© BM By Svea Herbst-Bayliss (BM) – Hedge fund manager John Paulson, whose multibillion gain on a bet against the overheated housing market ten years ago has turned him into an industry superstar , will stop managing money for outside clients and transform his business into a family office. “After careful consideration and careful consideration, Paulson & Co. will convert to a private investment firm and return all capital to external investors,” the 64-year-old manager wrote in a letter seen by BM The news was expected for quite some time after Paulson & Co’s assets dwindled, senior employees left the company and performance was mixed. Paulson himself alluded to the move to a family business, in which the wealthy only invest their own fortune, in a podcast early last year. Now he joins a number of prominent fund managers – Carl Icahn, George Soros, Stanley Druckenmiller – who have all returned money from strangers and freed themselves from the pressure of sending quarterly letters to clients, from the discussing with clients about great positions and always being attached to the office. . Paulson called his 26 years as a fund manager “rewarding” and said he was proud of its performance and that the company has been at the forefront of investing in global events ranging from housing crisis to many block mergers. He plans to remain active in the markets, the letter said, without revealing how much money will be returned to customers and whether his company, headquartered in midtown Manhattan, could downsize or downsize its offices. “Even big investors stumble, and when they do, they realize how much they enjoy dealing with outside investors’ questions and withdrawals. Family office life, unlike family life, is often less filled with drama, ”said University professor Erik Gordon. from Michigan. A spokesperson for Paulson could not be reached for comment. Bloomberg first signaled the move. In early 2020, Paulson & Co oversaw $ 10.7 billion in assets and noted in a regulatory filing that many funds were 100% owned by Paulson himself, suggesting that many external clients had already left the company. ‘business. Paulson, a soft-spoken manager with a courteous manner, rose to fame when he won $ 4 billion on the subprime bet in 2007 and repeated with a payout of $ 5 billion in 2010 on takeover bets economic. In 2011, his company managed $ 38 billion and Paulson was a regular speaker at industry conferences and invited to charity events. He donated to favorite causes and got involved in Republican politics somewhat. Central Park, where he often jogs, received $ 20 million and Harvard University, where he graduated in business, $ 400 million five years ago. Still, Paulson kept a low profile by turning down most interviews and refusing to discuss big investments on television. Some of those bets didn’t work, and many clients left after losses on Sino-Forest Corp and drug companies like Valeant. The company shrank further when employees such as Samantha Greenberg, Sihan Shu, Dan Kamensky, James Wong and Michael Barr left.
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