Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey has stopped taking new money into three of his funds claiming it has become much more difficult to trade in current market conditions
Odey has hogged the headlines in recent weeks both for the spectacular performance of his funds and also for the fact that ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng used to work for him.
The Odey European hedge fund, as well as the OEI MAC and Odey Swan funds, are no longer taking in new money though existing clients can still add to and withdraw from their holdings.
Odey European’s value rocketed on short bets against sterling and UK government bonds, which got a huge boost after the chaos sparked by his former employee’s mini-budget.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the fund's value had risen by 193% in the past 12 months compared to a gain of 140% prior to Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget on 23 September.
In a letter reported in Financial News, Odey said the move was to "protect the interests of our existing investors ... and to provide the best opportunities for fund performance in the future".
The three funds have been closed to keep their assets "within a level that does not compromise our ability to maintain the strategy's risk/reward profile, and consequently performance," the letter added.
Odey told reporters he “did not want a whole lot of people coming in on the basis of very high returns, they might get disappointed."
"It is a much more difficult market, there are lots of things that are cross-currents today," he added.