Bacon: we’re not short Greece
SECRETIVE hedge fund Moore Capital has become the second asset manager to publicly declare it is not betting on a sovereign default from Greece.
Louis Bacon’s group, which looks after £9.5bn in assets, told investors in its flagship macro fund it was counting on concerted action from other Eurozone countries to rescue the ailing nation.
In a letter, the New York-based firm said: “We are expecting the European authorities to move beyond uninformed blame-casting and begin bailing out Greece… We are positioned with a net long duration exposure to Greek bonds which explains a drag on performance to date.”
The update follows press reports suggesting certain London and US-based hedge funds were shorting gilts from struggling Eurozone countries. Greek and Spanish ministers have also lashed out at speculators for destabilising the region by shorting the euro.
Moore Capital’s announcement is similar to a note put out by European giant Brevan Howard Asset Management days ago, which confirmed it had no short positions in Greece, Italy or Portugal. Brevan Howard said it had carried “no meaningful exposure” through bonds or credit default swaps since December.
Meanwhile, Moore Capital is reported to be seeking office space in Asia. It joins a list of firms including Soros Fund Management looking to capitalise on the area’s rapid growth.