Hedge-fund manager Paul Tudor Jones is closing the Tudor Futures Fund, the first hedge fund he ever opened, in order to focus on his far larger flagship fund, Tudor B.V.I. Global, according to people familiar with the matter,
In a recent letter to investors, the respected trader from the so-called macro school, which handles everything from stocks to commodities and currencies, noted that the $300 million Tudor Futures Fund was taking a disproportionate amount of his money-management company's resources for the amount of money it managed. Tudor Investment manages a total of roughly $12 billion, said someone with knowledge of the matter.
The erstwhile futures fund's assets will be returned to investors, said the people familiar with the matter, one of whom noted that since its founding in 1984, it had never had a down year.
"I decided to wind down Tudor Futures in recognition of my substantial ongoing responsibilities" as chief investment officer and co-chairman of Tudor Investment Corp., Tudor Jones wrote in a recent letter to investors, according to someone who has reviewed the remarks. "I'll continue to manage the firm's flagship fund," Tudor Jones wrote. The fund manager said also that, "I am and will continue to be the largest risk-taker for that fund for as far as I can see into the future."
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Tudor Jones was the only risk-taker in the Futures Fund, said people familiar with the matter, one of whom noted that it had had a volatile 2014. Indeed, the hedge-fund manager made no secret of the challenges he had faced in recent years, as central banks took actions that sometimes couldn't be anticipated and opportunities remained limited in the credit markets.
At an investor conference in May, Tudor Jones joked that macro trading had become so difficult, "I actually find myself daydreaming about winning 'Dancing With the Stars' on some days in the office."
Nonetheless, the Tudor B.V.I. flagship fund, where he will now focus his energies, managed to eke out an up year of 3.4 percent as of late December, according to an HSBC hedge-fund report. That fund manages $10.8 billion overall, according to the recent investor letter.
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Paul Tudor Jones did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
