(Bloomberg) -- It was another rough start to the year for investors in Gabe Plotkin's Melvin Capital Management, with the hedge fund tumbling 20.6% in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter.
The fund fell 3.8% in March, marking the third straight month of declines, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn't public. The losses follow a tumultuous 2021, when New York-based Melvin Capital ended the year down 39%.
Of the firm's six largest U.S. stock holdings at the end of the year, five declined in the first quarter, with Bath & Body Works Inc. sinking by almost a third and Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings falling 16%.
A spokesman for Melvin Capital, which ran $10 billion as of March 1, declined to comment.
This marks the second rocky year for the hedge fund. In January 2021, Melvin sunk 55% amid a Reddit-inspired short squeeze, erasing about $7 billion of capital. That month, Point72 Asset Management and Citadel funds and firm partners provided a $2.75 billion infusion to Melvin. But they have since started asking for that cash back.
Read more: Cohen's Point72 to Redeem $750 Million From Hedge Fund Melvin
Melvin Capital is the latest in a string of equity hedge funds that have been struggling amid market volatility following rising inflationary concerns and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Tiger Global Management's flagship hedge fund ended the quarter with a 34% loss, while Coatue Management fell 10%.
Read more: Coatue Ends Quarter Down 10% After Side-Pocketing Investor Cash
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