Frederick S. Mates
Encyclopedia
Frederick S. Mates, aka Frederic Mates, founded in August 1967 the Mates Investment Fund, a high-flying mutual fund
during the 'Go-Go' 60s that later crashed in the bear market of the early 1970s. Mates ran his fund from an office he dubbed the "kibbutz" and with a young staff he called his "flower children". Mates put most of his fund into a letter stock known as Omega Equities. Mates in determining his funds assets assigned a value to the barely traded Omega of $16 a share, while having purchased the stock at $3.25 a share. Mates got into trouble over this practice which was routine in the 1960s and not uncommon even today, of accounting for letter stocks at a price different from what was paid for it. As a result, when confidence was lost in Mates' mutual fund and investors wanted to cash out, redemptions had to be suspended for a while, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission condoned.
The Mates Investment Fund was ahead of its time in one respect: it ostensibly promoted "Socially Responsible" mutual funds (not investing in armaments, cigarettes, or pollutants), which later was successfully promoted by the Calvert family of mutual funds.
Mates was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College
in 1954. According to a New York Times obituary, Mates died in Kansas City on December 30, 1982.
Mutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors to buy stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities.- Overview :...
during the 'Go-Go' 60s that later crashed in the bear market of the early 1970s. Mates ran his fund from an office he dubbed the "kibbutz" and with a young staff he called his "flower children". Mates put most of his fund into a letter stock known as Omega Equities. Mates in determining his funds assets assigned a value to the barely traded Omega of $16 a share, while having purchased the stock at $3.25 a share. Mates got into trouble over this practice which was routine in the 1960s and not uncommon even today, of accounting for letter stocks at a price different from what was paid for it. As a result, when confidence was lost in Mates' mutual fund and investors wanted to cash out, redemptions had to be suspended for a while, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission condoned.
The Mates Investment Fund was ahead of its time in one respect: it ostensibly promoted "Socially Responsible" mutual funds (not investing in armaments, cigarettes, or pollutants), which later was successfully promoted by the Calvert family of mutual funds.
Mates was born in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
in 1954. According to a New York Times obituary, Mates died in Kansas City on December 30, 1982.
See also
- National Student Marketing CorporationNational Student Marketing CorporationNational Student Marketing Corporation was the name of a high-flying company started by Cortes Wesley Randell, a young Washington, D.C. business consultant, in 1966 during the height of the 'Go-Go' 60s stock market. The corporation catered to the youth market and was touted by various Wall Street...
- Gerald TsaiGerald TsaiGerald Tsai Jr. was a financier and fund manager who pioneered the use of performance funds in money management during the 1950s and 1960s, and later turned a canning company into financial services giant Primerica...
- Cortes Wesley RandellCortes Wesley RandellCortes Wesley Randell, born in Washington DC, graduated from the University of Virginia with an engineering degree.In 1968 Randell took his company, the National Student Marketing Corporation , public. The corporation catered for the youth market and was touted by various Wall Street professionals...