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The Brexit Short
Article

The Brexit Short

How Hedge Funds Used Private Polls to Make Millions

Cam Simpson, Gavin Finch and Kit Chellel
Bloomberg Businessweek , 2018
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Controversial
  • Analytical
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

Having an information edge is essential for hedge funds. Thus, according to this revealing article by financial journalists Cam Simpson, Gavin Finch and Kit Chellel, a select group of funds took advantage of private poll information and gained a crucial upper hand as the final decision came down on the Brexit vote on June 23, 2016. The events surrounding that evening make for a fascinating and instructive read on the opaque environment in which these investment firms operate. getAbstract recommends this fast-paced cautionary tale to investors, traders and observers of the political scene. Caveat lector.

Take-Aways

  • The release of what turned out to be “specious” exit poll data on the 2016 Brexit vote provided an opportunity for the enrichment of a select few. 
  • Nigel Farage, the UK Independence Party leader, conceded defeat for the Leave campaign a few minutes after the polls closed, despite his knowledge that a private poll indicated the opposite result. 
  • Preemptive access to private poll results informed a number of hedge funds of a much closer contest between Remain and Leave than public surveys indicated. 

About the Authors

Cam Simpson, Gavin Finch and Kit Chellel are journalists at BloombergBusinessweek.

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