Marko Dimitrijevic, a hedge fund manager who survived a quarter-century of gyrations in emerging markets, is returning most of the money in his Everest Capital after a disastrous bet against the Swiss franc in January caused clients to flee.
The firm told investors last month that it's closing six of its seven funds, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named as the firm is private. Another fund, the $830 million Global Fund, was wiped out in less than a day in January after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly let the franc trade freely against the euro, causing it to surge as much as 41% against the euro.
While the other pools had no exposure to the wager that the franc would decline, clients lost confidence and Everest suffered a high level of redemptions, according to the sources. The hedge fund firm, one of the oldest in the industry, is keeping its emerging markets fund open, which has returned 662% since 1995, about triple its benchmark. The strategy had $570 million at the end of December, when the firm managed $3 billion.
The other funds will close at the end of this month, and investors in all but one of the funds will receive 90% of their capital soon after.
Mr. Dimitrijevic told investors in a letter last month that he was saddened the firm would cease to operate in its current form, according to the people.
Mr. Dimitrijevic declined to comment through a spokesman.
