Hedge funds -- ways to keep you a multi-millionaire, and cash poor at the same time

From Dealbreaker - I guess the rich think only the poor should be screwed.
Weekend Dealbreaker: The Walls Close In

Posted by Equity Private, Dec 13, 2008, 8:21am

Color us surprised. Citadel has frozen withdrawals in their two largest funds until March (for starters).

Investors who asked to withdraw money at year end from Kensington and Wellington, with a combined $10 billion in assets, won't be allowed to, the Chicago firm said in a letter on Friday. Otherwise, $1.2 billion would have come out, complicating Citadel's attempt to resuscitate its performance following its hedge funds' worst-ever year.

The move follows repeated assurances from Citadel that redemption requests wouldn't pose a problem. The firm's total assets have shrunk to about $13 billion from $20 billion at the start of the year. Mr. Griffin says in the letter that "in today's highly volatile markets, maintaining financial flexibility must be a priority." (Emphasis ours).

Well, I suppose the redemption requests did not actually pose a problem. For Citadel, that is.

Citadel Freezes Its Funds Through March [The Wall Street Journal],