For a firm the size of Citadel Investment Group, with more than $12 billion in assets under management, $75,000 seems like an insignificant sum to pay to find out what its competitors are up to. The question is, whether it’s worth it. Dow Jones Newswires reports that bankrupt hedge fund operator PlusFunds Group is requesting permission from a court to allow the Chicago-based Citadel to pay $75,000 to gain access to PlusFunds’ database of 40 hedge funds – information it gathered for the defunct Standard & Poor’s Hedge Fund Index. Citadel’s non-exclusive license could yield information on the trading history of such funds as Westport, Conn.-based Bridgewater Associates, London-based GLG Partners and Spain’s Vega Asset Management. Yet some observers say while Citadel may get to peek at competitors’ trading styles and methods, the information itself may be of limited trading value; the newest of the trading information is five months old and much of it dates back to July 2002. According DJN, PlusFunds is willing to share the database in an effort to raise money to help finance its Chapter 11 liquidation plan. PlusFunds, as you recall, fell apart because of its business ties with Refco, whose creditors started going after PlusFunds. That in turn led to mass redemptions, which led to the firm’s demise.
