Note: This is not financial advice.

Hedge fund colossus Tiger Global Management is fighting for its life. Its public stock funds have lost between 50 and 64% this year, vaporizing billions.

---

Get the blog before anyone else…subscribe!

---

From a report that broke last night in the Financial Times:

Chase Coleman’s hedge fund Tiger Global ended the second quarter nursing heavy losses amid a tech stock rout that has caused performance across one of the world’s largest hedge funds to plummet.

A long-only fund the firm manages ended the second quarter down 63.6 per cent after fees, according to a letter sent to investors seen by the Financial Times, while the firm’s flagship fund ended the first half of the year down 50 per cent after fees.

Tiger’s public stock funds managed $35 billion at the end of last year, per the Financial Times.

This puts the firm’s losses in stocks for the year at a bare minimum of $18 billion. Those losses could be much larger depending on the relative size of the flagship and long-only funds, which is not publicly reported.

This comes in addition to massive losses in private tech startup shares:

A “crossover” strategy fund, which blends Tiger’s publicly traded and privately held investments, shed nearly 37 per cent on a net basis in the first half of 2022.

After huge losses like this, the brutal math sets in. Hedge funds have to make back all of their losses before they can start charging performance fees again.

Hedge funds generally charge a 2% management fee and take 20% of all investment gains. That 20% performance fee is how hedge fund billionaires are made.

Without those juicy fees, it’s hard to keep talent.

Tiger’s long-only fund will have to triple before it can charge a performance fee again. Even if it posts solid 10% annual returns, that will take 11 years.

Even the flagship fund has to double its capital before those fat fees kick in. How many aspiring masters of the universe want to wait that long?

Worse yet, Tiger has cut its management fee to just 1% through December 2023. It also cut its performance fee to just 10% until it not merely makes up all its losses but posts significant gains.

This lack of fees will make it hard to get and keep good people. Why not just jump ship to a fund that isn’t so far underwater, or start your own?

I expect Tiger will close the long-only fund. It’s just too far gone.

As for the flagship fund, perhaps they’ll fight their way back to even with a skeleton crew. I wish them luck — it won’t be easy.

Tiger’s massive losses show the risk of heavily concentrated bets. Going all-in on a single sector with a small number of stocks can result in disaster.

Tiger’s investors would’ve done better to buy a low-fee index fund like the Vanguard ones I own. It’s hard to outsmart the market.

What do you think the future holds for Tiger and other hedge funds? Leave a comment at the bottom and let me know!

More on markets:

AMC’s 9 Million Missing Shares

Wall Street Banks Turn on Each Other as Federal Probe Looms

Investors Pull $28 Billion from Hedge Funds

Get the blog before anyone else…subscribe!

If you found this post interesting, please share it on Twitter/Reddit/etc. This helps more people find the blog! 

Save Money on Stuff I Use:

Fundrise

This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.

More on Fundrise in this post.

If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!

Misfits Market

I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!

I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.

Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order.