Clarium Treading Water YTD After Tough October

Peter Thiel sure got a lot right early this year, but the gaudy 58% year-to-date gain he sported around Memorial Day has been incinerated, and while he still has among the best numbers in Hedgistan, he also ain’t making any money:

Clarium Capital Management LLC, the hedge-fund firm run by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, slumped 18 percent in October, its biggest monthly decline, because of losses on bonds.

The firm’s Clarium LP fund reported a year-to-date loss of about 3 percent, wiping out the 58 percent gain it made in the first half, according to estimates given to investors. Bloomberg

Thiel looked a bit bedraggled during his Charlie Rose appearance roughly a month ago; understandable, there is a lot of that going around. Haggard or not, Thiel has a few weeks left to pull out his year, and given he does not charge a management fee, had better roll up the sleeves and hit it hard.

After all, hedgies gotta eat too....
________________________________________________

Update: Apparently the reporters got the story wrong, Clarium bought domestic equities heavily at the end of September and got crushed (losing nearly 30% in the trade before closing it) on the move that was at least temporarily levered long. They were basically flat equities at the end of the October. Their other positions, including short commodities and fixed income (relative value??) made were profitiable, but it was not enough to make up for the misstep. Perhaps they will continue to focus on fixed income, where folks like Perry Capital are concentrating their efforts.

Stocks kill!

Thiel’s Clarium Hedge Fund Declines 18% in October
Bloomberg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The content contained represent the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

Comments:

<< Back to main