You being EY, shareholders, Uma Thurman, etc.
The charming and dashing Arpad “Arki” Busson once attracted the affections of the world’s most beautiful women and billions in fund of hedge fund assets. Those days are apparently over, on both counts, as what may be the longest running decline and fall in asset management history has finally come to an end.
Mr Busson, the ex-fiancé of Hollywood actress Uma Thurman and former boyfriend of supermodel Elle Macpherson, is removing his hedge fund from the Swiss stock market next week after racking up losses of more than $55m (£45m) in the past five years alone.
The removal, which takes place on Tuesday, will effectively end Mr Busson’s reign as a hedge fund manager and will crystalise significant losses for investors, which include pension funds and asset managers that run money for retirees….
In a statement sent to i, Mr Busson said: “Over the last few years, LumX has undergone a restructuring of its business, with termination of its activities as a manager of collective investment schemes in Switzerland as well as a reduction of its overall headcount.
“The obligations to maintain the listing lead to high costs, create administrative burden and absorb management time. Our current organisation and strategic focus do not justify the time and costs required to meet the listing obligations.”
This day has, indeed, been long in coming, ever since Busson’s EIM lost $230 million invested with Bernie Madoff back in 2008. That led to EIM’s rather unpleasant tie-up with Gottex Fund Management, but neither the merger nor the rebranding as LumX in 2016 could stanch the bleeding (of assets). By 2018, LumX’s auditors were flagging “material uncertainties” about its future, and the following year issued a damning “adverse opinion” on the company, right around the time that LumX was giving up its mutual fund licenses and seeking to sell off its risk management systems and losing the aforementioned $55 million. Truly a Searsian tale for the hedge fund history books, albeit one with better parties.
Arki Busson delists struggling hedge fund after multi-million pound losses [i]
The lost Ark: the rise and fall of Arki Busson [FN]