By Carolina Mandl
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point ended the first quarter with its main fund Offshore up 8%, while the Ultra fund rose 8.7%, keeping performance gains seen at the end of last year going into 2024, a source familiar with the matter said.
The funds’ returns were mainly driven this year by equities, the source added, but credit and venture capital strategies also boosted results.
Third Point pursues a number of investment strategies including activism where it sometimes pushes companies to make changes to perform better.
Early 2024 numbers show an ongoing improvement in performance after the fund suffered a 22% loss in 2022 and gained 3.6% last year.
The top engine to gains this year included bets on Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:) and Bath & Body Works (NYSE:), both companies where Loeb and his team pressed for changes and the companies announced new board members.
Electricity and power generation company Vistra helped Third Point’s performance too, as it concluded the acquisition of a nuclear power generator.
Big tech firms Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) were also contributors.
For years, Third Point has been among the industry’s most closely watched hedge funds for indications of trends in the industry.
Recently, Loeb’s firm has made additional inroads into credit, which is already part of its strategy. Third Point is raising a private credit fund and has plans to launch a corporate credit fund this summer, the source said.
Third Point’s assets under management ended March at $11.5 billion, roughly $700 million less than a year earlier.
