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strong relationships with the various industries and understands forces within these industries. Maverick is diversified with about 250 positions in the portfolio.

Allocations are determined by where the best ideas are at the time. The United States has always been the dominant piece of the portfolio. "This is the region we know best and where we have had the most consistent performance. It is the most efficient market to short stocks. Japan has been the best-performing, but it also has had more volatility."

Ainslie observes, "In down markets, it is more difficult for us to produce absolute returns but on a relative basis we look smart." If you look at each month the S&P was down—29 months in the past seven years—all four major U.S. indexes were down 49 to 65 percent. Maverick was up 2.9 percent. "This performance has been driven by the out-performance of the longs and the underperformance of the shorts. As a result, we have done relatively well in these periods."

Ainslie emphasizes the importance of the whole team, not just himself. The organization is one of a group of peers—not one based on the contribution of a single person. It is this environment that allows him to attract senior people. "Our edge is the experience and industry expertise of the team. All of the eight sector heads are well known, talented, and experienced in their industries. That gives us an edge on both the long and short side. Experience is especially critical on the short side." Sector heads have significant discretion and authority themselves. "They are peers, not employees." The sector heads are rewarded on both the overall profitability of the entire fund and the contribution of their specific sectors. More weight is given to the former, however.

Ainslie owns the vast majority of the firm. Several individuals are partners.

He has known most of the sector heads for years, and mutual respect exists. "The sector heads and myself make the decisions together." Ainslie also commented that because of these self-contained teams, sectors, and regions, the fund doesn't feel like $6.0 billion. Maverick is able to maintain the agility of a series of focused smaller funds.

The key to making money is the team's industry expertise. The teams focus on winners and losers in each industry. There are eight teams—retail, media and telecommunications, technology, health care, financial, cyclical, Japan and Asia, and Latin America. No sector is typically more