|
Tiger fund may liquidate
|
 |
March 29, 2000: 4:13 p.m. ET
Tiger Management to close Jaguar Fund, according to industry sources
|
NEW YORK - (CNNfn) Influential hedge fund Tiger Management is liquidating its flagship Jaguar Fund because of poor performance and may shut down all of its operations by the end of the week, sources said Wednesday.
Jaguar Fund, run by veteran Wall Street hedge fund manager Julian Robertson, had soared for years until growth stocks started dominating the market, industry experts said.
"It's hard to say what happened, but Robertson was always a value investor," said Michael Ocrant, editor of the newsletter Mar/Hedge in New York. "Was the strategy flawed, or was the strategy flawed in terms of the current marketplace? Only time will tell."
The fund had suffered sharp losses for over a year. It was down 7.8 percent in February and 13.8 percent year-to-date as of Feb. 29.
The fund's assets plunged from roughly $20 billion in 1998 to about $6.5 billion, analysts said. The fund will likely transfer those assets to one or more hedge funds in an attempt at an orderly exit, people dealing with the fund said.
Among the fund's biggest holdings include U.S. Airways (U: Research, Estimates), Sealed Air (SEE: Research, Estimates), Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates), Royal Bank of Scotland and Samsung.
Both U.S. Airways (U: Research, Estimates) and Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) were off in late afternoon trading amid talk of a shutdown.
Shares of U.S. Airways closed down 7/16 at 25-7/16 and Intel ended 3-13/16 lower at 131-7/8.
Frazier Sitel, a spokesman for Tiger Management, refused to comment on the rumors of a liquidation.
"Tiger doesn't comment on market rumors," Sitel said. "But Tiger Funds itself is not in trouble."
Tiger Management was once a high-flying hedge fund that roiled Asian markets with its large currency bets. Robertson is among the most influential hedge fund managers in the industry.
In a February letter to investors, Robertson said performance has suffered this year, but asked investors to bear with him, giving no indication of plans to shut down.
Investors in the fund told Reuters they have received no notification of any plans to change the company's operations. 
-- from staff and wire reports.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
