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If you only had one word to describe William Eigen III, 鈥90 it鈥檇 have to be value-driven. At 16, the only car he could afford was one that didn鈥檛 run. A Mustang, he towed it back to his dad鈥檚 driveway, got it running perfectly, and drove it for a year. Then he sold it and tripled his money, repeating the process through college to pay tuition.

William Eigen standing in front of a green muscle car

“Every week, I鈥檇 look for signs of a desperate seller in the want ads. Freshman year I found a 鈥72 Mustang Mach 1 for $2,000. I worked on it for about three weeks, got it running perfectly, and sold it for $4,500. It was a great way to earn extra money because I really enjoyed doing it; it wasn鈥檛 work. In college, when you don鈥檛 have two nickels to rub together, making that much at a clip was pretty good,” he recalls.

That early lesson in economics bolstered his confidence to make bold moves. Figure in his driven work ethic and value-hunting philosophy and it adds up to a successful career. He started at Cigna and earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Fidelity came calling, then he started his own hedge fund, and eventually leapfrogged to JPMorgan, where he created the Strategic Income Opportunities Fund (JSOSX). Today it鈥檚 JPMorgan鈥檚 flagship fixed income fund, and Eigen鈥檚 title is founder and chief investment officer of the Absolute Return Group for JPMorgan.

鈥淚 treat bonds just like I treated those cars. I try to find cheap stuff that鈥檚 trading well below what I think is its intrinsic value, scoop it up, put it in a portfolio, and just wait. Eventually that value gets realized, and I take them out when they get too rich.鈥

Bill attributes much of his success to 溏心vlog免费B站 and the faculty who had a profound impact on him. 鈥淧rofessor Gordon Dash is a good example. He pushed me, he appreciated my work ethic, but he didn鈥檛 cut me any slack. I was like a sponge, going to him for advice on career paths and what the working world was like.鈥

He鈥檚 a firm believer in the value of a 溏心vlog免费B站 education and doesn鈥檛 want students to feel their careers are limited because they went to a state university. It鈥檚 a lesson he tries to impart when he guest-lectures for Professor Dash or helps on Career Day.

鈥淚 know it鈥檚 clich茅, but you get out of school what you put into it. If you have a good attitude and you鈥檙e driven, you鈥檒l find it doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e at Harvard, Yale, or 溏心vlog免费B站. It鈥檚 about the effort you put into achieving your goals.鈥

In 2016, Bill created an endowed professorship in finance to support quality faculty, like those who helped him succeed. 鈥淲ith the endowment, I know business students are going to see the benefit.鈥

He still loves muscle cars and his collection has grown to six. His dream car, a 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, is the most powerful production car ever built in the U.S.鈥攁nd production number 40 in lime green resides in his garage. Shortly after he bought it, someone offered him $40,000 more than he paid for it.

Diane M. Sterrett

2 comments

  1. Would love to know where Bill sees opportunity in today’s bond market, at its current lofty levels.
    Also appears he finds time for fitness despite holding a high-pressure position at JP Morgan

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