(Bloomberg) - Macro hedge fund manager Edouard de Langlade suffered his worst monthly loss after holding on to his Russian equity bets as the country began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
His EDL Global Opportunities fund, which was off to its best start to a year since launching in 2015, erased the gains and plunged about 11.2% last month, according to investor letters seen by Bloomberg. In response, the firm had been cutting risk in its trading book, de Langlade said in an interview. While the fund still has some exposure to silver, it’s working on unwinding its small U.S. fixed income bets at better prices, he said.
“I am observing the situation while taking a small break to clear up my mind,” de Langlade said. “Then I will trade around” to build the portfolio and confidence, he added.
EDL, which managed $784 million at the end of January, is among money managers blindsided by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine last month. The aggression led to a wave of sanctions, which left many Russian assets untradeable and also sparked volatility in the rates market. U.S. and European bond yields fell sharply on demand for safe haven assets.
EDL had exposures to Russian stocks coming into the month and lost the most on a single day of trading on Feb. 28 when the full scale of the war and sanctions sent shock waves across global markets, the letters show.
While some macro peers such as Rokos Capital Management and Brevan Howard Asset Management made money, a number of hedge funds with exposure to Russia, such as funds run by H2O Asset Management and Pharo Management (UK) LLP suffered double-digit declines.
The money manager previously traded for Moore Capital Management before starting EDL. His previous biggest monthly loss at EDL was 5.34% in September 2020, while his best month returned 13.45% in July that year, according to a letter to investors. The fund manager has made money every year since starting except for a 0.2% loss in 2018.
By Nishant Kumar
