There are no streetcars on Wall Street. Nevertheless, at Pershing Square Plaza, after which Bill Ackman's hedge fund is named, there is a risk of unexpectedly suffering a fatal accident - for example, if one were to be run over by a delivery truck.

Pie Truck Risk

The star hedge fund manager addressed what he calls «pie truck risk» in a recent letter to investors. At 56, the CEO says he is in perfect health, and getting «smooshed by a pie truck» is at present the most deadly risk he faces.

That's another reason why Ackman, who has expanded his hedge fund's assets under management from $500 million to $18.5 billion at last count since its founding in 2004 and also took Pershing Square public in 2014, has been thinking about succession. Now, he has taken the first step.

Ackman has handed off the chief investment officer (CIO) position, central to a fund firm, to Ryan Israel. The 37-year-old financial will now be responsible for positioning the hedge fund's billions profitably, a task for which the firm's founder sees him as ideally suited.

In the letter, Ackman praises Israel, as a once-in-a-generation talent. Coming from the investment bank Goldman Sachs, the new CIO has been working for Pershing Square since the age of 24.

A Heavy Lift

Internally, he is considered a star performer, as «Institutional Investor» reported. At the moment, however, he is also struggling with the headwinds that are currently hitting hedge fund managers hard. Ackman's funds have lost almost 11 percent of their book value since the beginning of the year, and Pershing Square's shares are trading below their intrinsic value, naturally a thorn in the side of a founder so used to success.

«Ryan is unafraid to challenge anyone including yours truly», writes Ackman, and the appointment should in no way be interpreted as him «heading for the hills. I love this business and intend to stay active until they carry me out, and I am a heavy lift.»