Chidem Kurdas
In recent months a couple of large funds of funds allocated to London-based Comac Capital, a global macro manager that has established a solid track record in the past five years. One fund of funds invested $100 million with Comac, which has grown to around $5 billion in assets.
Founded by Colm O’Shea in December 2005, Comac made over 30% in 2008, even as hedge funds as a whole lost about 19%. Although its performance slipped in 2009, the Comac Global Macro Fund is favored by institutions because the strategy has done well in the long term and is liquid, with monthly redemption.
Many hedge funds allow only quarterly redemption. Funds of funds were squeezed in 2008 between managers who suspended redemptions and investors who demanded their money. Those that have capital to invest are now more focused on the liquidity issue than they were prior to the 2008 crisis.
Mr. O’Shea is an alumnus of Soros Fund Management, Balyasny Asset Management and Citigroup. Like other global macro managers, he trades a wide variety of instruments on the basis of broad economic trends.
Besides funds of funds, Comac also got money directly from institutions. P&I reported last August that the $116.5 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund allocated $100 million to Comac Global Macro. It seems that $100 million investments are becoming routine for this manager.
Tags: Colm O’Shea, Comac Capital, George Soros
HedgeFundSmarts 
January 29, 2013 at 9:41 pm
[…] Comac made around 30% in 2008 even as hedge funds as a whole lost about 19% and markets went down much […]