Argonaut capital david gerstenhaber biography

NEW YORK — David Gerstenhaber is counting on top returns to help investors forget some nasty times.

Gerstenhaber, 35, has set out to rebuild his money management firm, Argonaut Capital Management, after a disastrous 1994 that brought his $400 million investment pool down to less than $50 million today.

Clients pulled money following a 28 percent loss in the first seven months of 1994.

While he wasn’t alone losing in markets where the dollar, U.S. and foreign bonds ganged up on many managers, hopes for the young manager were especially high, and many investors fled Gerstenhaber in disappointment.

So far this year, Gerstenhaber has posted 53 percent returns in his offshore fund and 70.8 percent for the last 12 months.

His fund for U.S. investors has posted 20.6 percent in 1996 and 46.2 percent in the last 12 months. “We are having more fun” than in 1994, he said with a grin.

That performance is beating out his better-known rivals in the world of macro hedge