Mindich, 49, said he plans to return 40% of all investors’ capital by the end of April and that the fund’s other investments would take longer to unwind over the “coming months,” with some taking even longer. Partners and employees of the fund are the firm’s largest investors, Mindich said.
In a letter sent to investors on Thursday, founder Eric Mindich wrote:
“A combination of industry headwinds, a difficult market environment and, importantly, our own disappointing 2016 results have challenged our ability to continue to maintain the scale and scope we believe necessary to pursue our investment program consistent with our founding principles. … We have made the very difficult decision to return your capital, from a position of relative strength.”
A copy of the letter was reviewed by Business Insider.
Mindich’s New York-based fund was considered one of the largest hedge fund launches when it started in 2004 with $3.5 billion. Mindich had worked at Goldman Sachs and is thought to be the youngest person to have made partner at the bank, doing so at 27.