David Einhorn: value is struggling
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn says his favoured strategy of value investing – buying out-of-favour companies – has struggled as growth company stocks have shot up.
Star hedge-fund manager David Einhorn hasn't performed well lately and admits it's been "far worse" than he could have imagined. In fact, his hedge-fund firm, Greenlight Capital, lost 5.4% in the second quarter, which has resulted in a whopping year-to-date loss of 18.3%, according to CNBC. The S&P 500, by comparison, gained 2.6% in the year to 30 June.
"Over the past three years, our results have been far worse than we could have imagined, and it's been a bull market to boot," Einhorn wrote in a letter to investors in the end of July. He pointed to "obvious mistakes" made during that time "the worst of which was not assessing that SunEdison [a solar company] was a fraud in 2015". Others include ignoring one of his investors who said that Amazon would become the most valuable company in the world. "We didn't get it then, and truthfully, we don't really get it now," Einhorn admitted.
Some claim that "getting older, changing lifestyles and an unwillingness to adapt to new market environments" are the reason behind his lousy performance. Einhorn vehemently denies this. Instead, he says, his favoured strategy of value investing buying out-of-favour companies has struggled as growth company stocks have shot up. This will change at some point, but we "can't say when", noted Einhorn. "Right now the market is telling us we are wrong, wrong, wrong and yet, looking forward we think this portfolio makes a lot of sense."
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748-320-80.jpg)
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Alice grew up in Stockholm and studied at the University of the Arts London, where she gained a first-class BA in Journalism. She has written for several publications in Stockholm and London, and joined MoneyWeek in 2017.
-
Could Labour impose a “double death tax” of more than 50%?
Speculation is mounting that capital gains tax will be reformed in the Budget - and one option is to charge bereaved families the tax on top of inheritance tax. We explain how it could work
By Ruth Emery Published
-
Government launches GB Energy – can it cut bills and boost the economy?
The clean power company’s first project will involve building offshore wind farms on land leased from the Crown Estate. Will it supercharge the economy and lower our energy bills?
By Katie Williams Published