Amaranth future in doubt, may hit larger funds

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fund manager Amaranth Advisors may not survive the billions of dollars in natural gas losses it disclosed this week, and larger institutional energy funds may see some investors flee in the aftermath, industry experts said on Tuesday.

The Connecticut-based fund had more than $9 billion in capital under management before announcing on Monday that year-to-date losses may top 35 percent due to bad natural gas positions.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said on Tuesday he is investigating the apparent large losses at Amaranth and called for more industry oversight.

As Amaranth sells off positions in an attempt to stay afloat, the losses have spawned concern that there could be an investor rush to get out of funds which hold Amaranth among wider portfolios of hedge funds.

Reuters