Nehal Chopra has been sprinting ahead of the pack most of her life. She became a top-ranked youth tennis player growing up in Mumbai, and received an MBA from Wharton while most of her peers were getting their bachelor's degrees.Before she was 30, she persuaded billionaire Julian Robertson to seed her hedge fund firm Ratan Capital Management. Since 2009, Chopra has averaged 19 per cent annual gains by betting on companies in upheaval, almost triple the industry average.To her supporters, including Robertson, she's a brilliant stock picker. But, she has plenty of detractors too. Former employees and prospective investors say her management style has cost Ratan talent and prevented it from expanding beyond $750 million in assets.Potential clients have passed because of failures to keep employees and concerns that her concentrated bets could lead to losses. Another concern, according to three prospective investors: That she shared investment ideas with her husband, Paritosh Gupta, who runs a competing hedge fund."She's a demanding person," said Robertson, founder of Tiger Management. "She is still a young person. Some of them have a lot of things to work into their lives."Chopra is a Tiger seed, a term for managers who get start-up money from Robertson in exchange for a stake in their businesses. Tiger cubs, who also frequently get money from him, are those that worked for Robertson, including Chase Coleman of Tiger Global Management. As the only woman managing money in a community of 30 investors that Robertson has seeded, Chopra isn't a typical Tiger protege.Chopra pitched Robertson after meeting him at charity events. The billionaire was impressed by her academic pedigree and tennis prowess. After growing up in Mumbai, where she attended Fort Convent and Sydenham College, Chopra graduated in 2002 from Wharton.Robertson said she scored highly on a test given to Tiger seed candidates that aims to measure qualities including intelligence, critical thinking and the ability to fit into a familial setting.Chopra started Ratan in 2009. The Tiger Ratan Capital Fund has made money every year since. The fund last year gained 47 per cent. "She is a vicious competitor, she is a winner," said Robertson, who initially gave $25 million to help start Ratan and now has $100 million with her.