Louis Bacon is down 2% this year through June. What really puzzles me is why former hedge fund stars like him have been performing so poorly throughout this 8-year stock market rally? Shouldn't it be a breeze for them to earn money? It's not just S&P500 that is performing superbly. It's a global stock market rally. Germany's DAX Index made >10% year to date. Asian indices like Singapore Straits Times Index and Hong Kong Hang Seng Index have made >14% year to date. Why is it so difficult for these former stars to make money in a bull market? What has changed in today's markets that cause former stars to lose their Midas touch? http://nypost.com/2017/07/13/bacons-moore-capital-fires-workers-amid-hedge-fund-woes/
Because they have not been getting 5% risk free like before 2009? Even i used to get a noticeable return in my IB account before 2009, enough to cover a good chuck of the commissions i paid them each year.
Value investing (looking for companies who's market value is less than the intrinsic value of their projected dividend yield) does not work when your stock moves not because of changes in the company's prospects but because Mama yellen just announced another round of QE/Low IRs etc...
The Market is never stupid; The market is Always perfect and genius -- as it should be and is, There are only dumb/Losing traders and smart/Winning traders...Where you choose to fall along that spectrum is at your discretion,
Harder for hedge fund managers to hide positions with the transparency rules of today. Also hedge funds can under perform in bull markets due to losses in short positions.
Someone pointed out to me prior that you really have to look at their risk adjusted returns, not absolute returns. I still don't quite understand risk adjusted returns.
no volatility, and a one way market driven by a few large, arguably overvalued tech names. hedged positions, shorts, backing away from junk debt at near record low spreads, and concerns over debt build up will lead to underperformance.