Jim Chanos, one of Wall Street’s best-known bears, is shutting his hedge funds after nearly four decades, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Chanos rose to prominence for his contrarian bet against Enron, the energy trader that collapsed in 2001, and made a fortune in the process. The legendary short seller has also waged an unsuccessful campaign against electric vehicle maker
Tesla
(ticker: TSLA). Shares of
Tesla
—one of the world’s most valuable companies—are up about 90% so far this year.
“The marketplace for what I do has changed,” Chanos said in an interview with the Journal. He expects to return most of his investors’ cash by Dec. 31. While Chanos will continue to operate his firm, he will focus on advisory and research work for select clients and running certain separately managed accounts.
Chanos & Co., which he founded as Kynikos Associates in1985, plans to return capital to investors by the end of the year, according to a letter to clients Friday. Kynikos Associates was named after the ancient Greek word for “cynic.” Chanos & Co. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
The firm manages less than $200 million, down from $6 billion in 2008, and its funds are down 4% so far this year, the Journal reported. The
S&P 500
(SPX), meanwhile, is up about 18%, including dividends.
“It is no secret that the long/short equity business model has come under pressure and interest in fundamental stockpickers has waned,” Chanos wrote in the letter, per Bloomberg. “While I am as passionate as ever about research and investing, I feel compelled to pursue these passions in a different construct.”
Chanos is no stranger to Barron’s. A 2002 cover story, “The Bear That Roared,” detailed his turbulent career—and how he gained notoriety as a 20-something Wall Street analyst after he recommended in 1982 that investors sell shares of the then-successful annuity company Baldwin-United. Chanos proved naysayers wrong when Baldwin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 13 months later, the report said.
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