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. According to Arts Management Magazine, the Arsht C ...

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

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

"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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocker, David 1943 births All-American college football players American columnists American financial analysts American investment bankers 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