Top Hedge Funds Raise Big Bucks Amidst Turmoil

Date: Thursday, October 30, 2008
Author: FINalternatives

Like most of their hedge fund brethren, Steven Cohen, David Einhorn and Paul Singer are facing redemptions. Unlike other hedge funds, however, they are able to replace it.

Faced with investors withdrawing big chunks of change, the high-profile hedge fund trio have reopened funds long closed to new investors and have raised billions of new dollars to replace the unhappy investors heading for the doors. Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. has raised $3 billion in the third quarter, and plans to raise another $1 billion, Bloomberg News reports.

Of course, it’s easier to raise new money when you are making money, as is Elliott, which has returned about 6% this year. Likewise, Brevan Howard Asset Management’s Brevan Howard Macro Fund, which is up 17% this year, has more inflows than outflows, according to Bloomberg.

By contrast, Cohen’s SAC Capital Management and Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, which are down this year, are leveraging their reputations to bring in new money. Greenlight is seeking several hundred million dollars this year for three stock funds that have been closed to investors for almost three years. Cohen is planning to open his SAC Capital International Fund for the first time in three years in January.