Ex-Magellan Manager to Close Hedge Fund

Vinik Asset Management, the $4.2-billion hedge fund headed by Jeffrey Vinik, announced Thursday it would return its investors’ money after a four-year run in which their assets grew fivefold.

Vinik, 41, who was in the spotlight in the 1990s when he ran Fidelity’s mammoth Magellan Fund, said the decision to return the assets was not related to the market’s recent ups and downs.

“I want to spend more time with my family, and there’s no meaning beyond those words whatsoever,” Vinik said Thursday.

The fund began operating in late 1996 with about $800 million in assets held by 160 investors. Since then, it has seen a cumulative return of 645%.

Vinik is the third major hedge fund manager to retreat this year, following Julian Robertson’s retirement and George Soros’s decision to scale back on risky investments.

Vinik, who said he will return the money by the end of the year, is already holding plenty of cash. “We’ve had a conservative view of the markets,” he said.