Once again, Renaissance Technologies’ $9 billion Medallion International fund—for partners, employees and friends only—gave another staggering performance, while the funds it runs for investors are sucking wind. Medallion gained 41%-net of the hefty 5% management fee and 44% performance fee the firm charges—in 2009, which was something of an off year by Medallion’s lofty standards.
Its 2009 gain was its worst since 2004, when it was up about 25%. In 2009 the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund fell 6.10%-its third consecutive annual loss-while the S&P 500 gained 23.5%. Although the Renaissance founder stressed in a recent letter to investors that the fund’s goal is to provide diversification from equity indices, the investors don’t seem to be buying it. RIEF’s assets are down to about $4.5 billion from an all-time high of $28 billion in the middle of 2007.
--Stephen Taub
