Electron Capital Partners, the hedge fund firm led by ex-SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Jos Shaver, has raised a new fund to make long bets in the infrastructure and utilities sectors.
The New York-based firm has raised more than $130 million for the Electron Infrastructure Fund and an equivalent domestic pool, according to regulatory filings. The long-only funds focus on the same types of infrastructure and utility-related stocks targeted by Electron’s long-short funds, according to a person with knowledge of the firm’s fundraising.
Electron Capital Partners declined to comment.
The hedge fund firm managed about $1.2 billion at the end of 2017, according to a regulatory filing. Electron’s investing strategy was run within Steve Cohen’s former hedge fund firm SAC Capital in 2008, yet the firm is not your typical ex-SAC operation.
The Electron Global Fund uses a long-short strategy targeting global utilities and infrastructure stocks — a sector focus that sets it apart. Many other former SAC portfolio managers who run their own firms focus on the recently hot internet and technology stocks that drove markets for the past few years.
[II Deep Dive: Suvretta, Electron Top Funds with Roots in SAC Capital]
The Electron Global Fund was up 1.4 percent for the first 10 months of this year, after losing about 3.5 percent in October, according to a private database. It was up about 15 percent last year.
At the end of the third quarter, the firm’s almost $1.2 billion U.S. equity portfolio was spread over just 19 stocks, according to the firm’s latest 13F regulatory filing. But two of the stocks accounted for nearly 30 percent of the assets: FirstEnergy Corp., an Ohio electric utility, and Exelon Corp., the utility and power generator.
In fact, Electron’s seven largest positions are all utilities. Five of the 11 largest positions were established in the third quarter, including NRG Energy and El Paso Electric, its fifth and sixth largest longs, respectively.
At the same time, Electron liquidated three positions in the third quarter, including Vistra Energy, its sixth largest long at the end of the second quarter. Vistra focuses on energy and power generation and is the parent company for TXU Energy and Luminant. In April, the company completed its previously announced merger with Dynegy.
