Chidem Kurdas
Andreas Halvorsen looks to be a winner through ups and downs. His Viking Global funds received capital from some big institutions this year, despite reports of people leaving the firm.
Plain old-fashioned long/short equity has not been the most popular strategy recently. Viking did better than other managers in the 2008 crisis but ran into trouble later. In 2010 co-founder David Ott resigned as chief investor officer. Since then HedgeFundAlert reported several departures from the firm.
This year clients showed their confidence in Mr. Halvorsen, the remaining founder. Viking started 2012 with around $13.5 billion in assets. Now it is up to $16 billion, making it one of the largest managers of long/short equity. Some clients added to their existing investment. Taking the past three years together, Viking returns are on the whole impressive, says an investor.
Messrs. Ott and Halvorsen started the firm in 1999, after working at Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management. Their style of stock investing is considered typical of Tiger cubs, as Tiger Management alumni are called. Now Mr. Halvorsen is in full control and its sounds like he wants things done his way.
Tags: Andreas Halvorsen, David Ott, HedgeFundAlert, Viking Global
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