WEST PALM BEACH, FL (HEDGECO.NET) – John Olson, former energy investments research guru at Merrill Lynch has teamed up with Stephen Pouns to launch a new energy hedge fund. The 2003 Houston EnergyPartners is based in Houston and is considered as an epicenter of energy business. Both partners had long careers working in the energy finance world.
Commenting on the launch of the new energy hedge fund, Mr. Olson said, �We’re having a blast, this is as good a situation to be in, in this town, as anything. The whole town is exploding and a lot of it is driven by the energy business.� His partner Pouns said, �We’d been talking about it for a couple of years and when the power companies cratered, we thought, there�s some good opportunities here.�
Olson and Pouns are upbeat about the new energy hedge fund; for one thing, both partners think time, geography, and money are positive factors on their side, which will propel their new fund into greater heights. Many energy companies suffered in many ways from the collapse of Houston based former energy giant, Enron. According to statements made by Olson, the oil and gas business is alive and well. Olson believes that about US $150 billion in energy related income will be generated through the Houston area during the next 10 years.
Olson was the former energy analyst at Merrill Lynch, during the 1990�s, and his energy research and stock recommendations were not generally as positive as the bright pictures being painted by Enron. The unpopularity of Olson�s recommendations, as correct as they turned out to be, was producing negative consequences on the investment banking business of Merrill Lynch. As a result, Merrill Lynch fired Olson.
As late as 2003, both Olson and Pouns were working for another energy investment company called Sander Morris. They however left the firm and began planning the launching of their new hedge fund. According to published reports, the new fund carries a minimum investment requirement of US $250,000. At launch, the new hedge fund was seeded with about US $4.5 million; total assets in the fund quickly rose to about US $10 million, according to data from the firm.
The new fund projects an annual return of about 10-20 percent. Olson and Pouns will be managing the funds, until assets reach US $75-100 million, when additional portfolio managers will be added. Fee structure for the new fund was not immediately provided.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
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