(Bloomberg) -- Stephen Irvine, who left Balyasny Asset Management to start his own hedge fund about four years ago, is returning capital to investors.

His London-based Lijaro Asset Management is shutting its equity long/short hedge fund after two years of losses, according an investor document seen by Bloomberg. The firm, which managed more than $600 million in 2022, had seen its assets fall to $207 million by the end of January.

“Given the reduction of assets under management of the Lijaro Funds and the prospects for raising further capital, it has been determined that the investment program of the Lijaro Funds is no longer viable,” the firm told investors last month. It began redemptions on March 31. 

A spokesperson for Lijaro didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

The hedge fund joins a string of single-strategy peers to close as investors migrate toward multistrategy hedge fund giants that offer relatively stable and diversified returns. More than 3,000 hedge funds have shuttered over the last five years, exceeding the number of launches, according to data tracked by Hedge Fund Research Inc.

Irvine was head of Balyasny’s London office until 2019 and started trading for his own hedge fund focused on the industrial and cyclical sectors the following year. In 2022, his firm received investments from the Employees Retirement System of Texas and PAAMCO.

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