- The hedge funds to watch in 2020 are a mix of big names, newcomers looking to make a splash, and a long-time industry player giving it another shot.
- Newcomers include former Viking chief investment officer Ben Jacobs and his planned fund Anomaly Capital, as well as former Cantor Fitzgerald boss Shawn Matthews’ Hondius Capital.
- Big-name macro managers like Brevan Howard will be in the spotlight thanks to the tricky geopolitical puzzle posed by 2020 and the closure of long-time macro player Louis Bacon’s Moore Capital.
- Still, the realities of the industry have hit both big and small funds. Industry experts — like billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller — expect the manager count to continue to shrink.
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Investors are fleeing the hedge fund industry, pulling out billions more every quarter than they are putting in.
But there are still managers who are thriving, as well as big names that are re-entering the space or picking it up again after a tough stretch. Despite the tough launch environment, new funds are popping up with promising pedigrees and big backers.
Still, the realities of the industry have hit both big and small funds. Industry experts — like billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller — expect the manager count to continue to shrink.
Returns have largely underwhelmed investors thanks in part to the increasingly efficient public markets, which have forced more funds to dive into the murkier private space, where returns can jump sky-high and then be cut down in record time.
The managers to watch in 2020 are all battling the same headwinds — they are just attacking it from their own perspectives.
Cinctive Capital
One of the biggest launches of 2019, Cinctive Capital is trying to break into the ultra-competitive multi-strategy space where funds like Millennium, Citadel, and Point72 battle for talent and assets.
The founders of Cinctive of course know this, with ties to many of the biggest names in the industry. Rich Schimel and Larry Sapanski worked for billionaire Steve Cohen at Point72’s predecessor SAC before founding their own fund, Diamondback, in 2005.
Diamondback grew to nearly $6 billion in assets but was targeted by federal authorities as a part of the insider trading crackdown that forced Cohen to leave the industry for two years. One Diamondback portfolio manager was convicted of insider trading, but the charge was overturned on appeal. The bad press, though, forced Diamondback to close.
Schimel then worked for Ken Griffin at Citadel, leading the now-closed Aptigon …read more
Source:: Business Insider
