New York Times – Ritchie Capital Management, a $2.8 billion hedge fund based in Geneva, Ill., is close to an agreement to sell the assets in its flagship multi-strategy fund for about $1 billion,said a person briefed on the negotiations. Ritchie would continue to manage the assets.<\/p>\n
The deal comes after a year of turmoil for the fund. Two months ago, management presented a restructuring plan to investors in an effort to stave off mass redemptions resulting from poor performance, regulatory investigations and concerns about the value of some of the funds\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 holdings. Investors approved the plan, which has now been nullified by the potential sale.<\/p>\n
Ritchie was founded in 1997 by A. R. Thane Ritchie, a star tight end and linebacker in college football who nearly made it in the pros. The fund uses a variety of strategies, including investing in small loans to risky companies, reinsurance, private equity and stocks.<\/p>\n
Ritchie\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s zigzagging performance comes at a time when many multi-strategy hedge funds, buoyed by a year-end rally in stocks, are posting strong returns. The relative value arbitrage index \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a benchmark often used to examine multi-strategy funds \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009d returned 10.81 percent through November, according to Hedge Fund Research.<\/p>\n