Heralding trumpets. Pat myself on the back. Told you so. Twice.
As everyone in de business knows, All Options lost their shirt in 2010. Majority of staff axed, and the firm retreated to their small office on the Herengracht. Full scale cost cutting. The numbers are in for the personal holdings of the man who flew to close to the sun. Allard Jakobs lost EUR 67,8 million in 2010.
300k per day
His other investments fared better, so All Options lost even more. Say 70 million. That’s a very impressive EUR 300.000 per day (and the weekends are for free). The company was loaded with overhead. Too many oversized offices and too many cash burning folks occupying the desks. But you don’t lose 70 million on overhead. Derivative positions must have been a costly affair.
Tax claim
But there’s more. A provision has been taken for a tax claim worth € 38,5 million. And this may not be enough. Details are unknown, but the firm has an office in Curaçao. You don’t start a trading desk in the Caribbean for the weather, the proximity hosting or the well educated locals. A less exotic possibility is a messing around with dividends and short stocks in Germany.
The underdog again
I always fancy the underdog. And hey, All Option is one of the underdogs again. The only way is up. While the tagline “a leading European derivatives trading house” is misleading, Allard Jakobs remains the comeback kid of the market. So don’t be surprised if he hits the jackpot again sooner or later.
- source : Quote (Dutch)