Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros might have made hundreds and millions on shorting the yen, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Soros Fund Management had a sizeable short position on the currency around the time the Bank of Japan announced it would initiate a stimulus program, which brought down the yen and lifted the dollar. The dollar was up 4% on Tuesday from last Thursday when the policy was announced.
It wasn’t just Soros who made a killing on the falling yen. Discovery Capital Management and Eton Park Capital Management also cleaned up on the currency trade. Adam Taback, president of alternative strategies at Wells Fargo said, “It is one of the most widely held, crowded positions in hedge funds.” So why didn’t everyone with a position benefit? Scott Mather of Pimco said the Bank of Japan moved faster than most people expected. Soros and others applied a heavy short position at just the right time. Meanwhile, being long the dollar is a trade that has paid off, since the dollar is still performing well against the euro.
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