Caxton Associates

Caxton Associates
Industry Investment management
Founded 1983
Headquarters Berkeley Square, London[1], U.S.
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Hedge funds
AUM $7.7 billion (2014)[2]
Number of employees
 205 (2014)[2]
Website www.caxton.com

Caxton Associates is a global macro hedge fund founded by Bruce Kovner in 1983 and is headquartered in New York City.[3][4] The firm also has offices in London, Sydney, and Princeton, New Jersey. Caxton Associates identifies investments according to their research of global markets and analysis of worldwide economic trends.[5]

Caxton Associates went through a major generational transition in 2008 when Bruce Kovner stepped back from trading and appointed Andrew Law as Chief Investment Officer.[6] In 2011, Law was appointed as the Chairman, CEO and controlling general partner of Caxton Associates, following the retirement of Kovner.[7]

History

Caxton was founded in 1983 by Bruce Kovner.[2] Kovner trained under Michael Marcus at Commodities Corporation (now part of Goldman Sachs International), before embarking on his own with the founding of Caxton.[8]

In 1992, Caxton closed its fund to new investors.[8] The fund then opened and closed intermittently, and most recently reopened to new investors in August 2013.[9]

It was reported that at the end of the 1990s Caxton Global Investments volatility fell substantially along with the funds returns.[4]

In 2003 concern at Caxton Associates around the potential future impact on their historical rate of return due to their fund's size resulted in 20 percent of investors' capital being returned.[10] Assets under management post 20% were $9.5 billion.[10]

On December 21, 2007, Caxton-Iseman Capital, a joint investment partnership Caxton Associates and Frederick Iseman announced that it had completed its spin-off from Caxton Associates. Caxton-Iseman Capital will change its name to CI Capital Partners LLC.[11]

In 2008, Bruce Kovner stepped back from trading and appointed Andrew Law as Caxton’s Chief Investment Officer. In 2011, Law was appointed as the Chairman, CEO and controlling general partner of Caxton Associates, following the retirement of Kovner.[6] Law joined the London office in 2003 from Goldman Sachs, where he was Managing Director and head of FICC proprietary trading in London.[7]

2008 Financial Crisis

During the 2008 financial crisis Caxton Associates did not erect gates freezing investor capital in their Caxton Global Investments fund.[12] As reported the fund saw client redemptions totalling 27% of assets under management through 2008–2009—while returning 13% for the year.[12] The redemptions were reportedly born out of cash strapped clients many of whose asset allocations were gated and frozen at other investment management companies: two years later the firm had fallen from No. 16 to No. 51.[12]

In 2010 it was reported that since 1983 Caxton Associates had returned $12.8 billion to clients whilst managing $6 billion; ranking second amongst managers who have returned more than they currently manage.[13][14]

Company

Caxton Associates' offices are in New York, London's Mayfair district, Sydney, and Princeton, NJ.[15]

Investments

Caxton Associates is a global macro hedge fund. Over the course of its history, Caxton has made more than $13bn for its clients - according to LCH Investments - this is roughly 14 per cent annually, with half the volatility of the S&P 500.[7]

According to an interview with Andrew Law in the Financial Times in October 2013, Caxton has “three core principles”: “One is listen to the markets, a second one is politics and policy matters and the third one is risk control.” [7]

Investment Vehicles

The firm's flagship fund was reported in August 2011 to account for $7 billion of Caxton Associates assets under management.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Cave, Outspoken hedge fund boss who made the journey from city to city, The Daily Telegraph, 26 May 2013
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Caxton Associates".
  3. ↑ Thomasson, Lynn (February 22, 2010). "Bacon Bullish on Oil, Tepper on Airlines Signal Gains". Bloomberg.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mackintosh, James (September 10, 2010). "Hedge fund stars shine above the crowd". Financial Times. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Zuckerman, Gregory (August 11, 2011). "As Stocks Slide, Investors Scramble". Wall Street Journal.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Caxton’s Bruce Kovner to Step Down After 28 Years With Law to Become CEO". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 14/02/14. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Quiet Caxton Chief Refuses to Shout About $1bn Gain". Financial Times. Retrieved 13/02/14. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Bruce Kovner on Forbes 400". www.forbes. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
  9. ↑ "Caxton reopens hedge fund to new investors". Financial Times. Retrieved 12/02/14. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Taub, Stephen (July 2004). "The Bucks Stop Here Alpha". Alpha.
  11. ↑ Caxton-Iseman Capital Announces Spin-Off From Caxton Associates
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Taub, Stephen (Apr 2009). "The Hedge Fund 100: Our Rankings of the World's Biggest Single Manager Firms". Alpha Magazine.
  13. ↑ "Soros, Paulson Post Biggest Returns Since Inception". FIN Alternatives. September 13, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Hedge Funds: Who Is The Best Of The Best?". Institutional Investor. May 25, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  15. ↑ Taub, Stephen (March 2011). "The Rich List". Absolute Return + Alpha.

External links