On July 24, Leopold Aschenbrenner sent investors a letter touting returns of 439% for the year through June and 1,551% since inception.
The selloff hammering his fund, he wrote, made it a "particularly good time to add funds." Six days later Situational Awareness had surrendered the bulk of its public stock portfolio to Ken Griffin's Citadel in an overnight deal, according to the Financial Times.
The extent of the damage emerged Thursday, when Situational Awareness told investors it had lost roughly 67% in July, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The speed of the reversal was particularly brutal for a manager who said before launching the fund that "not blowing up" was "task number one and two." Two investors told the FT the letter had reassured them.
By Wednesday, investors were complaining that they could not reach the fund.
