(Bloomberg) - Greg Coffey’s Kirkoswald Asset Management kicked Russian investors out of the firm days before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Coffey told investors in a note on Feb. 24, the day of the invasion, that the firm had redeemed a small number of Russian clients. The move was taken “as a precaution to reduce the potential impact to the fund, and its investors,” ahead of possible sanctions, according to the note.
Coffey didn’t tell investors how much money had been returned from his $4 billion macro fund, nor did he disclose the number of clients redeemed. He told clients that his New York-based firm, which traditionally invests heavily in emerging markets, had no credit or trading exposure to Ukrainian and Russian sovereign or corporate debt or equities.
Kirkoswald was one of the first hedge funds to return capital to Russian investors. Last week, London-based Eisler Capital told its staff it had returned all Russia-linked cash. Ed Eisler started his firm about seven years ago with money including his own and more than $100 million from LetterOne Holdings, an entity linked to Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, who has been sanctioned by the European Union.
Coffey said in the note that he sees significant risk to emerging-market investments, and has increased an already heavy cash position.
Kirkoswald rose about 9% this year through February, according to people with knowledge of with the firm’s performance. The fund returned 23% last year.
A spokesman for Kirkoswald declined to comment.
By Katherine Burton and Hema Parmar
