RE: Decisions...7 Jul 2020 23:28
Anything to do with us?
(Bloomberg) -- Lansdowne Partners is shutting its main hedge fund in a shift away from short-selling after being hit by some of its worst-ever losses.
The London-based investment firm is closing the $2.8 billion Lansdowne Developed Markets Fund, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Investors could withdraw their money or move it into the Lansdowne Developed Markets Long Only Fund or a new LDM Opportunities Fund, which will invest in early-stage companies, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
The firm will continue to bet against companies in some of its other funds.
A spokesman for Lansdowne Partners declined to comment.
The move marks a dramatic retreat by one of the world’s most famous equity long/short hedge funds, and comes after poor performance in both rising and falling markets. The firm’s main hedge fund is run by Peter Davies and Jonathon Regis, and tumbled 13% in March’s rout, the biggest monthly decline since it started trading almost two decades ago. It was down 23.3% in the first half of the year, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg.
Years of poor returns have led to outflows from the firm, with its assets dropping to $9.8 billion in June from a peak of nearly $22 billion.
The firm has told investors that it’s become harder to make money with short bets against companies, and it’s finding more opportunities in long bets and investment in early-stage companies, the person said.
Lansdowne was already managing more money in its long-only funds than in other strategies. At the start of March, only about 45% of the firm’s assets were in long-short money pools.
The news of Lansdowne’s fund closure was reported earlier by Institutional Investor.
(Adds background, fund details starting in fifth paragraph)
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