WEST PALM BEACH, FL (www.hedgeco.net) – The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation said it will liquidate two of its hedge funds bringing to an end investments in such strategy according to companystatements. The two funds are worth about $540 million according to the released information. The two funds are managed by the Minneapolis-based American Express Asset Management; knowledgeablesources said the liquidation is resulting from poor performance in those vehicles.
No further details were provided about the type of strategies which the funds are using, hedge funds continue to attract new investors regardless, but returns have somewhat declined during the first half of 2005. Hedge fund analysts however believe that hedge funds may still post positive returns for the remainder of the year.
Many hedge funds utilizing the convertible arbitrage strategy suffered some losses following the downgrading of Ford Motors and General Motors bonds to near junk status last month. It is unclear if the Ohio Compensation Bureau funds were invested in such strategies. According to reports by the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, the Bureau closed its account with the Arlington, Texas-based Rupay-Barrington Capital Management on December 31st, 2005. Bureau officials were not immediately available for comments on the reports.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
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