Red Sox owner John Henry whipsawed by losses, returning money to clients
Boston Business Journal by Craig Douglas, Managing editor/online vertical products and research
Date: Friday, November 9, 2012, 3:07pm EST - Last Modified: Friday, November 9, 2012, 3:31pm EST
Craig Douglas
Managing editor/online vertical products and research- Boston Business Journal
Email | Twitter
John W. Henry, the commodities trading mogul and principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, has announced that his firm will stop managing client money as of Dec. 31 due to shrinking assets and lackluster returns.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Brookline resident’s John W. Henry & Co. issued an email Friday to clients informing them of the firm’s intentions to effectively cease operations supporting outside investors. The Journal said the firm has less than $100 million in assets under management, compared to more than $2.5 billion just six years ago.
“The firm has been small since 2007 and once assets fell below $100 million this year the company became too small to sustain itself,” Henry wrote, according to the Journal report. “We have been returning assets to investors with a desire to exit the client business by year end.”
The investment operation, based in Florida, earned a reputation for outsized returns using quantitative trading strategies targeting commodities, currencies and other securities markets. In the process, Henry accumulated enormous wealth, as showcased by his prominently parked yacht, The Iroquois, in Boston Harbor as well as his equity stake in Fenway Sports Group, the holding company for the Red Sox, Fenway Park and the Liverpool Football Club in the Premier soccer league abroad.
It was unclear whether Friday’s news or the trading firm’s dismal performance will impact Henry’s ownership stake in the Fenway Sports Group.
According to the Journal, John W. Henry’s five trading programs have logged losses ranging from 1 percent to over 21 percent this year.
The firm was founded in 1982.
Boston Business Journal by Craig Douglas, Managing editor/online vertical products and research
Date: Friday, November 9, 2012, 3:07pm EST - Last Modified: Friday, November 9, 2012, 3:31pm EST
Craig Douglas
Managing editor/online vertical products and research- Boston Business Journal
Email | Twitter
John W. Henry, the commodities trading mogul and principal owner of the Boston Red Sox, has announced that his firm will stop managing client money as of Dec. 31 due to shrinking assets and lackluster returns.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Brookline resident’s John W. Henry & Co. issued an email Friday to clients informing them of the firm’s intentions to effectively cease operations supporting outside investors. The Journal said the firm has less than $100 million in assets under management, compared to more than $2.5 billion just six years ago.
“The firm has been small since 2007 and once assets fell below $100 million this year the company became too small to sustain itself,” Henry wrote, according to the Journal report. “We have been returning assets to investors with a desire to exit the client business by year end.”
The investment operation, based in Florida, earned a reputation for outsized returns using quantitative trading strategies targeting commodities, currencies and other securities markets. In the process, Henry accumulated enormous wealth, as showcased by his prominently parked yacht, The Iroquois, in Boston Harbor as well as his equity stake in Fenway Sports Group, the holding company for the Red Sox, Fenway Park and the Liverpool Football Club in the Premier soccer league abroad.
It was unclear whether Friday’s news or the trading firm’s dismal performance will impact Henry’s ownership stake in the Fenway Sports Group.
According to the Journal, John W. Henry’s five trading programs have logged losses ranging from 1 percent to over 21 percent this year.
The firm was founded in 1982.
