Skip to main content

John Paulson: January Genius

Last month was kind to John Paulson
  • Author:
  • Updated:
    Original:

The wily old fox’s plan to put an ugly 2014 behind him by focusing on the one strategy that at least didn’t lose money last year is working. So far. For most of his funds.

Paulson & Co.’s Paulson Partners fund rose 1.1 percent last month, with a leveraged version rising 2.6 percent, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the results are private. The New York-based firm’s credit strategy rose 0.8 percent and the Advantage Plus fund was up 1.6 percent, said two separate people.

The Paulson Special Situations Fund, which had about $1.1 billion at the start of the year, declined 9.3 percent in January, in part because of investments in Greece.

Paulson Hedge Funds Mostly Rise in January After ’14 Losses [Bloomberg]

Related

Hedge Funds

Three-And-A-Half Feet Of Snow, Frigid Temperatures Can’t Cool Off John Paulson

Last month was good to JP.

Hedge Funds

John Paulson Had A Pretty Good May

(Getty Images)
Hedge Funds

John Paulson Can Lose Money Just Fine On His Own, Thank You Very Much

Guy Levy’s negative-return services are no longer required at Paulson & Co.

Hedge Funds

John Paulson Has Had Better Days

Hedge Funds

John Paulson Has A Plan

Hedge Funds

John Paulson Is Up

For the year beginning Dec. 1. Otherwise, things are not so good.

Hedge Funds

John Paulson Declares The U.S. Recovery Over

Hedge Funds

Paulson and Co Investor Finds New And Interesting Way To Kick John Paulson When He's Down

As Paulson and Co employees, clients, and people named John Paulson do not need to be told, the past year and half has not been the most joyous of times for the hedge fund giant. After making billions shorting subprime mortgages, the firm ended 2011 down 55 percent, was down 16 percent through the first half of 2012, and as of July, saw assets under management decline 44.9 percent to $21 billion from $38.1 billion, due to a combination of unfortunate performance and redemptions by investors so angry at the fund that they've felt the need to repeatedly tell anyone who will listen that parting ways with P&C was among the best if not the best decision they've ever made. One investor that hasn't had to consider voicing its unhappiness to the press or even worry about losing money at all? The 92nd Street Y. Last November Paulson guaranteed that he would personally cover their losses, whatever they turned out to be, come year-end. And the generosity did not stop there: for this one investor only, Paulson offered his services pro-bono, waiving all fees. So while he probably didn't expect representatives of the Y to rent a skywriting plane to proclaim their love and appreciation for him over midtown, lobby the city of New York to get 92nd renamed Paulson Street, or have his face tattooed to their chests, he probably also figured they wouldn't turn around and hit him the mother of all slaps in the face. In this case the declaration that despite the highly favorable terms of their arrangement, any involvement with P&C still felt a tad too risky for everyone's comfort level. In the midst of the financial crisis, the 92nd Street Y came up with a sweetheart deal for its endowment: investments in funds run by the likes of John Paulson, Marc Lasry, and other hedge-fund luminaries that were fee-free and guaranteed against losses. The strategy performed well for several years, said people familiar with how it worked, as the Y benefited from risk-free investing in some of the fund industry’s most successful strategies. But, concerned about the impact of a catastrophe in which a money manager couldn’t repay losses and eager to construct a more diversified portfolio, the Y recently opted to redeem its hedge-fund investments, these people said, and rebuild its financial strategy from scratch. Paulson himself is worth $15 billion, so a catastrophe in which he couldn't repay the Y's losses would have to be a big one. And don't give him some line about how you're pulling out of all hedge fund investments and it's not personal. You could have let him have this. Despite Sweet Deal, 92nd Street Y Redeems Paulson Money [CNBC] Earlier: John Paulson: I’ll Get The Losses This Year, Next Year We Go Dutch?