(Bloomberg) -- Hedge fund manager David Einhorn is having a happy 2019 after suffering his worst year ever.
The main fund at Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital gained 1.3% this month and is up 18% for the year, according to an investor update seen by Bloomberg. His -investing strategy is having its best start to a year since 2009, client documents show. The fund plunged 34% in 2018.
For now, it’s a welcome vindication of sorts for Einhorn, who has seen Greenlight’s assets shrink as investors pulled their funds. The manager has rejiggered his portfolio to take fewer, more-concentrated bets. His New York-based firm, which oversaw $12 billion at its peak, ran $2.5 billion at the start of the year.
Greenlight has gotten a boost from this year’s stock market. The S&P 500 Index posted its best month since January, jumping 7.1% with dividends reinvested, and it’s soared 19% in 2019. The HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, rose about 1.5% this month through Thursday, bringing year-to-date returns to 4.1%.
General Motors Co., Greenlight’s biggest public U.S. stock holding, rebounded this month after losses in May wiped out gains for the year. The shares surged in June, bringing year-to-date returns to 18%. The hedge fund’s three next-biggest public stock holdings -- Green Brick Partners Inc., Aercap Holdings NV and Brighthouse Financial Inc. -- have also posted double-digit gains this year. Consol Coal Resources, Greenlight’s fifth-biggest equity position, has handed investors 7.4% with dividends.
On the short side, Einhorn has had another winner in 2019 with his wager against Tesla Inc., whose shares have fallen 33% amid growing skepticism about consumer demand for the company’s electric vehicles. But the money manager has also shorted a group of momentum-driven technology stocks including Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc. Those companies have posted double-digit rallies this year.
A representative for the firm declined to comment.
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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