Pink Slips Fly on Hedge Row
Posted by: Matthew Goldstein on October 15, 2008
It’s been a bad year for hedge funds, with many posting their worst performances in years and wealthy investors threatening to redeem their money by year’s end. Now here comes another sign of distress in the $1.9 trillion hedge fund universe: layoffs.
On Oct. 14, two big hedge funds delivered pink slips to dozens of employees. Perry Capital recently laid-off up to 10 employees in the funds’ stock trading group. An even bigger shakeout occurred at Ramius Capital, where 40 staffers were pushed out. The downsizing was first reported by Hedge Fund Alert, an industry newsletter. A spokesman for Perry Capital, commenting on the layoffs says, the fund “sees unprecedented opportunity in the global credit markets that requires fewer equity professionals.’’ A Ramius spokeswoman, without commenting on the layoffs, points out the fund recently made several key hires in its credit trading group.
