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- Macro manager Element Capital finished 2019 up 12%, a source familiar with the firm told Business Insider.
- Jeff Talpins' firm manages $18 billion and is raising performance fees to 40% this year, Bloomberg reported last summer.
- The firm also cut seven portfolio managers last year to refocus on the core macro strategy. The firm trailed the overall market this year, but finished above the average hedge fund.
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$18 billion Element Capital hit 12% returns in 2019, trailing the surging stock market but beating the average hedge fund.
A source familiar with the performance told Business Insider that returns were spread equally across investments the firm made in foreign exchange, interest rates, and equities.
Jeff Talpins' fund had a busy 2019 after posting 17% returns in 2018, when the average fund lost money. The firm increased performance fees to 40%, which took effect at the beginning of this year, and gave investors a chance to redeem before the fee bump in the hopes of shrinking the firm's AUM. The manager controlled $18.3 billion in the middle of 2019, and ended the year with $18 billion in assets.
Element also cut seven portfolio managers because they were focused on "non-core" strategies, Bloomberg reported last year. Talpins manages a majority of the firm's assets, the article noted.
The firm has returned average annual returns over the last five years is 15%, the source also said.
Read more: BlackRock's flagship hedge fund Obsidian returns more than 13% in 2019 after stumbling in August