London-based Nevsky Capital's founders have decided to shut down their $1.5 billion hedge fund and retire, saying weak market conditions made it unlikely they could generate the returns they had in the past. Martin Taylor, 46, one of the firm's co-founders, told Reuters that Nevsky Capital was returning money to investors due to concerns about the maturing of the US business cycle and the fund's ability to make money in such an environment.
Taylor is retiring after 21 years in the funds industry, while fellow founder Nick Barnes, 41, is leaving the market after 18 years. The fund, which buys and sells stocks in emerging and developed markets from an office in London's Mayfair district, has returned 18.4 percent annually net of fees since it launched in 2000. The average fund has returned 2.5 percent over the same period, according to data from industry tracker HFR.