Funds Hub

 Ah well, even superstar hedge fund managers can’t always get their timing spot on.

U.S. hedge fund boss John Paulson had been sitting on a 300 million pound profit on his bet against British bank Barclays just three months ago, but by holding on for too long has seen most of that gain wiped out.

Paulson held a 1.2 percent short position in Barclays last September when new disclosure rules came in, but on Tuesday he cut it to less than 0.25 percent. His entry price is not known, but the shares were at 350p in September and crashed to 55p in March, before soaring to 316p by Monday’s close.

New York-based Paulson, who has made billions betting against U.S. banks and some European lenders including RBS, looks to have still made at least 50 million pounds on the Barclays bet. But he may be further aggrieved after the stock fell sharply after he closed out, following a massive share placing.

(See also Odey’s Barclays boost)