Gold Limits Einhorn Loss, Draws in Investors

 May 31 (Bloomberg) -- David Einhorn’s emphasis on gold is not only attracting investors to his hedge funds at Greenlight Capital Inc., but also limiting his losses this quarter even though the metal’s price has fallen.

    The chart illustrates this year’s performance of Greenlight’s five largest publicly disclosed holdings at the end
of March, which Einhorn mentioned two days ago in a letter to investors. The precious metal was among them.    

Gold for immediate delivery was 6.3 percent lower for the quarter as of yesterday. Only one of the firm’s other four top holdings -- Apple Inc., the maker of iPhones and iPads -- fared better. Shares of the Cupertino, California-based company had a 3.4 percent loss.

    The performance contrasted with the first quarter, when all four stocks exceeded Greenlight’s 6.8 percent return after fees and expenses and spot gold essentially matched the gain.

    Seagate Technology Plc, a computer disk-drive maker run from Cupertino, set last quarter’s pace by surging 64 percent. Apple followed with a 48 percent gain. Arkema SA, a chemical maker based in Colombes, France, added 31 percent in dollars. General Motors Co., a Detroit-based automaker, rose 27 percent.

    Greenlight’s assets rose 6 percent during the quarter, according to the letter, which said new investments in dollar-denominated gold funds accounted for “a high percentage of the capital we raised.” The New York-based firm sold $131.1 million of limited-partnership interests last month in two of the funds, according to U.S. regulatory filings.