Pequot Capital Management is coming to an end, closing the book on two decades of hedge fund history. Arthur Samberg, at one point the biggest hedge fund manager in the world, is closing the company as a result of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) insider trading investigation.
At its peak in 2001, Pequot had $15 million in assets under management. By November 2008, it was only $4.3 billion ... and $3.47 billion as of May 15, 2009, according to a regulatory filing.
In June, investors are expected to receive "a significant amount of cash," as Pequot intends to raise $2 billion by divesting the holdings of the Pequot Partners, Pequot International and Pequot Endowment funds. The Special Opportunities and Matawin funds will become separate entities. The former has an estimated $600 million in assets, with approximately $450 million in the latter.
The SEC alleges that Pequot profited illegally from insider trading on Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) in 2001. Neither the SEC nor Pequot would comment for Bloomberg.
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