NEW YORK, Jan 17th, 2002 (Reuters) - Monroe Trout, one of the world's most successful hedge fund managers, plans to retire from the money management business and will hand the reins of Trout Trading Management Co.Ltd. over to its CEO.
The 39-year-old hedge fund manager leaves the firm after it posted a 13.6 percent gain in 2001 because he wants to spend more time with his family, the firm said on Thursday.
Last year, the average hedge fund rose 4.4 percent.
Matthew Tewksbury, Trout Trading's chief executive officer, will take control of the $3 billion Bermuda-based hedge fund on April 1. Tewksbury, 32, is already running the day-to-day business and Trout will continue to act as a consultant for the firm.
Trout has delivered one of the industry's most enviable records, posting an average annual gain of 21.5 percent with no losses since he started the firm 14 years ago.
Trout Trading trades currencies, bonds and stocks around the world.Its founder leaves the industry just as so-called global macro hedge funds are delivering the types of out-sized returns that made them famous years ago.
In 2001, global macro funds topped all other strategies with an 18.4 percent gain while the average hedge fund returned 4.4 percent, according to the CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund Index.
Global macro funds turned in a dismal performance in 2000 when the industry's biggest players, George Soros and Julian Robertson, both suffered big losses.
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Trout is also leaving at a time many high profile hedge fund managers are closing their doors. Last year, Bowman Capital's founder Larry Bowman said personal preferences and market pressures led him to close down his fund.
But in Trout's case "this has nothing to do with bad performance, quite the opposite," a source close to the firm said on Thursday.
Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service
