Hedge fund places faith in God

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Author: Hedgeweek.com

The credit crunch, which is still in full flow, has left many seasoned investors praying for a miracle. One of these investors, however, has decided to put money directly into the source of miracles - God.

If ever one needed a clarification of the investment strategies used by hedge funds, the time is now. Reports that leading hedge fund GLG has invested USD30m in a Christian version of YouTube are mystifying many as to where investment opportunities really lie in these uncertain times.

GLG, which is headquartered in London and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has reportedly injected the money in GodTube, owned by Big Jump Media, as part of a USD150m fundraising.

Run by co-founder and former CBS television producer Chris Wyatt, GodTube claims to be one of the fastest growing Christian online video-sharing and social networking sites and seeks to create an online Christian community. The site uses 'Broadcast Him' as its slogan, although the catchphrase 'Jesus 2.0' is also used extensively.

The site is reported to attract up to 2 million users a month and the website has uploaded more than 100,000 videos since its launch last August. This kind of activity suggests that GLG has first-mover advantage in a company and perhaps a sector that is set to attract interest from other investors.

GLG's move follows the success of other Web 2.0 sites like Facebook, which received a USD240m investment from Microsoft last year valuing it at an improbable USD15bn, and MySpace, which was acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for USD580m in 2005. So why not invest in a site which has God on its side?