A Hedge Fund Hunts for Greece's Hidden Gems

George Elliott is used to being treated as a curiosity. As founder of Naftilia Asset Management, the financier is raising money for a hedge fund that plans to buy nothing but Greek stocks. In March he met in London with an investment manager who within seconds of sitting down made it clear that he had no interest in wagering on Greece. He just wanted to hear about the hedge fund’s strategy, Elliott says.

Elliott responded by asking a few questions of his own, including whether the money manager had invested in Russia after its 1998 currency crisis, in Argentina 10 years ago after the nation defaulted on its debt, or in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index in March 2009 when the benchmark plunged to its lowest point in 13 years. In all cases, the answer was no. “Then you are not qualified to be discussing Greece with me because you have missed the best investment opportunities over the past 20 years,” Elliott says he retorted.