A decision to increase bets on Russian stocks just prior to the country’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine resulted in big losses for a BlackRock hedge fund, according to reports by Bloomberg and BusinessInsider.
The investment firm’s Emerging Frontiers Fund dropped 10 per cent in February, its worst trading loss since inception over a decade ago, and is now down 7 per cent for the year to date, according to the reports, which credit the information to unnamed sources and an investor document seen by Bloomberg.
The fund’s long Russia bet accounted for 9 per cent of its total gross assets of USD960 million, but it now has zero exposure to the county after writing down all of its positions.
