Viking Hedge Fund Blames 2021 Losses on ‘Underestimating’ Covid
- Last year was worst on record, firm tells its investors
- Private investments flourished with hybrid fund gaining 20%
Andreas Halvorsen
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
After posting its worst ever performance last year, Viking Global Investors is trying to explain its losses -- and it’s pinning the blame on the Covid-19 pandemic.
The firm’s hedge fund, which invested in 2021 laggards such as Peloton Interactive Inc., Coupa Software Inc. and Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp., fell 4.5% in the year because it “underestimated the ongoing impact of Covid,” founder Andreas Halvorsen wrote in a letter to investors dated Jan. 18.