Some of the legendary Wizard of Wall Street’s so-called Tiger Cubs were cut down to size last month, suggesting even the best and brightest in the hedge fund industry have been unable to tame today’s treacherous markets.
Tiger Cubs are fund managers who trained under Julian Robertson of Tiger Management, who was known for generating average returns of 25 percent a year for more than 20 years.
Lee Ainslie, for example, saw his Maverick fund drop nearly 19 percent in September alone. What’s more, Ainslie’s Maverick Leveraged fund, which makes greater use of borrowed money, dropped a whopping 35.5 percent for the month, The Post has learned.
Tiger Global, which returned 71 percent after fees last year, dropped 14 percent last month, while Steve Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital declined close to 15 percent in September, sources said.
Other former highfliers also are hurting. Jeffrey Gendell, known for returns over 100 percent twice this decade, saw his Tontine Partners fund down 66 percent through Sept. 30, according to data reviewed by The Post. Meanwhile, Gendell’s Tontine Capital Partners fund is off 31 percent.
To be sure, the biggest names in the profession are expected to bounce back.
But for some, the volatile market has been too much. Such is the case for Mark Sellers, who runs a small energy fund Sellers Capital.
After posting eye-popping returns of 65 percent in the first half of the year, the 40-year-old Sellers alerted investors last month he was closing shop and retiring from the profession.
“I truly love the art of investing, but managing people’s money has taken a large toll on my demeanor and psyche,” Sellers said in a letter obtained by The Post. “I feel downright miserable.”
Sellers, who put a lock on redemptions, plans to liquidate the fund over the next year or two.