Warning over Weavering

Date: Monday, June 1, 2009
Author: Louise Armitstead, Telegraph

Weavering Capital, the company now at the centre of Britain's first alleged hedge fund fraud, had imploded before in a period of its history previously kept hidden.

Investors in the group's main fund, who have been told they stand to lose at least $500m, are furious with founder Magnus Peterson, who was arrested two weeks ago but has not been charged, for not revealing his full track record.

Documents relating to Weavering's first fund, which started trading in March 2000, show the fund generated stellar performance of nearly 140pc in its first 10 months. But then in March 2001 it lost 15pc followed by further 16pc in April and a crippling 47pc in June.

Investors in Weavering Macro Fixed Income (WMFI) fund have said they had no idea of this previous track record and if they had they would not have invested in it.

A Sunday Telegraph investigation into the alleged fraud has also found that hedge fund experts Allenbridge Group warned about the fund's volatility and expressed concern over irregular broking relationships at Weavering in 2001. Weavering went into administration in March 2009