Nov. 15 Redemptions Could Overwhelm Unprepared Hedge Funds

The fate of many a hedge fund relies on what investors decide to do with their money on Nov. 15, when it is possible an overwhelming majority could ask for their money back by the end of the year, Dow Jones reports.

If there is a rush to the exits, that could send the Dow Jones Industrial Average and equities, as well as other markets—including credit, commodities, foreign exchange and foreign stock markets—spiraling even further downward.

Hedge funds that give investors until Nov. 15 to notify them if they want their money back include Citadel Investment Group and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group. Others have deadlines of Nov. 26 or Nov. 30.

Given the wave of redemptions that hedge funds experienced on Sept. 30, it is more than likely they have increased their cash holdings so that they will not be forced to suddenly sell stocks at disadvantageous prices. In fact, some of the biggest hedge funds on the market have moved half of their holdings into cash. As one hedge fund executive, who asked not to be identified, said, “We and everybody else I’ve talked to at both hedge funds and funds-of-funds have all raised a lot of cash already.”

For their part, mutual funds have already faced $100 billion in redemptions so far this year, according to AMG Data Services.

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