When Genius Failed: 2008 Version

John Meriwether was enjoying his shot at redemption, running a billion dollars in a credit based hedge fund. You can't pin the blowup of Long Term Capital Management all on him, but he was a central figure in the most spectacular blowup before Bear.

He probably learned a lot from that experience; the only winners were those who scooped up Eric Rosenfeld's Burgundy collection at auction, and of course Goldman, who peeked at their sheets and then ran the stops.

But he did not learn enough:

JWM Partners LLC, the investment firm run by ex-Long-Term Capital Management LP chief John Meriwether, lost 24 percent in its $1 billion fixed-income hedge fund this year through March 14, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Meriwether's Relative Value Opportunity fund was hurt as bond managers such as Peloton Partners LLP and Carlyle Capital Corp. were forced to sell securities to meet margin calls, said the investors, who asked not to be identified because JWM doesn't publicly disclose returns. The Greenwich, Connecticut- based firm, which is selling holdings to reduce borrowings and lower risk, didn't have any loans called, they said.

``There's been a lot of forced de-leveraging,'' said Benjamin Sarly, head of marketing at Sanno Point Capital Management in New York, a relative-value credit fund. Bloomberg

He might survive this drawdown, and if not, the third time is bound to be a charm.

John Meriwether's Bond Fund Loses 24% on Credit-Market Plunge
Bloomberg

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