Bellman Walter Capital, the long/short equity shop co-founded in 2008 by former SAC Capital Advisors short-term trading star Rich Walter, has closed shop. Calls to the firm’s San Francisco headquarters are now met with a recording saying that the firm has been closed since Dec. 31. "For all stock-related calls, please do not leave a message," it continues.
The firm also had an office in London, and ceased to be authorized by the Financial Services Authority on Feb. 10. The FSA register lists four employees authorized by the regulator up to that date, including Walter, and none have since been registered as active at another firm in the U.K.
Walter was head of SAC’s European affiliate until 2000, when he set up his own firm, Walter Capital. He continued to manage a significant amount of money for his former boss, Steve Cohen, and later returned to the SAC fold when Cohen bought Walter Capital.
Walter left SAC again in December 2006 and went on to team up with another SAC veteran, energy trader Jeff Bellman, to launch Bellman Walter. The Bellman Walter Global Fund, a global long/short equity strategy, launched in the first half of 2008 with about $650 million.
The reasons for Bellman Walter’s closure could not be ascertained. According to the firm’s form 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm’s equity portfolio was already empty as of Dec. 31. Previous filings report the portfolio valued at $111 million as of Sept. 30, which was only slightly different from its value of $114 million as of Dec. 31, 2008. There were no prior filings.
No one could be reached at the firm’s San Francisco HQ, and the recording noted that messages would only be checked periodically. Calls to the London office also went unanswered.
—Robert Murray