New York (HedgeCo.net) – In a year where many of the mainstream headlines regarding hedge funds have focused on fund closures and poor performance from some of the more well-known hedge fund managers, it is nice to see some positive headlines and that is what we got from the Wall Street Journal and Forbes magazine.

Both the Journal and Forbes featured an article on John Armitage and his firm Egerton Capital and according to the Journal’s article, Armitage made approximately $1.5 billion for investors in his fund this year. The gains came as the result of well-placed bearish bets on the energy sector and bullish bets on the likes of Time Warner (NYSE: TWC), Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN) and Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD), all of which are up double-digits or more on the year. That is quite the accomplishment given how very few investment ideas have produced double-digit gains this year.

Armitage launched Egerton in 1994 and according to the Forbes article he has produced returns of 15% net of fees since the launch and has done so with “significantly” less volatility than the S&P 500.

Rick Pendergraft
Research Analyst
HedgeCoVest