By Lawrence Delevingne
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Perry Capital, the hedge fund firm founded by Richard Perry and Paul Leff in 1988, plans to wind down its main hedge funds, according to a letter sent to investors on Monday and seen by Reuters.
"Although I continue to believe very strongly in our investments, process and team, the industry and market headwinds against us have been strong, and the timing for success in our positions too unpredictable," Richard Perry wrote in the letter.
An external spokesman for the New York-based firm declined to comment. Perry also has a London office.
The shuttering underscores continued pressure on the hedge fund industry following a period of poor performance. Industry data tracker HFR reported in September that 530 funds liquidated in the first half of the year, on pace for the second-most shut-downs in a calendar year except for 2008.
Perry, whose firm uses a so-called event-driven strategy focused on profiting from corporate shake-ups, added that a "substantial" amount of client capital would be returned in the beginning of October.
After producing a gain every calendar year until 2008, Perry has recently lost money on its investments and its assets under management have declined.
The firm managed $6.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That was down from $8.9 billion as of late 2013 and around $15 billion in early 2008, according to firm reporting seen by Reuters.
Co-founder Leff and former co-chief investment officer David Russekoff have departed in recent years.
Richard Perry launched the firm after working at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)' risk arbitrage desk that was famous for producing star hedge fund managers.