Making a Mint: how a scientist, statistician and businessman mixed.

Making a Mint: How a scientist, statistician and businessman mixed

When history recounts managed money events, it will say Mint Investment Management Co. happened due to the relative factor.

For it was Peter Matthews' brother-in-law who got him interested in futures trading, then

Matthews, Hite and Michael Delman make up Mint, a partnership that started in 1981 and now manages almost $1 billion in commodity funds and pools. Approximately 65% of that money is in offshore pools open to non-U.S. investors only.

In 1988, Mint was up 13.2% for the year -- nothing spectacular compared to other funds but impressive when linked to its eight-year composite record that averages a compound annual return of almost 29%. By far the Mint group's best year was 1987, when it had a 60% return.

The trading system essentially runs on automatic pilot. If the statistician, the scientist and the businessman wanted to spend their days at the beach, they literally could. Only when the system signals a trade would they be bothered to approve it. The position then is implemented by the staff at E.D.&F.Man, which owns 50% of Mint.

The other 50% is owned by the Mint trio, who are quite different except for an important common element: risk aversion.

Except for infrequent meetings at Man offices in New York's World Trade Center, the three typically work apart: Matthews in Virginia, where he continues to work on studies; Delman in New Jersey, where he tests the studies, and Larry Hite in New Jersey and New York, marketing the funds and spewing forth ideas.

Brains of the operation

Matthews sees Hite as the right side of the brain -- the conceptual thinker -- and Matthews as the left side -- the analytical type. Delman is "further to the left...most rigid, most resistant" to change, Matthews says.

Delman considers Hite "the motor of the company...the deal maker. He produces a 100 ideas a week."

Matthews concurs.

"Larry has the general idea, I figure out if it has any practical significance whatsoever, and Michael puts on the finishing touches to make sure we can see on the computer that this is real," Matthews explains.