Friday, March 7, 2008

Saracen Energy Hedge Fund Lost 22% in February on Gas Trades

We've got another potential "Quote of the Day".
From Bloomberg:

Saracen Energy Partners LP, a Houston-based energy hedge fund, lost as much as 22 percent last month because of wrong-way bets on the price of U.S. natural gas, two investors said.

The fund, founded by Neil Kelley, slumped as much as 32 percent in January and February, according to the investors who declined to be identified because the information is private. Messages left for Kelley through his assistant weren't returned. Allison Duensing, a spokeswoman for the fund, didn't respond to e-mails and messages left on her phone and with colleagues.

``In general a drop of about 20 percent in a month is down to poor risk management,''
said Chris Goekjian, chief investment officer of London-based Altedge Capital U.K. Ltd., which invests in hedge funds. ``Funds shouldn't have such big positions, especially when liquidity is relatively low across most markets these days.'' Altedge isn't an investor in Saracen....MORE