LONDON- London-based Lansdowne Partners is closing its main hedge fund, a long-short strategy that manages $2.8 billion in assets under management, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The closure of the Lansdowne Developed Markets Fund follows losses of 23% in the January-June period. It earned returns of 1.3% in 2019 and losses of 7% in 2018, said the source.
Hedge funds that buy and short stocks, like the Developed Markets Fund, were down 5.7% in the first five months of the year, according to data from industry tracker Hedge Fund Research.
In a letter to investors, first reported by Institutional Investor late on Monday, Lansdowne said the restructuring would kick into effect on Oct. 1 and investors could shift their allocation to its Developed Markets Long Only Fund or the new Opportunities Fund.
The $1.12 billion long-only strategy was down 26.5% in the year to June 30, the source said. It made 18.6% in 2019 and lost 11.8% in 2018, according to data compiled by HSBC and seen by Reuters.
Founded in 1998 by Paul Ruddock and Steven Heinz, Lansdowne is one of Britain's oldest hedge fund firms.
(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Susan Fenton) ((Maiya.Keidan@thomsonreuters.com; 44 207 542 1594; Reuters Messaging: maiya.keidan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
