(February 4, 2014) — New York-based hedge fund firm Exis Capital Management, founded by former SAC Capital trader and art collector Adam Sender, is closing after 16 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.
An Exis Capital representative promptly hung up the phone when asked to comment on the firm’s shut down.
The firm was reportedly suffering from poor performance in the last few years, with less than $75 million in assets under management and a loss of 5.1% last year. Its investors had yet to be notified of the closing as of Sunday.
Sender’s future plans are also unclear.
He previously claimed that a 2006 lawsuit from Canadian insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings had led to the firm’s poor performance.
“Most of the assets in the fund are [from] friends and family and my own money,” Sender said. “We haven’t been able to raise any significant capital since Fairfax of Canada sued us in 2006.”
According to legal documents, Fairfax sued Exis Capital, among other firms and individuals, including SAC Capital Management, Steven Cohen, and Daniel Loeb over an alleged short-selling scheme, seeking up to $8 billion in damages.
Exis Capital was cleared of all charges by the New Jersey Superior Court in 2012.
“Our company plays by the rules and this lawsuit should never have been filed in the first place,” Sender said in a statement after the court’s decision. “Our plan is to move forward and work to re-establish Exis Capital as one of the leading hedge funds in the world.”
Sender was also involved in another high-profile scandal in 2008 when he testified against Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano. According to records, Sender had sued movie producer Aaron Russo, accusing him of pocketing $1.1 million of his investment in 1999. When Russo failed to cooperate, Sender paid Pellicano $500,000 to investigate Russo, at which point he began wiretapping Russo and offered to kill him for the hedge fund manager.
Exis Capital’s founder testified in Federal District Court that Pellicano, saying, “if I wanted to, I could basically authorize him” to have Russo “murdered on the way back from Las Vegas. He would have someone follow him back, drive him off the road and bury his body somewhere in the desert.” Sender said he had declined the offer.
Sender is also known in the industry as a prolific art collector, famous for flipping artworks for profit. Exis Capital’s Soho office in New York is said to be adorned with a Kara Walker mural, a John Currin painting, and a small portion of New York businessman John Loeb’s art collection.
Exis Capital is the third hedge fund of size to close so far in 2014. Scout Capital Management and Joho Capital announced their closings in letters to their investors last week and promised to return all outside money. They managed $6.7 billion and $5 billion respectively.
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