Part 6/9:
Just as Medallion found its footing, personal tragedy struck Simons when he lost his son in a cycling accident. In the face of this heartache, he channeled his grief into his work, intensively focusing on advancing Renaissance and its trading operations.
His drive for improvement led to a hiring spree that included experts Robert Mercer and Peter Brown, who significantly advanced the fund's trading algorithms and allowed it to tackle stock investments—an area Simons had steered clear of previously.
With their help, Medallion achieved phenomenal returns, including a staggering 98.5% in 2000, showcasing that the mathematical models were not just operationally sound but also extraordinarily effective in capitalizing on market inefficiencies.