Tiger Global’s Hedge Fund Sinks 34% This Year as Key Stocks Fall

(Bloomberg) — Things have gone from bad to worse at Tiger Global Management’s flagship hedge fund.

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The vehicle fell nearly 34% in the first quarter, due to poor-performing stocks and markdowns of private holdings, according to an investor letter seen by Bloomberg.

The hedge fund tumbled more than 13% in March, according to a person familiar with the matter, capping three straight losing months and a tough 2021. The decline was 7% last year, its first annual drop since 2016.

“Stock declines in our focus areas have been steeper, faster, and longer lasting than in prior drawdowns,” the firm said in Friday’s letter, signed by the investing team. While Tiger Global’s shorts generated gains, “they have not kept pace with the decline in our longs.”

All six of Tiger Global’s biggest stock holdings at year-end, including JD.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., have declined this year and most fell by double digits.

The firm “adjusted valuations down” for its private investments to account for pressure on their public-market peers, the firm said in the letter. The hedge fund owns shares of private companies including ByteDance, Stripe, Checkout, and Databricks.

A spokeswoman for Chase Coleman’s $100 billion firm declined to comment.

Tiger Global’s long-only fund sank about 36% in the first quarter, while its Crossover fund, which invests in public and private companies, fell about 21%, according to the letter.

“In hindsight, we should have sold more shares across our portfolio in 2021 than we did,” the firm said. “We are reassessing and refining our models using all the inputs available to us.”

The firm manages $35 billion across its hedge, long-only and crossover funds, while the rest of the assets are in its rapidly expanding venture-capital unit. Tiger also said it recently closed its PIP 15 venture fund with $12.7 billion.

“In this moment, we are humbled, but steady in our conviction and confident about the go-forward opportunity,” the firm wrote.