Surf’s Down At Another Hedge Fund

The latest casualty in the hedge fund industry reportedly is Narragansett Asset Management.

The latest casualty in the hedge fund industry reportedly is Narragansett Asset Management. According to The New York Post, the New York-based multi-strategy investment firm has liquidated about 80% of its holdings and expects to return a “substantial” part of its $1 billion AUM to investors at the end of the month, after suffering from disappointing performance for the past two years. The Post says Narragansett’s returns stand at -2% through the end of August. It is unclear whether the losses are natural-gas-related. Founder Joseph Dowling has an extensive background in healthcare. After witnessing the losses at Amaranth Advisors is experiencing, investors at Narragansett should be glad they’ll get back a nice chunk, but The Post, citing sources, reports that the traders and other employees of the hedge fund are furious at the sudden announcement. There apparently was no warning, as Narragansett has re-opened to investors and collected some $250 million since last November. Meanwhile, the firm will not officially close, says The Post. Rather, Dowling, who has a passion for surfing, is going on an extended vacation of a year to 18 months and then will decide what direction the firm should take. “Toward the end of my sabbatical,” Dowling wrote in a letter to investors, “I expect to take a fresh look at our historic investment results and fine-tune my investment strategy and portfolio management before returning.”