Almost.
Totemic UK hedge fund manager and activist investor par excellence, The Children’s Investment Fund Management, run by Christopher Hohn, has indeed posted its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth: revenue was lifted more than 70 per cent to £574m from £333m a year previously, according to the 2008 accounts, filed this week at Companies House.
The accounts, however, represent revenue receivable, rather than revenue accrued, meaning that the numbers record performance income from the previous year. The figures reported in the results thus reflect performance and management fees collected from TCI’s funds under management in 2007.
Thus:
Current market conditions will have a material impact on the income stream of the Partnership over the following twelve months…
says Mr Hohn.
Over 2008, TCI has seen a number of investments go awry. The fund was down 43 per cent in 2008, according to investors.
TCI’s activist investment in US railroad company, CSX, ended in an acrimonious court battle and a $10m fine, while attempts, following investments, to enjoin CME Group and the New York Mercantile Exchange also came to nought.
In Japan, the fund’s proposals for change at in J-Power, a nuclear energy company, were ignored, leading to TCI to unwind its position. Other Japanese investments also resulted in losses.
Attributable profits of £555m earned from the fund’s performance in 2007 were left for distribution to members this week, however.
Just over £484m of the fees earned on 2007 performance went to the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, the charity set up by Hohn and his wife. Hohn himself, received £1.7m, up from £743,000 in 2007. The remaining £44m of profits was distributed to other members of the fund.
