Anthony Scaramucci’s crypto fund has been struggling to keep investors happy as redemption requests continue to rise. Bloomberg reports that over two-thirds of the shareholders of his $1.6 billion fund have requested to withdraw their investments but are still waiting to receive their money. Scaramucci’s fund delivered flat performance from April 1, 2019, through March 31, 2024, while bitcoin rallied 10X in the same period, leaving investors questioning the fund’s underperformance.
One of the reasons for SkyBridge’s lackluster performance could be its heavy investment in FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange. SkyBridge had a close relationship with FTX, with FTX Ventures investing in SkyBridge and sponsoring Scaramucci’s SALT conference. SkyBridge also bought millions of dollars of FTX’s token, FTT, which FTX allegedly manipulated to inflate the value of its assets. The ties between FTX and SkyBridge were so strong that Scaramucci was even warned by Joseph Bankman, FTX’s father, of the exchange’s impending collapse.
Despite its involvement with FTX, SkyBridge has been facing challenges attracting capital for the past decade. The latest wave of redemption requests from Morgan Stanley clients and others has only added to Scaramucci’s troubles. The fund’s assets under management have declined significantly since 2015, with outstanding redemption requests amounting to hundreds of millions. As of March 31, the majority of Scaramucci’s crypto fund was invested in crypto assets, with minority exposure to structured credit, equity, and other funds.
SkyBridge’s underperformance over the past five years ending March 31 has been significant, trailing the S&P 500 by over 12% annually during that period. Despite being approached for comment, Scaramucci’s press team responded that he had nothing further to add to Bloomberg’s article. Scaramucci claims that he has written permission to limit redemption requests based on the fund’s prospectus, which may indicate that investors could face further delays in getting their money back from the fund.
In conclusion, Anthony Scaramucci’s crypto fund is facing challenges as redemption requests surge and the fund’s performance trails behind major benchmarks like bitcoin and the S&P 500. The fund’s close relationship with FTX has raised questions about potential manipulation and conflicts of interest, further adding to investors’ concerns. With SkyBridge struggling to attract capital and facing significant redemption requests, it remains to be seen how Scaramucci will address these issues and restore investor confidence in his fund.
