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Hard times for value investing and short selling have led Griffin to shutter Blue Ridge Capital Management in a move reminiscent of his mentor’s 2000 closure.
Hedge fund veteran John Griffin’s decision to shut down his $6 billion Blue Ridge Capital Management made few ripples in the investment world when it was announced last week, the news having been overshadowed by the Bitcoin craze and the massive corporate tax cut winding its way through Congress.
Yet for more than two decades Griffin, an early protégé of hedge fund titan Julian Robertson, was viewed as hedge fund royalty, with returns to match. He eschewed the media spotlight, had been closed to new investors for years, and was known for being an exceptionally nice person in an industry full of sharp elbows and big egos.
“He is one of the most beloved people in the hedge fund world,” said one hedge fund manager, whose sentiment was shared by several others interviewed for this story. “He’s just a nice guy. He’s not full of himself in any way.”
With the current bull market showing no end in sight and technology companies leading the rally until very recently, some of Griffin’s peers said the closure of Blue Ridge seems to signify the end of an era. It is, they say, an eerie reminder of another era in finance:...