T. Boone Pickens Funds Down Approximately $1 Billion

September 24, 2008 1:53 PM EDT

As of late, T. Boone Pickens is a better energy policy advocate than hedge fund investor.

T. Boone Pickens has spent a lot of money on a massive public campaign for improved U.S. energy independence. But the downturn in energy has hurt Pickens. One of Pickens' hedge funds that focuses on energy stocks is down almost 30% through August. A smaller commodity-focused fund is down 84%.

In total, Pickens' funds have lost around $1 billion this year, a figure that includes $270 million of personal losses. Pickens told Bloomberg, "It's my toughest run in 10 years. We missed the turn in the market, there's nothing fun about it."

Mr. Pickens argues that the recent falloff in energy prices is due to investors needing to sell holdings to raise cash. "I'm not willing to accept that the downturn was due to a global slowdown" reducing energy demand, he said. "When there's deleveraging in markets it will affect everything."

Pickens added unless there's a deep, global downturn, he thinks, oil prices will move higher because oil demand will outpace supply by at least two million barrels over the next year. "Oil likely will finish the year around $120 or $125 a barrel."

Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• BP Capital Management
• T. Boone Pickens
• Hedge Funds

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