The number-one job of the hedge-fund manager is not to make sure that you can retire with a smile on your face - it’s for him to retire with a smile on his face.

Cuban’s line is a blunt reminder about incentives in finance. He frames the hedge-fund manager’s “number-one job” as maximizing the manager’s own outcome—fees, reputation, and personal wealth—rather than the client’s long-term security. The contrast between “you” retiring happily and “him” retiring happily underscores a potential conflict of interest: even when managers deliver strong returns, the structure of management and performance fees can reward asset gathering and risk-taking that may not align with an individual investor’s goals. The quote functions as a cautionary principle: investors should scrutinize who benefits most, understand fee structures, and prefer arrangements where the manager’s incentives are tightly aligned with the client’s.