BlackRock Hedge Fund Raised Its Russia Bet, Suffered Record Loss

  • Emerging Frontiers Fund lost a tenth of its value in February
  • Fund increased its large wager on Russian stocks during month
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One hedge fund team at BlackRock Inc. saw Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a chance to buy more of the country’s stocks. That decision has backfired.

BlackRock’s Emerging Frontiers Fund plunged over 10% in February, suffering the worst trading loss since it started more than a decade ago, according to people with knowledge of the matter and an investor document seen by Bloomberg. The fund, which was managing $960 million at the end of January, is now down about 7% this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.