Author Of 'Why Wall Street Matters' Talks About Ackman's 'Whopper Of A Loss'

William Cohan, author of 'Why Wall Street Matters,' was a guest on CNBC to talk about Bill Ackman's letter to investors in which he apologized for his $4 billion loss in Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int Inc VRX.

According to Cohan, Ackman's loss is "potentially devastating" for his firm, not to mention the firm's clients. He added that while it's nice and rare for any hedge fund manager to apologize for a loss, let alone Ackman, the fact remains a "whopper of a loss" occurred on his watch.

Ackman Is Still A Winner

Cohan did state that Ackman has a very loyal customer base who believe in his ability to pick stocks and generate long-term returns. Also, Ackman is overseeing a hedge fund with around $11 billion in assets under management, and according to Cohan, a fund with just $6 billion is impressive and notable.

"He's had some huge, huge winners and he's had now some unbelievable losses with Valeant being obviously the biggest," Cohan said. "He's a high beta investor - and that's what you get. If you like that kind of thing, you will stick with him."

Cohan added that Ackman wants to be the "Warren Buffett for the 21st century" but at the end of the day, if he was an investor in Ackman's fund he would still be "p----d off."

See Also:

What Happens To A Stock When An Activist Liquidates A Position?

Gadfly's Nisen: Valeant's 'Financial Wizardry' Doesn't Change The Long-Term Outlook