Said Haidar, a hedge fund manager renowned for his high-leverage macro trading strategies, is enduring the most severe downturn of his career, with his flagship Haidar Jupiter fund posting a staggering 32.7% decline in 2024, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites an investor update seen by Bloomberg as revealing that the loss compounds the 43.3% decline recorded in 2023.
The fund’s assets have plummeted to approximately $818m as of November, a sharp fall from nearly $5bn two years ago reflecting client redemptions as investors sought to withdraw their capital, per separate investor communications, as well as significant investment losses.
Founded in 1997, Haidar Capital Management has built its reputation on a high-risk, high-reward macroeconomic strategy. Unlike many hedge funds that prioritise steady returns for risk-averse clients such as pension funds, Haidar’s approach emphasises substantial gains but carries high volatility. This strategy has previously delivered spectacular returns, including a 193% gain in 2022 and nearly 70% in 2021.
To recover from the cumulative losses of the past two years, Haidar Jupiter must deliver returns exceeding 160%, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Much of the fund’s losses in 2024 stemmed from underperformance in fixed income and commodities trading, as outlined in a November newsletter. Haidar noted continued challenges in the bond market, citing elevated global debt issuance and the prospect of steeper yield curves, while expressing cautious optimism about US equities driven by deregulation and increased M&A activity.
