As reported by The Wall Street Journal, prominent short-seller Jim Chanos is closing down the hedge funds he manages after nearly four decades in the business. Chanos gained fame for his contrarian bet against Enron that proved correct when the energy trading company collapsed.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Chanos’s firm, Chanos & Co., currently manages less than $200 million, down significantly from a peak of $6 billion in 2008. His funds are down 4% so far in 2023, while the S&P 500 is up 19% over the same period, including dividends. Shares of Tesla, one of Chanos’s long-term short, have risen over 90% this year, and the electric vehicle maker is now one of the world’s most valuable public companies.
He expects to return the majority of his investors’ capital by December 31st.
Our Thoughts
Chanos’s struggles likely stem from a combination of more knowledgeable retail investors enabled by free online information, making the short-selling strategy he helped pioneer increasingly difficult.