One year ago
»» Andrew Grossman, who was previously a senior trader of then-$2.49 billion Baltimore firm Chesapeake Partners Management, prepared to launch a hedge fund by July with the help of former Chesapeake analyst Michael Levitt. The duo launched LG Capital Management, based in Owings MIlls, Maryland, that August, and it now manages more than $20 million in an event-driven strategy, according to a person familiar with the firm. Levitt serves as portfolio manager.
LG is up 7% this year in the first quarter and produced a positive return in 2011, according to the person, putting it ahead of most event-driven funds (the median event driven fund in the AR database fell 5.21% in 2011, and was up 1.40% in the first quarter, according to early estimates).
Grossman did not respond to a request for comment. Event-driven Chesapeake has since dropped off AR’s Billion Dollar Club ranking.
Five years ago
»» Global hedge funds shot past $2 trillion in assets for the first time, up more than 25% from the previous year, according to HedgeFund Intelligence.
That was before the turmoil of 2008 resulted in a regression to $1.8 billion the next year. It was not until 2011 that hedge funds clawed back above $2 trillion, buoyed by two years of strong performance.
HedgeFund Intelligence will release its global hedge fund asset survey this Thursday in the annual Global Review.
»» BlueMountain Capital Management launched a new closed-end credit fund, one of a number of long-time-frame strategies from Andrew Feldstein’s then-$4.5 billion firm.
Dubbed BlueHorizon II, the instrument bought $88 million of synthetic CDO tranches. It opened and closed to investment in March 2007. With a ten-year lockup, the fund is barely halfway through its lifespan, and a BlueMountain spokesperson declined to comment on its performance.
The now-$6.4 billion firm’s more mainstream flagship credit strategy was up 3.3% through the first two months of 2011, compared with a 2.83% return for the AR Credit Index during the same time period.
See also: The credit correlation king • Credit hedge funds fish for gains
