PAUL TUDOR JONES
Think and Trade Like Paul Tudor Jones
Paul Tudor Jones is a legendary hedge fund manager known for his macroeconomic insights, disciplined risk management, and ability to profit from market turns. His trading approach emphasizes defense, emotional control, and strategic flexibility. Let's explore how you can think and trade like Paul Tudor Jones, using his famous quotes and real-life examples from his trading career.
1.
"The most important rule is to play great defense, not great offense. Everyday I assume every position I have is wrong. I know where my stop risk points are going to be. I do that so I can define my maximum drawdown. Hopefully, I spend the rest of the day enjoying positions that are going in my direction. If they are going against me, then I have a game plan for getting out."
Jones focuses primarily on defensive trading. By setting clear stop-loss points and accepting that every position can be wrong, he effectively controls his downside. For example, during the 1987 crash, his defensive positioning resulted in significant profits while others suffered substantial losses.
2.
"I'm always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money. Don't focus on making money, focus on protecting what you have."
Risk management is central to Jones's philosophy. He emphasizes capital preservation as key to long-term success. This approach helped him preserve his fund's capital during crises like the dot-com bubble burst.
3.
"Don't be a hero. Don't have an ego. Always question yourself and your ability. Don't ever feel that you are very good. The second you do, you are dead."
Jones believes humility is crucial. Overconfidence can lead to disastrous trading decisions. He constantly evaluates his trades critically, keeping ego out of the equation.
4.
"Ninety-percent of any great trader is going to be the risk control."
Risk management defines Jones's success. He continuously emphasizes the importance of controlling losses and managing trades with precision.
5.
"Don't ever average losers. Decrease your trading volume when you are trading poorly; increase your volume when you are trading well. Never trade in situations where you don't have control. For example, I don't risk significant amounts of money in front of key reports, since that is gambling, not trading."
Jones avoids compounding losses by never averaging down on losing trades. He strategically adjusts his trading volumes based on performance, maintaining control at all times.
6.
"The secret to being successful from a trading perspective is to have an indefatigable and an undying and unquenchable thirst for information and knowledge."
Jones's ongoing pursuit of information and knowledge keeps him ahead of market movements. His thorough macroeconomic research helps him anticipate and act decisively on global trends.
7.
"I always believe that prices move first and fundamentals come second."
Jones prioritizes price action and technical analysis, believing markets often reflect changes before fundamentals do. This approach allows quick adjustments and prevents emotional bias.
8.
"If you have a losing position that is making you uncomfortable, the solution is very simple: Get out, because you can always get back in."
He advocates swift action to exit losing positions, thus minimizing psychological stress and financial damage. This disciplined approach helps maintain emotional stability.
9.
"I believe the very best money is made at the market turns. Everyone says you get killed trying to pick tops and bottoms... Well, for twelve years I have been missing the meat in the middle but I have made a lot of money at tops and bottoms."
Contrary to common trading wisdom, Jones successfully profits by carefully timing market turning points, demonstrating his strategic boldness and keen market sense.
10.
"Every day I assume every position I have is wrong."
By assuming he might always be wrong, Jones stays vigilant and ready to adapt quickly, minimizing his potential losses.
11.
"First of all, never play macho man with the market. Second, never overtrade."
Avoiding ego-driven decisions and excessive trading, Jones protects his capital and maintains discipline.
12.
"I spend my day trying to make myself as happy and relaxed as I can be. If I have positions going against me, I get right out; if they are going for me, I keep them."
Jones believes emotional well-being impacts trading performance, and he swiftly removes losing trades to maintain mental clarity.
13.
"Trading is very competitive and you have to be able to handle getting your butt kicked."
Jones acknowledges trading's inherent volatility, emphasizing emotional resilience as a necessity.
14.
"Where you want to be is always in control, never wishing, always trading, and always, first and foremost protecting your butt."
Control and risk management are paramount for consistent success.
15.
"I'm looking for 5:1 (risk/reward). Five to one means I'm risking one dollar to make five."
Jones targets trades with favorable risk-to-reward ratios, ensuring that even frequent mistakes don't undermine his overall performance.
16.
"The whole world is simply nothing more than a flow chart for capital."
He takes a macroeconomic view of global markets, leveraging understanding of capital flows to make informed decisions.
17.
"Markets trend only about 15 percent of the time; the rest of the time they move sideways."
Recognizing market conditions helps Jones adjust his strategy appropriately.
18.
"I try to avoid any emotional attachment to a market."
Jones avoids emotional trading by staying objective and adhering strictly to his trading rules.
Applying Jones's Wisdom in Your Trading:
- Prioritize Risk Management: Clearly define your risk.
- Maintain Emotional Neutrality: Avoid ego and emotions.
- Strategic Flexibility: Adjust swiftly to market shifts.
- Continual Learning: Always seek more knowledge and insights.
Paul Tudor Jones's trading approach teaches that disciplined risk control, emotional management, and strategic boldness can significantly enhance your trading success. Adopting his mindset and methods can help traders navigate volatile markets effectively, ensuring consistent profitability.
Who is Paul Tudor Jones?
Early Life and Education (1954–1976)
1954
September 28, 1954 – Birth in Memphis, Tennessee
Paul Tudor Jones II is born into a prominent Memphis family. His father, John Paul "Jack" Jones, is an attorney and publisher of the family-owned Daily News (operated by the Jones family since 1886).
Jones grows up with this blend of business and media in his background, alongside a half-brother, Peter Schutt.
1960s-1972
Memphis Schooling
Jones attends Presbyterian Day School (an all-boys elementary school) and later graduates from Memphis University School for high school.
These early years instill in him discipline and competitive drive.
1972-1976
University of Virginia
Jones enrolls at UVA, where he excels both academically and athletically. He becomes a welterweight boxing champion at UVA and serves as president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
To help finance his education, he writes for his family's newspaper under the pseudonym "Paul Eagle".
In 1976, he earns his B.A. in economics from UVA. (Notably, he is later accepted to Harvard Business School in the early 1980s but elects not to attend, choosing to jump directly into trading instead.)
Early Career Beginnings (1976–1980)
1976
First Steps in Trading
Fresh out of college, Jones seeks a start on Wall Street. He asks his cousin, cotton magnate William Dunavant Jr., for an introduction in the commodity trading world.
Dunavant connects him to Eli Tullis, a legendary cotton futures broker in New Orleans. Tullis hires the 22-year-old Jones as a clerk on the floor of the New York Cotton Exchange and becomes his first mentor.
Under Tullis's tutelage, Jones learns the ropes of commodities trading – but he is also young and adventurous. Famously, Tullis fires him after Jones falls asleep at his desk following a night of heavy partying in New Orleans.
This early misstep doesn't deter Jones; years later, in a twist of fate, he would become the treasurer (1986) and then chairman (1992–1995) of that very same Cotton Exchange.
1976-1979
Broker at E.F. Hutton
By his mid-20s, Jones lands a job as a commodities broker at E.F. Hutton & Co., a well-known brokerage. Here he continues to hone his trading skills in the late 1970s.
At Hutton, he befriends fellow young broker Glenn Dubin, forging a relationship with another future hedge fund luminary. These formative years give Jones practical market experience and industry connections, setting the stage for his next big move.
Founding Tudor Investment and Breakout Success (1980s)
1980
Launch of Tudor Investment Corporation
At only 26 years old, Paul Tudor Jones II founds his own hedge fund firm, Tudor Investment Corporation, in Greenwich, CT (initially based in Manhattan).
Backed by early investors like Dunavant and even his former mentor Tullis, Jones starts trading a global macro strategy with a modest pool of capital (around $300,000 of his own money to start). Tudor begins as a one-man operation, but Jones's bold trading style quickly yields results.
By 1984–1985, Tudor's assets and team are growing, and 1985 (the fund's first full year) delivers a 136% return net of fees – a staggering performance that grabs attention. Jones follows up with a 99% gain in 1986, proving that the early success is no fluke.
1986
Philanthropic Experiment – "Adopt-A-Class"
Jones's first foray into philanthropy comes at age 32. After watching a moving episode of 60 Minutes, he decides to "adopt" an entire class of 6th-grade students in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
He promises 86 at-risk children that he will pay their college tuition if they graduate high school – hoping to motivate them and dramatically improve their life outcomes.
Over the next several years, Jones invests time and money into this class (field trips, tutoring programs, personal mentoring). However, by the time those students reach graduation age, the results are heartbreaking: only about 33% of the kids earned a high school diploma, barely better than the local average.
Jones candidly calls this effort a "complete failure" – an experience that taught him that money alone wasn't enough without tackling deeper educational challenges. This lesson in humility later inspires him to support earlier-intervention education initiatives (like charter schools in the 2000s).
1987
Black Monday
Jones cements his legend by predicting the 1987 stock market crash and profiting massively from it. Throughout 1987, he grows wary of an overheated market and positions Tudor's fund net short.
When Black Monday strikes – with the Dow Jones index plunging ~22% in a single day – Tudor's bearish bets pay off spectacularly. Jones reportedly triples his money on that day alone by holding large short index futures positions.
For the full year 1987, Tudor Investment Corporation's flagship fund returned about 125.9% after fees, earning Jones an estimated $100 million in profits.
His right-hand man, Peter Borish, had helped anticipate the crash by studying parallels to 1929, bolstering Jones's conviction to go big on the short side. This triumph in the 1987 crash – coming on the heels of strong 1985 and 1986 returns – makes Paul Tudor Jones II one of the most celebrated young hedge fund managers on Wall Street.
1987
"Quotron Man" and Lifestyle Headlines
Along with financial fame, Jones gains a bit of notoriety for his high-flying lifestyle in the mid-80s. He was known to enjoy late-night parties and the company of fashion models, cultivating an image as a swashbuckling young millionaire.
In 1987, The Wall Street Journal runs a front-page profile nicknaming him "Quotron Man," referring to the then-new Quotron trading screens and highlighting his flashy, gadget-filled trading den.
The profile portrays Jones as emblematic of Wall Street excess (coming at a time when public backlash against 1980s financial decadence was growing). Jones later downplays this persona, but the moniker sticks for a while, illustrating the aura around him as a 33-year-old who had seemingly mastered the markets – and wasn't shy about enjoying the spoils.
1988
Robin Hood Foundation and Family
In philanthropy, Jones channels his wealth into helping others. He co-founds the Robin Hood Foundation in 1988, creating a charity dedicated to fighting poverty in New York City.
Unlike traditional grant-making foundations, Robin Hood (which Jones launches with several Wall Street friends) takes a hyper-analytical, metrics-driven approach to charity, treating donations like investments with measurable "returns" in poverty reduction.
Under Jones's leadership, Robin Hood grows into one of the most influential anti-poverty organizations in NYC, raising and distributing hundreds of millions of dollars with a focus on education, job training, healthcare, and housing programs for the poor.
In his personal life, 1988 is the year Jones marries. He weds Sonia Klein – a New York–based yoga entrepreneur who hails from Australia – in a ceremony in Memphis.
In the early 1990s the couple settles in Greenwich, Connecticut, where Jones's firm is based. They go on to have four children (three daughters and one son).
The 1990s: Expansion, Trade Milestones, and New Causes
1990
Shorting the Japanese Bubble
After conquering U.S. markets in the '80s, Jones turns his attention to Japan's frothy stock market. When the Japanese equity bubble bursts in 1990, Jones's fund profits handsomely by shorting Japanese stocks.
Tudor Investment Corporation reportedly returns 87.4% in 1990 by anticipating the crash of Japan's Nikkei index. (Japan's market collapsed by nearly 50% from its late '89 peak, and Jones was one of the traders who saw it coming.)
This extends his streak of winning calls in major market reversals.
1992-1995
Leadership at the NY Cotton Exchange
Jones's early career comes full circle as he becomes Chairman of the New York Cotton Exchange in August 1992, a position he holds through June 1995. Having once been a young clerk on the Exchange, he now oversees it.
During his tenure, he pushes for innovation in financial futures: Jones (with colleague Hunt Taylor) is instrumental in creating FINEX, the Financial Instruments Exchange, as a new division of the NY Board of Trade.
In the early 1990s, FINEX launches one of the first U.S. Dollar Index futures contracts, expanding the trading of currency futures in the U.S. This initiative reflects Jones's growing influence in the broader futures industry beyond commodities.
1993
Everglades Foundation
Jones co-founds the Everglades Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring and protecting the Everglades wetlands in Florida. This marks a significant turn toward environmental philanthropy for him.
As a co-founder and long-time chairman of the foundation, Jones works alongside conservationists and even famous figures (singer Jimmy Buffett and golfer Jack Nicklaus are on the board).
The Everglades Foundation advocates for sustainable water management in Florida and funds science and education initiatives to preserve the unique ecosystem of the Everglades. Jones's involvement here showcases his commitment to "conservation with economic sustainability" – blending his financial acumen with ecological causes.
1995
Strategy Evolution
As Tudor's assets grow, Jones recognizes that the go-for-broke strategy of the 1980s must evolve. In 1995, he transforms Tudor BVI, his flagship fund, into a multi-strategy fund instead of one focused purely on futures trading.
This means incorporating a broader array of investments – equities, bonds, emerging markets, and venture capital – alongside his bread-and-butter global macro futures bets.
The shift is summed up by Jones's mantra "you adapt, evolve, compete or die". After 1995, Tudor's returns become less volatile: the fund averages ~18% annual returns post-'95 (still excellent, but no longer the triple-digit gains of the mid-'80s).
The 2000s: Navigating Bubbles, Crises, and New Initiatives
2000
Educational Initiatives – Charter School
Applying the hard lessons from his 1986 education experiment, Jones helps launch a new approach to lift up disadvantaged youth. In 2000 he co-founds the Excellence Charter School for Boys in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, together with educator Norman Atkins.
The idea is to start early with rigorous academics and strong support. Jones explicitly sets the ambitious goal for this school to become one of NYC's top performers – and backs it with funding and board oversight.
Within several years, the results are remarkable: by 2008, Excellence Charter School ranks #1 out of 543 New York City public elementary schools for reading and math proficiency in 3rd and 4th grade.
2001-2002
Dot-Com Bust – Profiting from the Tech Crash
As the internet stock bubble collapses in 2000–2002, Jones once again demonstrates his skill in bear markets. While many investors are crushed by the dot-com crash, Tudor Investment Corp. comes out ahead.
Over 2001–2002, Jones's funds gain a cumulative 48.1% during the tech-stock rout. He achieves this by tactically shorting overvalued tech companies and rotating into safe-haven trades.
This period validates Jones's global macro approach – he wasn't swept up in the late '90s euphoria, so he had capital and courage to bet against the bubble.
2002
Private Safari Preserve in Africa
Expanding his conservation efforts globally, Jones turns his attention to East Africa. In 2002, he strikes a deal with the government of Tanzania to lease the Grumeti Game Reserve – roughly 350,000 acres bordering the Serengeti National Park.
His goal is to rehabilitate this wilderness area, which had been ravaged by poaching. Jones's strategy is unconventional: he pays the local Tanzanian authorities the equivalent of hunting license fees, but then largely forbids hunting on the reserve.
By eliminating illegal hunting and bringing in responsible management, the wildlife populations rebound. This pioneering conservation model – a private-public partnership – is later hailed as a success in preserving one of the world's great ecosystems.
2007-2008
The Global Financial Crisis
On the eve of the financial crisis, Jones is cautious but doesn't foresee the full extent of the impending subprime mortgage collapse. Unlike some peers (e.g. John Paulson or Michael Burry) who made fortunes shorting mortgage-backed securities, Jones later admitted he "overlooked the subprime opportunity" in 2007.
Even so, Tudor Investment Corp. weathers the 2008 crisis relatively well. Jones did not suffer the catastrophic losses that hit many leveraged funds, as he had reduced risk going into the meltdown.
By the end of 2008, Tudor's AUM is roughly $20 billion, near its peak. However, the crisis prompts Jones to introspect: the era of easy credit and massive swings has made him more defensive.
The 2010s: Sustained Influence, Philanthropy, and Advocacy
2013
JUST Capital and Rethinking Capitalism
Troubled by rising inequality in America, Paul Tudor Jones II takes a public stand. In 2013, he co-founds JUST Capital, a nonprofit organization aimed at "measuring the business world according to the public's values".
The idea is to guide investors and consumers toward companies that treat workers and communities fairly – essentially bringing data and rankings to corporate social responsibility.
In March 2015, Jones delivers a TED Talk titled "Why We Need to Rethink Capitalism," where he issues a stark warning: "the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest will get closed. History always does it – either through revolution, higher taxes or war. None of those are on my bucket list."
2016
Conservation Honors
In recognition of three decades of conservation work (from the Everglades to Africa), Jones receives the Audubon Medal, one of the highest honors in environmental philanthropy.
The National Audubon Society lauds Jones for contributing to conservation in a way that balances ecology with economic sustainability.
This honor underscores that his legacy extends beyond Wall Street – he's also regarded as an American conservationist.
2019
The Giving Pledge
Reflecting the philanthropic ethos he's cultivated, Jones and his wife Sonia sign on to The Giving Pledge, a commitment by billionaires to give away the majority of their wealth to charity.
In their pledge letter, the Joneses cite their upbringing in the church and quote Biblical principles about stewardship and generosity.
By 2019, Jones's net worth is around $5.3 billion, and he has already funneled large portions of his fortune into charitable causes.
The 2020s: Recent Developments and Legacy
2020
Betting on Bitcoin
As the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented money-printing by central banks shake the world, Jones famously pivots to a new asset class – Bitcoin.
In May 2020, he reveals that he has invested in Bitcoin as a hedge against what he calls the "Great Monetary Inflation" stemming from central bank stimulus. Drawing an analogy to gold in the 1970s, Jones calls Bitcoin the "fastest horse" in the race to protect wealth from inflation.
This endorsement by a legendary macro investor is seen as a watershed moment for cryptocurrency's credibility.
2021
Market Outlook and Inflation Warning
With the economy rebounding from the pandemic, Jones becomes a vocal commentator on Federal Reserve policy. In June 2021, he tells CNBC that if the Fed remains dismissive of rising prices, investors should "go all in on the inflation trades".
By October 2021, as inflation prints begin surprising to the upside, Jones declares inflation "could be worse than what we fear – the single biggest threat to markets and society".
These pronouncements make headlines and put pressure on policymakers. Jones's stance is influential: he's essentially saying that the trillions in stimulus could lead to an inflationary era reminiscent of the 1970s, which would have profound market implications.
2023
Market and Policy Perspective
In May 2023, Jones makes news by stating that he believes the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates in its fight against inflation.
After a year of aggressive rate hikes, he opines that the Fed can "probably declare victory" as inflation shows signs of cooling. He also predicts that, with the rate hikes pausing, the stock market has a good chance of finishing 2023 higher.
By this point, nearly 45 years into his career, Jones is an elder statesman of the financial world. He continues to run Tudor Investment as CIO and appears frequently in media to share insights.
