💎 Issue #80 - Talk Show Spotlight - Christina Qi and Her Billion Dollar Hedge Fund

“Life isn’t supposed to be a competition. Real life isn’t being number one”.

We are very excited to have Christina Qi on The Charlene Talk Show. Christina grew her hedge fund from trading $1000 in her dorm room to $7.1 billion dollar trading volume per day.

In this talk show, Christina shared how she “failed upwards” and reinvented herself to run one of the longest-running HFT hedge funds in the world.

Starting The $1,000 Hedge Fund 

Christina struggled with a series of unfulfilling majors and jobs before she found her passion for trading. Out of serendipity, her friend’s family gave her $1,000 to execute the first trade. 

Failing Upwards

While her hedge fund didn't win any prizes at the pitch contests, she ended up meeting Gary Bergstrom at a Microsoft pitch event. Intrigued by their similar background, Gary wanted to pass the baton. Gary Bergstrom, the Chairman of Acadian Asset Management, ended up giving Christina $400,000 to scale her fund. This experience also taught Christina to value what she brings to the table and see relationships as equal.

Near-Death Experiences

Aside from the early wins, Christina also recounted several close calls to death. There was a time when her hedge fund lost a couple million dollars due to market crashes and management oversight. It took them months to recover and made her realize the importance of communication, transparency, and authenticity.

The legacy Christina wants to leave on the world...

“Life isn’t supposed to be a competition. Real life isn’t about being number one”. 

When asked about legacy, Christina shared that she wants to inspire people to walk their own path, find happiness, and live honestly. Instead of focusing on achieving conventional success, Christina encouraged us to enjoy the moment and focus on what makes us want to wake up.