Billionaire Vinik closes hedge fund 8 months after relaunch

The US billionaire Jeffrey Vinik has closed his Vinik Asset Management (VAM) hedge fund eight months after relaunching the scheme. Vinik said it had been much harder to raise money than he had anticipated, despite the funds rising by 4.8% on a net basis between 1 March and 30 September. VAM held more than $500m in assets, but Vinik said the fund needed between $2bn and $3bn for the economics of the business to be viable. The funds will close by 15 November.

Editor: I'd suggest changing "8" to "eight" in the headline.

Jeffrey Vinik, the billionaire investor who relaunched his hedge fund earlier this year, is cutting his comeback tour short.

"It has been much harder to raise money over the last several months than I anticipated," Vinik said in a letter dated Wednesday to investors. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. CNBC later confirmed it.

"The climate for raising long-short equity hedge fund assets has been far more difficult than I expected, and performance of the VAM funds, while good ... has not provided the necessary momentum to bring in our desired level of investments."

Vinik Asset Management funds rose 4.8% on a net basis between March 1 and Sept. 30, the letter said. The funds will close by Nov. 15.

The fund manager, who made a name for himself running Fidelity's Magellan fund before going out on his own, announced his comeback in mid-January. At the time, he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that "the fire in my belly still burns."

But Vinik had a hard time raising money. Vinik Asset Management had more than $500 million in assets, according to the Journal, but Vinik hoped to raise between $2 billion and $3 billion. Vinik, who owns the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, told the Journal he needed to raise more money for the "economics" of the business to "make sense."

The asset-management industry has been under pressure lately as the rise in passive investment vehicles such as exchanged-traded funds has pressured fees.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.