Russell Clark, the prominent short seller who took a step back from the hedge fund world three years ago, is coming out of retirement to launch a new hedge fund, hoping to capitalise on the market turbulence caused by President Donald Trump’s re-election, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Clark, based in London, is in discussions with investors to raise capital for his new hedge fund firm, Brumby Capital, which will focus on stocks and bonds, leveraging Clark’s macroeconomic insights. He plans to begin trading as soon as next month, according to an interview he gave recently.
This move comes at a time when global risk assets are facing significant volatility, contributing to losses among some of the largest hedge funds. President Trump’s aggressive approach to global trade – particularly through tariffs on both allies and rivals – has sparked a sharp sell-off in stocks, while bond yields and gold prices have climbed amid mounting concerns over the global economy’s stability.
“Trump has really thrown the market into disarray,” Clark, 50, told Bloomberg News. “We’re likely to see his re-election mark a cyclical and secular peak for asset markets, at least in the US.”
Clark believes the current environment – marked by rising tariffs, increasing military spending in Europe and Japan, shrinking tax bases, and structural inflation – will lead to a scarcity of capital. As a result, he expects interest rates to rise significantly beyond current levels.
“I’m primarily focusing on shorting US assets because it’s the US that’s going to face the most difficulty,” he explained.
Clark also highlighted opportunities in trading China’s technology stocks, which have benefited from political backing, compared to their US counterparts, which have faced growing challenges such as tariffs and strained international relationships. He also pointed to trades like long positions in gold and shorts on the S&P 500 and US Treasuries as particularly promising.
Before closing his previous hedge fund in 2021, Clark was one of the last short sellers willing to make contrarian bets in a market that largely defied expectations, supported by central banks’ loose monetary policies. His decision to wind down his fund followed a modest 2.6% decline in returns for the year and a significant drop in assets – from $1.7bn in 2015 to around $200m.
