| Eric Mindich, Eton Park Capital Management (Bloomberg) |
Eton Park Capital Management picked up in October where it left off at the end of the first quarter. In fact, it fared better last month than a number of other major multistrategy hedge fund firms, which were mostly flat or down slightly in October.
As a result, 2015 is shaping up to be a very good year for the New York–based firm, founded by Eric Mindich, who established his reputation while working on the risk arbitrage desk at Goldman Sachs, where at the time he was the youngest person ever named partner.
According to sources, Eton Park posted a very strong 4.5 percent gain last month and is now up 9.2 percent for the year. This stacks up well with other large multistrat funds.
For example, Chicago-based Citadel’s multistrat funds, Kensington and Wellington, were flat in October, remaining up 12.15 percent for the year. New York–based Highbridge Capital Management’s flagship fund was flat for the month and remains up about 3.3 percent for the year. Israel Englander’s Millennium International fund, managed by New York-based Millennium Management, was down about 0.4 percent last month, trimming its gain for the year to 9.65 percent or so.
Mindich got off to a fast start this year. The firm’s main portfolio rose between 7.03 percent and 7.14 percent in the first quarter, depending on the share class, while its total portfolio, which includes what the firm calls special investments, rose between 5.71 percent and 5.8 percent.
The various classes of the main portfolio gained slightly in the second quarter and were up between 7.9 percent and 8.1 percent for the year, excluding what the firm calls special investments.
The classes of funds that include these private or thinly traded investments rose between 6.5 percent and 6.6 percent through the first half.
Over the first half of the year, Eton Park told clients that gains were broad based, “with positive contributions from all regions and strategies.” Most of the portfolio’s first-half gains, though, came equally from two of its five strategies: equity long-short and derivatives, and market strategies.
Drilling down further, one can see that three of its five biggest winners in the second quarter came from outside the U.S.
Eton Park’s funds were down in the third quarter, however, due in part to the sharp correction in global stock markets, particularly in Japan, which tumbled about 14 percent.
However, Eton Park smartly reduced some risk entering the third quarter, lowering its credit exposure and exiting several long Chinese positions.
In October, gains were driven by U.S. equities as well as Japan.
Eton Park’s funds posted gains of between 5.6 percent and 6.4 percent in 2014 after rising 22 percent in 2013 and 13 percent in 2012.
The firm is up 14.5 percent over the most recent 12-month period and 10 percent since its inception in 2004.
