Unmasking Holocene Advisors : A Hedge Fund Empire Built on Shaky Ground

By /

In the cutthroat jungle of Wall Street, where billions slosh around like cheap booze in a dive bar, Holocene Advisors LP stands out as one of those slick operators that promise the moon but deliver a fistful of dust. Founded in 2016 by Brandon Haley, a Citadel alum who cashed in his chips to launch his own gig, this New York-based hedge fund has ballooned to managing over $38 billion in assets. On paper, it’s a success story: sector-diversified, long/short equity plays, pulling in top talent from the likes of Goldman Sachs and Point72. But scratch the surface, and you find the kind of rot that makes you question if these finance wizards are guardians of wealth or just polished con artists dodging the spotlight.

Holocene pitches itself as a powerhouse, raking in returns while keeping a low profile. No flashy scandals plastered across the tabloids, no SEC witch hunts making headlines. Yet, when you dig into the associates and the bets they’re placing, the picture gets murkier than a back-alley puddle after a storm. This isn’t about wild speculation; it’s about the cold, hard facts that expose how these funds operate in the grey zones, where ethics are optional and accountability is a joke.

The Winston Feng Fiasco: When Transparency Goes Out the Window

Let’s start with Winston Feng, a former portfolio manager at Holocene who jumped ship to co-found Mass Avenue Global in 2020. Feng’s resume reads like a hedge fund wet dream: stints at Goldman, Point72, and then Holocene, where he honed his skills before striking out on his own. But fast-forward to May 2024, and the SEC comes knocking with a hammer. They slapped Mass Avenue and Feng with sanctions for feeding investors a load of bullshit in their monthly “tear sheets.”

These weren’t minor typos. We’re talking materially false and misleading info sent to at least 88 investors between 2019 and 2021. Positions that weren’t even held during the reported periods, top profit contributors that were pure fiction, and losing trades dressed up like winners. Hell, even the “snapshot” docs to 17 other suckers were laced with the same crap. The SEC called it a violation of antifraud provisions, and they weren’t wrong. Feng got hit with a $250,000 fine and a one-year suspension from the industry, while the firm coughed up $350,000.

Now, sure, this all went down after Feng left Holocene. No direct link to his old bosses, no smoking gun tying Haley or the fund to the mess. But come on, this guy was a key player at Holocene before he bolted. You don’t rise through those ranks without learning the ropes, and if the culture at these places tolerates cutting corners, it’s no shock when alumni take that playbook elsewhere. It’s the kind of shady dealing that erodes trust in the whole damn system. Investors pour in their life savings, expecting honesty, and get served a platter of lies. Outrageous? Fucking right it is. In a world where the little guy gets screwed daily, this is just another reminder that the big players play by different rules.

Feng’s background adds salt to the wound. He was plugged into elite circles, rubbing shoulders in the American Chamber of Commerce in China and Hong Kong. Asia-focused strategies were his jam at Mass Avenue, but when the facade cracked, it revealed a fund more interested in appearances than accuracy. And Holocene? They let him walk away unscathed, no public disavowal, no “we’re shocked” press release. Silence speaks volumes in finance, and theirs screams complicity by association.

The Cummins Connection: Betting Big on a Polluter

Speaking of dodgy associations, let’s turn to Holocene’s investment portfolio. As of the latest 13F filing for the quarter ending 30 June 2025, Holocene Advisors holds approximately 358,000 shares in Cummins Inc., valued at around $117 million. That’s no pocket change; it’s a new position, clocking in at about 0.29% of their massive portfolio. Cummins, the diesel engine giant, might seem like a solid industrial bet, but peel back the layers, and you’re staring at a company neck-deep in one of the biggest environmental scandals in recent memory.

Cummins didn’t just stumble; they engineered a full-blown emissions cheating operation. Back in December 2023, the US Department of Justice accused them of installing defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of Ram pickup trucks – over 630,000 engines rigged to bypass emissions sensors. These gadgets let the trucks spew out pollutants far beyond legal limits when not under test conditions. It’s Volkswagen Dieselgate all over again, but with American muscle. By January 2024, Cummins settled for a staggering $1.675 billion in penalties, the largest Clean Air Act fine ever. They agreed to repair or replace 600,000 engines, but the damage was done: air quality trashed, public health jeopardised, all for a competitive edge.

And here’s Holocene, snapping up shares in this mess. Why? Because in the hedge fund game, ethics are secondary to returns. Cummins stock might have dipped on the news, offering a “buy low” opportunity, but at what cost? This isn’t investing; it’s profiting off pollution. The settlement highlighted profound justice and equity issues, with communities choking on the fumes while execs count their bonuses. California officials called it out: Cummins knowingly harmed health and the environment by skirting emissions tests. Yet Holocene dives in, adding this to their holdings like it’s just another line item.

Questioning the Cummins Ecosystem: Ethics as an Afterthought?

This Cummins stake isn’t an isolated blunder; it’s symptomatic of a broader “ecosystem” where alternative ideas on ethical behaviour thrive. Cummins itself is the poster child: a company that built its empire on engines but couldn’t resist the temptation to game the system. Their scandal echoes a long line of corporate fuck-ups – from Enron’s accounting tricks to Big Pharma’s opioid pushes – where profit trumps planet and people. And now Holocene joins the party, investing in a firm fresh off a billion-dollar slap on the wrist.

But is this really surprising? The hedge fund world is riddled with players who view regulations as hurdles, not boundaries. Holocene’s clean record might just mean they’ve been lucky or low-key, but associating with Feng’s fallout and betting on Cummins raises red flags. Are they part of that ecosystem, where “alternative ethics” means bending rules until they snap? Investors deserve better than funds that chase yields from environmental villains. It’s not just about the money; it’s about the message. By holding Cummins, Holocene tacitly endorses a model where cheating pays off – until it doesn’t.

Think about it: Cummins’ defeat devices affected nearly a million vehicles from 2013 to 2023, pumping out excess NOx that contributes to smog, asthma, and premature deaths. The EPA and DOJ didn’t mince words – this was systematic deception. Holocene’s stake, even if small in percentage terms (around 0.19% of Cummins’ ownership), represents millions in capital flowing to a proven polluter. In a climate crisis era, that’s not savvy; it’s shortsighted and selfish. If this is the “long line” of ethical lapses in the Cummins orbit, Holocene’s involvement makes you wonder: how many more skeletons are in their closet?

Broader Implications: The Rotten Core of High Finance

Zoom out, and Holocene’s story fits a pattern in hedge funds: recruit sharp minds, promise alpha, but skim over the integrity bit. Brandon Haley, the Citadel vet, built this beast from scratch, attracting billions in AUM. Kudos? Maybe, but in a industry where 13F filings reveal bets on controversial companies, the gloss wears thin. No direct scandals for Holocene yet, but the Feng link and Cummins play paint a picture of a fund comfortable in ethically ambiguous waters.

It’s infuriating. While everyday folks scrape by, these funds juggle fortunes, occasionally dipping into the dark side. The SEC’s slap on Mass Avenue was a win, but it’s reactive, not preventive. And Cummins? Their fine might sting, but with annual revenues in the billions, it’s a speed bump. Holocene’s investment there? A bet that the market forgives and forgets. But we shouldn’t. This exposé isn’t about tearing down success; it’s about calling out the hypocrisy. If funds like Holocene want respect, they need to earn it – not by returns alone, but by steering clear of the scum.

In the end, Holocene Advisors might keep growing, but at what price? Investors, regulators, hell, even the planet – we all pay when ethics take a back seat. Time to wake up and demand better, before the next scandal hits.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Sources

Scroll to Top