Ron’s grandfather was an avid investor. Having fled to America from Russia as a young child, he eventually became a successful businessman and retired early. He then put all his money into stocks. Max liked blue chips. He was proud to own pieces in some of the largest companies in the world. And while he was a small investor in those companies, they were a big part of his life. “Boeing,” he would tell everyone he would meet. “You have to buy Boeing. Commercial jet travel is the wave of the future, and you can be a part of it. Buy Boeing.”  He also owned US Steel, JP Morgan, GM, etc. He was the classic long-term investor, and he did very well. But Max also loved the market. Every day, he would check the stock quotes in the newspaper; every week he would read Barron’s; and he never missed an episode of “Wall Street Week with Louis Rukheyser.” And every day, he would “go to the office,” that is his local stockbroker, which was just a short drive from his condo complex. Of all Max’s grandchildren, Ron was the only one who had interest in finance and the markets; so when Ron would come to Florida to visit, he would share in Max’s rituals. Ron can still recall the nearby Shearson office. A bunch of old men would sit there, watching the ticker tape up on the wall (there was no CNBC, no Etrade, no Bloomberg, no Internet.) Max would walk in with his grandson, and proudly announce “He goes to Yale” (or later “to Harvard” or later “works at Goldman Sachs.)  And then they’d all talk for a while, while the men told stories about their lives, their families and their favorite stocks. Invariably, one of the old men would ask Ron for his favorite pick. “Boeing, of course,” he’d reply. And his grandfather, somewhat bent with old age, would suddenly stand up a bit taller, and with a twinkle in his eye, give an approving smile.

We sat down with Ron Pollack, short-seller and hedge fund manager of the former Dancing Bear (net short) Fund, and asked him about some of his experiences as a short seller.  Ron recounted a story of a company that he said was an example of a “technology hype story”.  Years ago there was a laser company that supposedly had developed a better ophthalmic laser for correcting various vision disorders.  This type of product had been the subject of a lot of controversy at the time due to the relatively low sales volume of the industry leader.  One question had to do with the entire product category:  since the industry leader had only been given FDA approval for certain limited indications, it was too early to say whether the category would ever live up to expectations that it would become the solution-of-choice for nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, etc.  For the laser company, however, there was an even bigger question:  Did they have a viable product?  They said that they did: one that was smaller, less expensive, safer and more effective than those of the industry leader and other competitors.  But, in spite of the hype, the laser company had yet to provide clinical data that supported their claims.  In fact, at one of the meetings of ophthalmologists, the company was openly chastised by skeptical doctors tired of hearing all sorts of promises from the company with no proof.  The company had said that they had widespread success with their laser in China. Well, Ron’s analyst found a leading Chinese doctor who sat on key government councils, and got a much different story.  The Chinese doctor told the analyst that many of the company’s lasers that had been sent to China were either sitting in boxes, unused and unpaid for, or were being sent back.  To top it all off, the laser company was being sued by the industry leader and another competitor for patent infringement.  It took a while for the hype to yield to truth; but eventually it did, the stock cracked and the company was delisted. 

When Ron was putting together his Vail fundraiser for the rescue workers of 9-11, he got a number of the local leaders and long-term residents to help: Vail mayor Rod Slifer and his business partner Harry Frampton (slifersmithframpton.com; eastwestpartners.com); skiing legend Pepi Gramshammer (www.pepis.com); Vail co-founder Dick Hauserman, etc.  He even approached President Gerald R. Ford. Unfortunately, President Ford couldn’t attend, but Ron was invited up to his house in Beaver Creek to visit. (The secret service must have missed the fact that Ron was a well-known short seller when they cleared him. Or perhaps they decided to overlook it, since Ron was co-chairman of President Ford’s re-election campaign during Ron’s sophomore year at Yale.) During his visit, they talked about the President’s career, and how it was that he wound up going into public service after graduating from Yale Law School. Ron related that he had considered doing the same after graduating from Harvard Law, but that he went to Wall Street instead. Still, Ron wondered whether or not he should someday, perhaps when he retired from the hedge fund business. President Ford then gave Ron some fatherly advice: “Don’t. Instead, just enjoy your children, make a lot of money, and keep giving to charity.” It’s advice that Ron took to heart.

In 2002, Ron Pollack and his family became part-time residents of Vail, Colorado.  Ron became involved with the Vail Valley Foundation, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to enhance and sustain the quality of life in the Vail Valley of Colorado. 

While in Vail, Ron acted as Chairman for two fund raisers for the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project.  In partnership with the Vail Valley Foundation, he sponsored a performance of the “The Guys,” at the Vilar Center for the Arts in Beaver Creek. This acclaimed play focus on a fire chief struggling to prepare eulogies for all his men who were lost at the World Trade Center. For the second, he worked with the Bravo Vail Valley Music Festival on an event held in conjunction with a performance by the New York Philharmonic at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. Both fundraisers were successful and resulted in a number of additional rescue workers being sponsored to go through the detoxification program. 

One Vail-sponsored firefighter stated after completing his detoxification program “I have regained an energy level that I haven’t had for years! My memory is back and I sleep 8 hours every night without waking up every 2 hours. I am pain free and no longer have my “WTC cough”. I am no longer angry and short tempered. For me, the program was a HUGE success! I can’t thank Ron, the Vail Valley Foundation and the staff of the project enough for this incredible gift, MY HEALTH!” 

We asked Ron Pollack, short-seller and former hedge fund manager of the Dancing Bear (net short) Fund, to tell us about some of his experiences as a short seller. A lot of times as a professional investor, one is simply shorting stocks that are overpriced, but otherwise ok. But sometimes, the company shorted is truly a fraud, and to Ron, the profits from shorting those stocks is doubly sweet.

He recounted one story about a company who claimed to have a special process to recover and process oil and other minerals out of petroleum tar sands.  The company obtained the rights to develop the tar sands of a vast area in Canada, and was working on raising funds for its first processing plant.  The market opportunity for the company’s special process was huge, if it worked.   The truth was that the company’s special process did not work.   Through its research, Ron’s team discovered that no experts at the time would endorse the company’s special process — not even the consultant whom the company had hired to assess its feasibility!  The consultant, in fact, was livid because the company had put out, in press releases and public filings, statements that his work had proven the viability of the process, which he said categorically, it did not.  The company eventually collapsed after a series of negative news reports, including that of the SEC and FBI (in connection with a federal grand jury) were investigating the company for false statements and stock manipulation. 

Ron Pollack, short-seller and former manager of the Dancing Bear Net Short Hedge Fund, was moved by the events of 9/11 and wanted to help. Prior to retiring from the hedge fund business, he became actively involved with the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, whose purpose is to help the heroes of 9/11. During the rescue and recovery operations, tens of thousands of rescue workers received unprecedented exposures to toxic dust, smoke, gas and fumes; many have developed serious health effects as a result of these exposures. 

At the request of union officials and rescue workers, the detoxification project was established to help these men and women recover their health. All project services are provided on a humanitarian basis, at no cost. Ron took on the role of Chairman of the Fundraising Committee in 2002 and worked tirelessly to ensure that the project had the funds it needed to help those who came to it. As Carol Hamaker, Executive Director of the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project states, “Ron really stood up and took a leadership role to get our living heroes some help”. 

Ron himself sponsored many rescue workers for the detoxification program over the years. In a letter to Ron, the daughter of one of the many rescue workers that Ron sponsored wrote “My Dad had not been feeling well for months and his symptoms were only worsening despite his more frequent visits to doctors and increases in medication. He was not himself and it was disheartening to watch.  He lost eleven of his friends and colleagues of his firehouse on 9/11not to mention other firefighters he knew from other houses. He looked and acted old. He was pale and his mood and energy was overall down.  During his first days on his program we saw his mood brighten up. He seemed hopeful and excited. Each day my Dad improved. All of our spirits lifted and we were happy to see him getting back to his old self.  On the morning he completed his program he knew he felt “normal” again.  These were the best words he could have ever said.  Through Ron’s kindness and generosity he is giving so many people the best gift they could ever imagine; recovery, health and the best of all, hope! My Dad has been given back to us and we are all so grateful to him.”

Ron considers his participation in this project to be one of his greatest achievements. With his help, the project has been able to restore quality of life to nearly 1000 rescue workers. These recoveries have brought relief and hope to thousands more of their husbands, wives, children and colleagues. Today, the philanthropic effort that Ron brought life to has grown to include well over 150 foundations, corporations and individual sponsors.