Flagship Odey Hedge Fund Fell 7% in June as Inflation Bets Waned
Flagship Odey Hedge Fund Fell 7% in June as Inflation Bets Waned
(Bloomberg) -- Crispin Odey’s flagship hedge fund lost 6.8% in June as the firm struggles to replicate its stellar first quarter.
The dip at the Odey European Inc. fund came after bets on inflation reaped gains in the first three months of the year, according to an investor document seen by Bloomberg. That included a 38% return in February when highly leveraged bets against government bonds paid off.
A 5% fall in April and 2% gain in May means the fund is now up 44.8% overall this year. But with losses in five of the last six years, Odey would still need to generate more than a 100% return for investors to recoup losses since the start of 2015.
After getting burned by betting against stocks in booming markets, Odey is now calculating that a post-pandemic economic recovery will fan inflation.
“For now, what we see is an inflation shock which will go much higher,” Odey wrote in a May investor document seen by Bloomberg, which criticized Boris Johnson. “We have a prime minister who is only too happy to spend money.”
A spokesman for Odey declined to comment on the documents.
The hedge fund manager, who stepped down from running his eponymous firm to focus on trading, has faced public scrutiny for years for his stunning losses and support for Brexit campaign. More recently, he battled accusations that he sexually assaulted a young banker more than two decades ago. He was acquitted in March.
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