It wasn’t a particularly good year for Boston Red Sox owner John Henry on and off the field. Not only did his baseball team fail to make it back to the World Series (do I hear one-hit wonder as champs?), but his hedge funds also struck out big time. According to Brett Arends in the Boston Herald, John W. Henry & Co. lost more than $60 million as a result of 10 of his 11 funds losing money. Even his financial and energy funds, in a sector that struck gold for other firms, ended down 16%. So, what happened? Henry chief investment officer Mark Rzepcznynski blamed these “significant reversals” on “economic events that were not predicted by market professionals”, such has Hurricane Katrina or winds blowing growth rates in another direction. That, however, doesn’t explain how other hedge funds got it right; it seems it’s just the luck of the bet. Arends quotes a profound insight from Mr. R: “We have strong confidence that the future will be unpredictable.” Duh.
