Wow dude you really need to read more books, that last statement is way off track quite an uninformed assumption.

There is at least 10x as many as just them two who were interviewed in market wizards that didn't just charge well for "mediocre returns" - all verified, all with incredible market beating returns by any measure. All of them didn't just become hedge fund managers overnight, they were very successful in their own right with a incredible track records before becoming managers.

Most of them also deliberately kept fund size small so they don't get bogged down by too much money - much to the contrary of what you're saying.

No need to argue, you just need to have read all the market wizard books to know what I'm talking about.

Plus you left out Paul Tudor Jones - he definitely wasn't mediocre.

The ones you are referring to who benefit from alleged cronyism are the ones that are basically just running index funds disguised as active funds with mediocre returns.

Ah, well...there you are. I'm so glad you know me so well. My statement stands on breadth and depth of reading, as well as experience in the markets. Just because I'm coming back fresh after illness does not mitigate former knowledge. 1 in one thousand and 2 in ten thousand may be worth their salt...the rest are mediocre at best. You may wish to bounce that "assumption" off the guru list at gurufocus.com as but one sample to see longer term outcomes...as a more democratic and visual representation of chaff vs winnow.