LibreMax’s Main Fund Gains 4% in Turbulent First Half
- Bets on higher-quality CLOs and CMBS helped generate returns
- Firm sees securitized debt outperforming in market turbulence
Greg Lippmann, co-founder of Libremax Capital.
Photographer: Kyle Grillot/BloombergThe main fund at asset management firm LibreMax Capital gained about 4% in the first half of the year after cutting exposure to riskier collateralized loan obligations and selling longer-duration asset-backed securities, according to a note to investors seen by Bloomberg.
The $1.1 billion LibreMax Partners Fund, which invests in structured products tied to corporate and consumer debt, generated returns of about 10% in 2021. But across markets, gains were harder to come by for investors in the first half of the year, as inflation raged and the Federal Reserve hiked rates. The Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield index dropped 14.2% in the first six months of 2022, and the Bloomberg US Aggregate ABS index fell 3.8%, on a total return basis.