Hedge fund: Labour policy is ‘interesting’
LABOUR is to hold talks with a multi-billion pound hedge fund which has been betting against the pound, it emerged last night.
Bluebay Asset Management, which manages $57billion (£43 billion) of assets, plans to meet John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, next week, Bloomberg, the financial wire, said. Mark Dowding, a senior portfolio manager who told Bloomberg that its funds are shorting the pound and government bonds, said there were “elements” of Labour’s policy Bluebay found interesting. Mr Dowding said: “We’re not giving a political endorsement to a political party here, but as macro investors we actively engage in dialogue with policymakers across the spectrum.
“There are elements of what Labour stands for that we find interesting and there may be elements that we disagree with.”
He declined to comment on the meeting which The Daily Telegraph understands was requested by Bluebay.
Bluebay, owned by Royal Bank of Canada, is based in London’s Mayfair and has offices across Europe and the US. A Labour spokesman said: “John Mcdonnell has made clear, as Labour prepare for government, the shadow Treasury team is happy to meet investors that have requested to meet with Labour, and we are completely open with them about our economic policy.”
Mr Mcdonnell said this week that Labour was taking “advice and assistance” from asset managers to build an informal partnership with business leaders.
At the party conference in September, Mr Mcdonnell said the party had prepared for a “run on the pound” if Labour gained power.
He said: “What if there is a run on the pound? What happens if there is this concept of capital flight? I don’t think there will be, but you never know, so we’ve got to scenario plan for that.”