Even the smart boys lose sometimes

Seems Citigroup is shutting down a hedge fund it bought just last year for $800 million. Citigroup Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden said in an interview with Fortune magazine that the July 2007 Old Lane purchase was a way for the bank to recruit Vikram Pandit, CEO of Old Lane Partners, as well as John Havens, who was promoted in March to head investment banking, trading and hedge funds, and Brian Leach, who became chief risk officer. Pandit, Havens, and Leach all worked at Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest U.S. securities firm by market value, before they co-founded Old Lane. Pandit, 51, is one of Old Lane's investors. He received $165.2 million last year from Citigroup for his stake in Old Lane, then reinvested $100.3 million, after tax, into the fund, according to a March regulatory filing.

Rico says he once thought of working in the financial world; he's glad he didn't...