The term “Digital Decolonization” is one that continues to gain ground within institutional investing, primarily among those with an eye on emerging and frontier markets. One global investment manager, Prince Street Capital, is today steered by a man who has not only fully embraced digital decolonization but continues to keep his finger on the pulse of the various opportunities that continue to emerge within the frontier.
Having founded Prince Street from his NYC loft apartment (aptly named after the SoHo street), David Halpert has grown Prince Street into a thriving investment firm in a global market where bets on emerging markets remain too “risky” for some, including even the most sophisticated investors.
Through unique long-only, long-short, and absolute return strategies, Prince Street has capitalized on opportunities that are often overlooked or misunderstood. In our latest Big Interview, Halpert details his beginnings in the world of finance, how Prince Street came to be and why digital decolonization is the key theme to watch as emerging and frontier markets continue to evolve. Emerging Market Views: Tell us about Prince Street. What led to the firms’ formation?
David Halpert : I started Prince Street in 2001, from my loft downtown (hence the name). Prince Street Capital Management was one of the earlier emerging market (EM) hedge funds, inspired by my experience working in the long-only investment world.
Like most entrepreneurs, I started quite small, with my mom as my only client. The big investment banks did not take my business in the first year, but I managed to get my track record audited which was crucial to this first step in my journey. Within two years of inception, Prince Street became a Goldman Sachs prime brokerage client when we secured institutional investors in 2003. We had successfully preserved capital in the dot-com crash of 2001-2002, which was a good selling point. Prince Street went on to print 10 consecutive positive years, 2001-2010, including a positive print in 2008, which I think is really what allowed us to gain market share against our peers.
In 2005, I started getting reverse inquiries from limited partners (LPs) about running a long-only product, in part because allocators were less focused on capital preservation after several strong years in EM (2003-2007). With that in mind, we launched Prince Street Opportunities in 2006, which would eventually grow to be our largest pool of capital, as it is today. Prince Street Opportunities […]
