Obama’s Hedge Fund ‘Bullying’ May Hurt Rescue Plan

U.S. President Barack Obama’s “bullying” of hedge fund managers may cost him their support for his plan to jump-start lending, according to Cliff Asness, managing partner of AQR Capital Management LLC.

Obama blamed hedge-fund “speculators” for forcing automaker Chrysler LLC into bankruptcy after they rejected government offers to buy their debt at a discount in April. A group of firms that had rejected Obama’s plan, saying it violated creditors’ rights, dropped their opposition last week.

Asness, who left Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 11 years ago and today manages $20 billion at his Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm, said Obama’s use of political pressure over Chrysler may deter the funds from investing in the government’s Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility. The plan to generate $1 trillion of lending for consumers and small businesses relies on getting private investors such as hedge funds to invest...

Bloomberg: Obama’s Hedge Fund ‘Bullying’ May Hurt Rescue Plan