FinTwit Drama: Hedgeye vs. WifeyAlpha, Explained
Tale of the tape: Hedgeye is an investment research firm that has evolved into a producer of its own online media content. In one of its digital shows called The Macro Show on Hedgeye TV, Hedgeye President Michael Blum called out a certain account on fintwit (financial Twitter) who remains anonymous–which the chief deems as “dangerous.”
“Why is this dangerous? [Because] you can put on an act and you can claim to be very charming, you can make things that are not intelligent sound great, and you can fool a lot of people. And we don’t really like that here,” Blum said.
The anonymous fintwit account: @WifeyAlpha. In the bio, the owner of the page cites systematic trading programs and quant research. Among other things, the account posts researches about trading.
The name of the account is said to be a nod to his dedication to his own “wifey.”
Blum, on the online platform, named the anonymous account owner as Frank Wilson. After trying to call Wilson live on air, the chief then went on to discuss his basic information, including how he’s London-based and was born in January 1988.
“Frank has a great history as a failed hedge fund manager–Black Alpha Capital,” Blum asserted. “To have a management company put into liquidation by an employee you owe money to? That’s an entirely different story. That I have never heard in the industry, as well.”
He also showed Wilson’s LinkedIn profile who he described as owned by “someone who has no competence or experience in investment management or investment advisory work.” Highlighting the work experience item about being an office manager, Blum submits that this is just actually Wilson managing his father’s money–Jack Wilson, he added, was a successful banker.
“So, he was basically managing daddy’s money,” added Blum. “We have not been able to track down any industry experience.”
Blum also identified the “wifey” Wilson is referring to in his Twitter account: Gabriella Haines, who goes by the handle @RealAlphaWifey and revealed to have studied art in Rome and in London.
“He seems, with his wife… they live a life of leisure. And yet, he acts as if he is God’s gift to finance and knows how to do all these things and has all these [experiences],” Blum retorted. “But I challenge you–Black Alpha Capital. What happened there?”
Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough also weighed in: “That’s the problem with Twitter. People are really scheming to get… your money. That’s why we’re revealing.”
“What [Wilson] says is: ‘Don’t pay anyone cause I’m better than everybody’,” he added. “You don’t have to pay anybody anything and they’re all liars and frauds, even though he is… In this case, this is outright deceit.”
Blum ended the segment by addressing Wilson on camera, saying that he will be held to account.
“You moved out of your apartment on Prince of Wales road in London about two months ago. I don’t know your address but our lawyers in London have some documents for you. So, if you please could reach out to us and make this easier for everyone, we would really appreciate it,” Blum told Wilson through the camera.
Thanks, doxx!
Wilson replied with a Twitter thread, essentially claiming that “the Wifey household has been doxxed.” Doxxing is the act of publicly disclosing personally identifying information about a person or organization, typically through the internet.
He further claimed that McCullough sent a private investigator to follow Haines, adding that the Hedgeye team could “pursue [him] in any form on any day” but they should leave his family alone.
Wilson also added that he did plan to reveal his identity after the holidays as he confirmed his name.
“[The @WifeyAlpha account] is and has been my public trading journal and my research which I have spent many hours to collect and arrange in hopes of helping traders in the bear market from an educational point of view,” he tweeted.
Wilson also shared what seems to be a personal conversation with Haines, showing her screenshots of Blum’s tweets that published her photos, including the ones that were apparently taken by an individual tapped by Hedgeye.
Other fintwit accounts siding with Wilson have also been calling out Hedgeye’s moves as doxxing. Account @TheWuhanClan has asked Twitter CEO Elon Musk to suspend the accounts of Hedgeye, Blum, and McCullough.
McCullough seems to be intent in making the team’s point on anonymity, asking back these accounts to reveal their real name.
Haines, on the other hand, seems to be taking the situation lightly.
Not a doxx
In response, Hedgeye released a statement saying that they “did not “doxx” Frank Wilson, nor his wife.”
“We identified the name of the owners of these Twitter handles. We did not furnish personal details (eg phone number, home address, email address, etc). We have that information, but we provided none of it,” the statement read.
Blum also accompanied the statement with an online video: “We didn’t doxx anyone. What we did is reveal the identity of someone claiming to be an accomplished investment manager who is no such thing.”
As his response to people saying Hedgeye shouldn’t have revealed Haines’s name, McCullough maintains that she was in the process of creating @WifeyAlpha, “corroborating with a nefarious thief.”
In support of Hedgeye, Twitter account Dan Ravicher referred to the recently updated private information policy of the platform which specifies that it is not a violation when someone reveals another account’s name, age, place of education or employment, and location information related to places of business.
Instead, Hedgeye claimed that it was actually Wilson who violated rules of law. First, he allegedly “published proprietary Hedgeye content without permission.” They also claim that he “forged a campaign of false and disparaging attacks on Hedgeye and its employees.”
“Hedgeye remains committed to our core principles of transparency, accountability and trust. When people act poorly in our industry, we believe they should not be afforded the benefit of disguise and anonymity,” the statement read.
Fintwit fallout
Adding fuel to the fire, former Hedgeye Managing Director Darius Dale weighed in on the issue as he sided with Wilson, saying that he has also been a victim of Blum and McCullough’s harassment.
Back in August 2021, a federal court judge declared that Hedgeye “has established a likelihood of success on the merits” in its claims against Dale for misappropriation of Hedgeye’s trade secrets when he built his current firm 42 Macro.
“Mr. Dale’s deposition testimony establishes that he retained Hedgeye’s trade secrets and reviewed them with ‘extreme care’ while creating 42 Macro,” the judge said.
Fellow anonymous account @LastBearStanding and Hidden Forces podcast host Demetri Kofinas have each tweeted support for Wilson.
Capping the issue (for now), McCullough then said that he supports “anonymous followers who have principles.” Meanwhile, Wilson said he didn’t regret anything as “it is the right thing to do.”
Information for this briefing was found via the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
