- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Titan Sends Money Back to Investors

Report: Systematic Strategies

- Advertisement -

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Titan Opportunities Fund, a fund founded by Norwegian Espen Westeren (pictured), is shutting down. The fund started investing in June of 2016 after the massive price decline of crude oil hit both equity- and credit-related securities issued by oil companies. As “the market did not develop as we expected when we established the fund in June 2016,” Westeren tells Finansavisen, Titan Opportunities Fund will cease to operate and return the capital to its investors.

The team running Titan Opportunities Fund relied on their cyclical investing experience, distressed investing expertise and sector specialization to invest in stocks and bonds issued by companies operating in cyclical and commodity-related sectors. The fund returned almost 57 percent since its launch in June 2016 to the end of 2017, followed by a loss of 23 percent in 2018 and a nearly three percent-decline in 2019.

Whereas the broader stock market has performed strongly since the fund’s inception, the energy sector has lagged behind over the past couple of years. “We have done a good job at identifying some opportunities in the sector, but we had overestimated the potential for recovery following the downturn in the aftermath of the fall in oil prices in 2014,” Westeren tells Finansavisen. “We have not been able to deliver the return we had hoped to achieve,” he adds.

The increase in shale oil and gas production in the United States represents one reason the energy sector has developed differently than initially expected. “We expected the oil industry to recover sharply, but underestimated the scale and importance of American shale oil,” acknowledges Westeren. “At the same time, we failed to adequately take into account the rapid shift in investors’ interest towards ESG-related investments,” he emphasizes.

Titan Opportunities Fund delivered a cumulative return of 17 percent since launching in mid-2016 to the end of 2019. The strong performance in the first two years “unfortunately turned around and much of the accumulated returns disappeared during 2018 and last year,” says Westeren. “Now we take the consequence of this and send the money back to our investors.”

Subscribe to HedgeBrev, HedgeNordic’s weekly newsletter, and never miss the latest news!

Our newsletter is sent once a week, every Friday.

Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun serves as a data analyst responsible for maintaining and gatekeeping the Nordic Hedge Index, and as a journalist covering the Nordic hedge fund industry for HedgeNordic. Eugeniu completed his Master’s degree at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2018. Write to Eugeniu Guzun at eugene@hedgenordic.com

Latest Articles

Indecap-PriorNilsson Deal Gets Regulatory Nod

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finansinspektionen, has granted approval for Indecap’s acquisition of fund boutique PriorNilsson Fonder. This strategic collaboration will...

Tidan Rides High on Normalized Market Conditions

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Tidan Fund, a hedge fund focused on capturing capital structure opportunities, is approaching its third anniversary this October with strong momentum....

Month in Review – August 2024

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Nordic hedge funds delivered solid performance during the roller-coaster month of August, with fixed-income-focused hedge funds leading the charge. The Nordic...

Danske Bank’s Multi-Asset Hedge Funds Gain Momentum

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – In August 2022, Danske Bank Asset Management launched a hedge fund designed to capture ‘true’ alternative risk premia as compensation for...

Inspired by AP7, Carnegie Launches Leveraged Global Equity Fund

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – As Carnegie Credit Edge comes to a close, Emil Nordström, who managed the fund’s derivatives strategy, is now steering a new...

Mandatum’s CTA Defies Trend in Tough August for Trend-Followers

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Trend-following managers had a tough time navigating markets in August, as evidenced by the 4.5 percent decline in the SG Trend...

Allocator Interviews

In-Depth: Commodities

Voices

Request for Proposal

- Advertisement -