Andrew Hall’s faith in an oil-market rebound isn’t shaken, but it isn’t paying off, either.
The main fund at Mr. Hall’s Astenbeck Capital Management LLC lost 7% in September, according to investor documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, leaving it down 20% for 2015 as of Oct. 1 and on track for its worst year since its inception in 2008.
The decline is noteworthy because Mr. Hall is one of the most visible traders left standing who is betting that oil prices will soar. U.S.-traded crude slumped $2.53, or 5.1%, to settle at $47.10 a barrel on Monday, its largest decline since Sept. 1 and down 12% in 2015.
s recently as a year ago, Mr. Hall told investors that he wasn’t using borrowed money to amplify his returns.
Astenbeck has cut back costs, moving from headquarters in Westport, Conn., that featured a catwalk above the trading floor to smaller digs in nearby Southport. Mr. Hall himself now often works out of a small office in Palm Beach, Fla., according to associates and a former employee.