I'm guessing the money manager was able to get some new client funds because of his ability to put his money where his mouth is. 'I put my own money in this' is a strong argument. If it gained him $500m in funds at 2% fee, then a 1 mil losing bet is covered by new accounts in year 1.
And it's great to see the $1M is actually up around $1.7M at this point. Hopefully it continues to grow before it gets donated to charity.