Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Moore Capital Management Inc. fired its Canadian hedge-fund team overseen by former Amaranth Advisors LLC trader Manos Vourkoutiotis and closed the unit after managers lost 15 percent last month.

The group of about 15 people ``did not meet the risk-reward parameters that have guided Moore since inception,'' New York- based Moore Capital said today in a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg.

The Toronto-based subsidiary opened in October 2006 and managed $1 billion for other Moore funds before last month's decline, two people with knowledge of the firm said last week. Wrong-way stock and convertible-bond bets contributed to the losses that led Moore Capital to notify Toronto employees yesterday that the office will close this month.

``After a five-year hiring binge, hedge-fund managers are taking a closer look at every team's performance balanced with their risks and expenses,'' said Gregory Dowling, vice president for alternative investments at Cincinnati-based Fund Evaluation Group LLC, which isn't a Moore Capital client.

Moore Capital, which has more than $13 billion in assets, returned about 13 percent and 15 percent in its fixed-income and Moore Global Investment funds this year. The firm is run by Louis Bacon.

Hedge-fund managers globally lost an average of 1.4 percent in November, bringing the average 2007 gain to 10.2 percent, according to data compiled by Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended the month down 4.2 percent, the most since December 2002.

Cinram International Stake

Stocks held by Moore's Canadian unit last month included Cinram International Income Fund, the Toronto-based maker of digital video discs. Cinram shares fell 60 percent in November, including a 49 percent drop on Nov. 6 after the firm cut its monthly cash distribution to investors and suspended its distribution altogether for December. The S&P/TSX Composite Index, a benchmark for equities traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, lost 6.4 percent in November.

Last year, Cinram was among investments held by Greenwich, Connecticut-based Amaranth after that firm lost a record $6.6 billion in September 2006 on wrong-way natural-gas trades. Amaranth sold its stake of 8 million shares in Cinram in December, according to regulatory filings.

Vourkoutiotis didn't return a call and e-mail today seeking comment. The 38-year-old trader joined Moore Capital after the failure of Amaranth, where he oversaw investments in Canadian debt, equities and derivatives for six years.

Moore Capital hired him and other former Amaranth traders to invest in a range of securities including distressed debt, convertible bonds and equities.

``We will continue to take positions in the Canadian markets on an opportunistic basis as part of our overall global macro, global equity and global credit strategies,'' according to the firm's statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jenny Strasburg in New York at jstrasburg@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 13, 2007 16:32 EST