(Bloomberg) -- Pelham Capital, a hedge fund specializing in betting on and against stocks, is in its deepest slump since its launch about 15 years ago as the sell off in equity markets accelerates.
The firm’s main Pelham Long/Short Fund plunged about 7% in April, worsening its loss this year to 28%, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That comes after a 12% decline in 2021.
The fund’s biggest full-year decline previously was 13.7% in 2018, an investor letter shows. The London-based firm, part owned by Petershill Partners Plc, managed about $5 billion in 2020 with most of the money in the flagship fund.
Pelham’s losses reflect a widespread struggle at hedge funds which bet on stocks, with the biggest players delivering some of the worst returns in years. That has been partly due to the collapse of technology shares. Among the most high-profile losers are Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management with the tech rout helping to erase $16 billion from its hedge and long-only funds.
It’s not clear what led to Pelham’s losses in April. The fund had declined by a record 18.5% in January, with the result driven entirely by its long positions.
A spokesman said the firm continuously keeps its clients updated about performance and declined to comment further.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Petershill unit has a stake in Pelham, which was started in 2007 by former Lansdowne Partners money manager Ross Turner. The firm also runs the Pelham Long/Short Small-Cap fund that it started in 2015. Its affiliate Pelham Global Financials Ltd. manages another fund focused on financial sector stocks.
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