Laurion Capital Closes $1.1B Macro Fund
Jul 19 2016 | 11:39pm ET
Ben Smith’s Laurion Capital Management has shuttered a large macro hedge fund amid losses and offered investors the option of transferring their capital into one of Laurion’s other funds.
Macro hedge funds, which bet on broad strategic trends within equity, bond, currency and commodity markets, have been under pressure for much of the past 18 months as a series of low-probability/high-impact events, such as China’s devaluation of the yuan last summer or June’s Brexit vote in Britain, create significant volatility around general market direction.
The fund, named the Laurion Capital Global Markets Fund, was launched in 2012 and managed some $1.1 billion when it closed, according to Reuters citing unidentified individuals familiar with the matter. Although it is unclear exactly when the fund shut down, it had lost 4.6% through the end of April, Reuters noted.
Investors in the fund were reportedly given the option to move their capital into Laurion’s flagship fund, which generally follows the same approach as the Global Markets Fund but with less volatility.
Headquartered in New York, Laurion was founded in 2005 by Smith and Sheehan Maduraperuma, both former equity derivatives traders at JPMorgan. The firm managed $3.1 billion at the end of June, according to Reuters, $200 million of which is reportedly from New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury.
from FINALTERNATIVES
