Investing

Mystery Hedge Fund Bolsters 500% Return on Curious Nasdaq Stock

From faraway Kazakhstan, an obscure brokerage says it scores hot U.S. IPOs.

The Esentai Tower, home to the headquarters of Freedom Holding.

Photographer: Vadim Zhakupov/Getty Images

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Six thousand miles from Wall Street, in the ancient Silk Road city of Almaty, lies the private redoubt of a little-known financial empire.

Inside the members-only T-Club, two cockatoos, Grisha and Silvia, keep watch. Above a bronze samovar, a flat screen television shows the proprietor’s corporate crest: a green “F” on a green shield.