Reuters- If there were hordes moaning about Britain’s washout summer last month, hedge fund manager Peter Brewer wasn’t among them. He was too busy profiting from the rain to let it sour the taste ofhis cider.
Brewer, who manages the Cumulus Weather and Cumulus Energy Funds at hedge fund group PCE Investors, knew in advance that Irish drinks group C&C’s (CCR.I: Quote, Profile, Research) Magners cider would not be able to repeat its last year’s record sales.
Cumulus’ meteorologist Warwick Norton had predicted that July was going to be a washout with heavy rains across Britain and Ireland, which would mean poor demand for Magners.
Indeed, C&C issued two profit warnings in July, pummelling its shares 40 percent, and handing a tidy profit to Cumulus which had anticipated this and taken positions in the stock accordingly.
It is not just in equities where Cumulus has found Norton’s predictions handy.
It was also able to determine in advance that colder conditions in Germany were going to persist through July, and Cumulus took short positions in German electricity futures, reaping another windfall as the price fell about 30 percent.
