Asset manager BlackRock is planning to shut down its global macro hedge fund, BlackRock Global Ascent fund, due to large losses and massive investor redemptions.
The billion-dollar hedge fund, which bets on interest rates, currencies, commodities, fixed income and stocks, was down to under $1bn as of 1 November 2015 and will return money to investors.
Managed by Paul Harrison, the BlackRock Global Ascent, which had $4.6bn in assets in 2013, has lost 9.4% so far in 2015.
"We believe that redeeming the Global Ascent Fund was the right thing to do for our clients, given the headwinds that macro funds have faced," the firm said in a statement.
"Over the past several years, we have closed, on average, more than 200 funds a year. However, BlackRock currently runs around 3,500 funds around the world.
"We are committed to our macro investment capabilities. Many of our multi-asset and single-asset class strategies combine top-down (macro) techniques with bottom-up (security level) capabilities and we believe macro factors can be important contributors to successful performance," BlackRock added in its statement.
The move comes after Fortress Investment Group, a private-equity and hedge-fund firm, has announced plans in October to close its flagship macro hedge fund by end of 2015.
