Jonathan Hoenig and The Objective Standard—Lawbreakers No More

The Objective Standard aided and abetted lawbreaker Jonathan Hoenig for more than a year—but we are now in the clear.

Hoenig, a.k.a. “Capitalist Pig,” has purchased a back-cover advertisement with The Standard since the summer of 2012 to promote his hedge fund business. But, as Peter Sterne reports for the New York Observer, from 1933 until July 10 of this year, hedge funds were “prohibited from advertising to the general public.” Sterne explains:

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted . . . to let hedge funds advertise to the general public, and hedge funders are cheering—none more so than Jonathan Hoenig.

Mr. Hoenig, an outspoken Objectivist—a follower of Ayn Rand’s philosophy—and the manager of Capitalistpig Asset Management, believes the SEC’s restrictions on hedge fund advertising were unfair.

“For 80 years, pornographers, cigarette companies and firearms manufacturers could advertise, but not hedge funds,” he told The Observer in an email. . . .

Last year, his Capitalistpig Hedge Fund became the first fund ever to run an advertisement, with a full-page ad in Crain’s Chicago Business. The fund also placed ads in The Objective Standard, a quarterly journal of Objectivist philosophy. Of course, these ads were technically illegal, but the SEC ignored Mr. Hoenig’s civil disobedience.

Jeff Macke interviewed Hoenig on the topic for Yahoo’s Breakout blog.

Congratulations to Hoenig for this vital victory. And godspeed to him as he fights other regulations of his business—so that he can make massively more money for his clients and himself.

Like this post? Join our mailing list to receive our weekly digest. And for in-depth commentary from an Objectivist perspective, subscribe to our quarterly journal, The Objective Standard.

Related:

• Economics in Atlas Shrugged
• Toast the Re-Legalization of Homebrewing

Image: CapitalistPig.com

About Ari Armstrong

Ari Armstrong blogs at AriArmstrong.com, and he has written for publications including the Denver Post and Complete Colorado. He is the author of Values of Harry Potter: Lessons for Muggles, a book exploring the heroic fight for life-promoting values in the Potter novels.

View all articles by Ari Armstrong →