(Bloomberg) — Oil trader Pierre Andurand’s riskiest hedge fund is bouncing back following last year’s record 55% loss tied to wrong-way bets on the commodity.
His main Andurand Commodities Discretionary Enhanced hedge fund, which he runs with no set risk limits, gained about 20% through March 22 this year, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
A representative for Andurand Capital Management, which managed about $1 billion at the end of last year, declined to comment.
Leveraged bets on rising oil prices led to the hedge fund losing more than half of its value in 2023 as Brent crude prices declined about 10%. That led Andurand to de-risk his portfolio, Bloomberg News reported in January.
Still, he has predicted that risk-reward in oil markets was skewed to the upside, with potential catalysts being slowing US oil production, disruption in supplies due to conflict escalation in the Middle East, and the destruction of key energy infrastructure in Russia by Ukraine, according to an investor document.
Oil prices have climbed about 14% this year on global demand growth, beating initial expectations amid resilient consumption in the US.
Read More: Andurand De-Risks Hedge Fund as Bullish Oil Bets Cause 55% Loss
The volatile period for Andurand’s hedge fund last year compares with the stellar gains during the previous three years, when the Frenchman powered a more than sevenfold surge in investor capital.
–With assistance from Grant Smith.
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