OrganizationHedge FundValue Investing

Global Speculation LP

Glen Bradford's hedge fund — 3 vintages, 300+ Seeking Alpha articles, and the thesis that started a 12-year crusade.

The Story

It started in a garage in Kentucky. Around 2006-2007, Glen Bradford and his friend Doug Hall began building Excel financial models — no Bloomberg terminal, no Wall Street pedigree, no formal training. Just spreadsheets and stubbornness.

Glen taught himself to trade through E-Trade, TD Ameritrade, and Schwab, eventually graduating to Interactive Brokers. He started publishing investment analysis on Seeking Alpha, building a public track record one article at a time. He was also active on InvestorsHub and GuruFocus — anywhere he could find people who took deep-value investing seriously.

That self-education became Global Speculation LP: a deep-value hedge fund that ran three vintages from approximately 2008 to 2013. Along the way, Glen published over 300 articles on Seeking Alpha and developed an expertise in preferred stock structures that would change the trajectory of his entire career.

The defining moment came when that preferred stock expertise led him to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac junior preferred shares. What began as a deep-value trade became the central investment thesis of Glen's life — and the foundation for 12+ years of activist investing, 8 Fanniegate books, and a shareholder coalition that fought the US government.

Timeline

2006-2007

The Kentucky Garage

Glen and Doug Hall start building Excel financial models in a garage in Kentucky. No Bloomberg terminal, no Wall Street connections, no MBA. Just spreadsheets, curiosity, and an internet connection.

2008

First Trades

Self-taught through E-Trade, TD Ameritrade, and Schwab. Learned by doing — reading SEC filings, building models, placing real trades with real money. Eventually graduated to Interactive Brokers.

2008-2013

Three Fund Vintages

Global Speculation LP ran three vintages. Real K-1s. Real convertible notes. Real preferred stock certificates. A young fund manager learning the hardest lessons in real time with real capital.

2008-2013

300+ Seeking Alpha Articles

Glen published over 300 articles on Seeking Alpha, building a public track record of investment analysis. Also active on InvestorsHub and GuruFocus. Every thesis was public, every call was on the record.

~2010

The GSE Thesis

Deep-value analysis of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac junior preferred shares. What started as one trade idea became the central investment thesis of Glen's life — and the foundation for everything that followed.

2013

Fund Closure

Global Speculation LP closed its doors. The fund was over, but the thesis wasn't. The preferred stock expertise, the SEC filing skills, and the conviction about the GSE trade were just getting started.

2013+

Transition to Activism

The GSE thesis evolved from a trade into a cause. 12+ years of activist investing, 8 Fanniegate books, the Investors Unite shareholder coalition with Tim Pagliara, and a fight that continues to this day.

What Made It Different

Self-Taught

No finance degree, no Wall Street internship, no family connections. Glen taught himself to trade through E-Trade, TD Ameritrade, Schwab, and Interactive Brokers. Built Excel models in a garage. Read every SEC filing he could find.

Deep Value Focus

Global Speculation LP was built on deep-value investing — finding securities trading far below intrinsic value and having the patience to wait. Preferred stocks, convertible notes, distressed situations. The unglamorous end of the market where the real opportunities hide.

Radically Transparent

300+ public articles on Seeking Alpha. Every thesis published. Every call on the record. In an industry built on secrecy, Glen operated in the open. InvestorsHub, GuruFocus, public comment threads — the analysis was always available for anyone to scrutinize.

The GSE Thesis

The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac junior preferred stock thesis wasn't just a trade — it became a 12-year mission. From fund position to activist cause, the GSE thesis defined the fund's legacy far more than any return ever could.

Contrarian Conviction

Buying what nobody else wanted. Publishing analysis that challenged consensus. Running a hedge fund from Indiana, not Manhattan. Global Speculation LP was contrarian from its name to its final position.

The Legacy

The fund itself ended in 2013. As an investment vehicle, Global Speculation LP is a closed chapter. But the thesis it produced — the GSE preferred stock trade — refused to stay closed.

That one thesis evolved into a 12-year crusade: 8 Fanniegate books documenting the government's seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac profits, the founding of the Investors Unite shareholder coalition alongside Tim Pagliara, lobbying efforts in Washington D.C., and an activist investing career that continues to this day.

Global Speculation LP didn't produce a billionaire. It produced something rarer — a thesis that someone was willing to fight for across more than a decade, through federal courts, congressional hearings, and eight books that most publishers would have rejected. The fund died. The conviction didn't.

Why It Matters

Global Speculation LP is where the story starts. Every thread of Glen Bradford's career — the Fanniegate books, the activist investing, the Investors Unite coalition, the Seeking Alpha body of work, the SEC filing expertise — traces back to a garage in Kentucky and a hedge fund that a self-taught trader had no business starting.

If you want to understand why someone would spend 12 years fighting the US government over preferred stock dividends, this is where you start. Not with the courtroom or the coalition or the books. With the garage, the spreadsheets, and the conviction that the numbers were right even when nobody else agreed.

Get Glen's Musings

Occasional thoughts on AI, Claude, investing, and building things. Free. No spam.

Unsubscribe anytime. I respect your inbox more than Congress respects property rights.

Keep Exploring

Coalition