Dan Chung Rebuilt Alger Management After Losing 35 Staff on 9/11
Fred Alger Management's CEO survived 9/11 by chance, then rebuilt the decimated firm. He's still picking market winners today.
Dan Chung didn't plan to lead Fred Alger Management through one of the darkest chapters in Wall Street history — he survived 9/11 largely by chance. When the Twin Towers fell, 35 of his colleagues did not make it out. That's not a bad quarter. That's a firm nearly wiped off the map in a single morning.
What followed was reconstruction under impossible conditions. Chung, serving as both CEO and chief investment officer, had to rebuild not just the headcount but the culture, the process, and the client trust that a growth-focused boutique like Alger depends on. Most firms wouldn't have survived that kind of institutional trauma. Alger did.
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That resilience matters beyond the human story. It says something about Chung's investing discipline that he kept the operation running and kept finding winners in the market even after the firm's foundation was shattered. Growth investing — Alger's bread and butter — demands conviction and forward vision. It's hard to maintain that when you're grieving and rebuilding simultaneously.
Decades later, Chung is still in the seat, still running money, still hunting for the next breakout company. That kind of longevity in active management is rare. Most stock pickers flame out or get absorbed. Chung stayed independent and stayed relevant — a track record that starts long before the performance charts do.
If you're a retail investor wondering who actually has skin in the game and a battle-tested process, this story is worth your attention. Continue reading at US Top News and Analysis.
