Erez Kalir

Erez Kalir
Sabretooth Capital Management

In May, Erez Kalir, co-founder of multistrategy hedge fund firm Sabretooth Capital Management, was one of 17 speakers at the Ira Sohn Investment Conference. Held in New York, this annual event — where financiers are invited to present investment ideas to raise money for charity — is known for attracting some of the hedge fund industry’s biggest names. Among the headliners this year were activist investor Carl Icahn and Cerberus Capital Management founder Steve Feinberg.

But it was Kalir, 39, who, in a presentation that included an analysis of why to invest now in troubled bond insurer MBIA, gave one of the best talks. Although the Rhodes scholar is able to match more-lauded investment pros blow by blow, Kalir prefers the company of policy wonks and academics or George, his rescued dachshund, who can be found in the offices of Sabretooth, which Kalir and fellow Rising Star Craig Perry launched in 2009.