Unstructured Finance

Something must be in the water over at 399 Park Avenue, where Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point is headquartered. His Third Point Ultra fund has already gained 12.42 percent this year through the 13th of March, according to data from HSBC’s Private Bank.

The portfolio added 3.3 percent alone between March 1 and March 13. By comparison, hedge funds have returned about 4 percent year-to-date, according to HSBC.

The roughly $1.7 billion Ultra portfolio is a levered version of the firm’s flagship Offshore fund, which manages about $5.7 billion and has gained 8.5 percent over the same period.

It will be more useful to check in again at the end of the month to see where Ultra’s returns are but we thought the gains were worth pointing out because the fund is among the Top 10 performers in HSBC’s HedgeWeekly report again after finishing in the Top 10 last year.

Ultra rose 34.5 percent in 2012, far outpacing most hedge funds, which on average gained about 6 percent. Loeb’s success in 2012 was perhaps more impressive given the fact most of the funds that really stormed home last year were credit-focused funds, which made a ton of money as bonds of every kind rose in value through the year.

By Katya Wachtel

John Thaler’s hedge fund, JAT Capital, had a meteoric rise through much of 2011, generating a 38 percent return at its peak in early September.  Since then, Shumway Capital alum has ebbed, though he’s still beating a ton of his competitors.

Through December 16, JAT fell 1.2 percent, according to an investor.

The fund remains up 14 percent year-to-date though, and given the average hedge fund was down about 4.4 percent through November, JAT investors have something to smile about. Though they have less to smile about than they did a few months ago.

Others are grimacing, since many of the industry’s heavy-hitters have taken a beating this year. It’s no secret that stars like John Paulson,  Mark Kingdon and Lee Ainsle are sustaining double-digit losses. Through December 16,  Paulson’s Advantage Plus fund is down 52 percent year-to-date; Kingdon’s Offshore fund is down about 19 percent; and Ainslie’s Maverick Fund is off about 15 percent.