The Acquirers Podcast · Thursday, September 10, 2026
Zeke Ashton highlighted his success in protecting capital during the 2008 financial crisis and recouping losses by September 2009 for both his hedge fund and mutual fund. He contrasted this with the broader market, noting that the S&P 500 took about five years to recover to pre-crisis levels.
“And so, my finest moments, uh, both in the hedge fund and in the mutual fund was in 2008 and 2009 when we managed to protect capital very well in 2008, and then we made it all back in 2009, um, by about September, October, for both of those funds, um, where many people, people who invested in the S&P 500, for example, didn't get back to even sustainably for about five years.”
“So, um, it was just one of those things where that's the moment where understanding risk, having risk management, and then in the hedge fund being able to short, um, was one of the few times in my career that I was really glad to be short.”