(Bloomberg) -- Steve Cohen wants more.
His Point72 Asset Management, which attracted $5 billion in outside money last year in a comeback for the hedge fund investor, is seeking to raise an additional $1 billion by September, according to people familiar with the matter.
The firm was one of 2018's biggest hedge fund launches when Cohen returned to the industry after a two-year ban from managing other people's money. His prior firm, SAC Capital Advisors, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and paid a $1.8 billion fine. Cohen wasn't charged with wrongdoing.
A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment on the latest fund raise.
Read more about Steve Cohen's comeback here
It's difficult for hedge fund managers, particularly new ones, to raise money amid the industry's lackluster performance. Last year, as investors pulled more than $38 billion from hedge funds, the number of startups dropped to the lowest in almost two decades.
While 2018 did see some blockbuster launches, including Michael Gelband's $8 billion ExodusPoint Capital Management, this year is comparatively muted, with one of the biggest startups expected to be around $1.5 billion.
Cohen, backed by his long-term track record, hasn't struggled to raise money. In November, he said that attracting the first $5 billion was relatively easy, requiring just 10 to 15 meetings, including one overseas trip.
Point72 had a mediocre start last year, making less than 1 percent for investors. While that performance beat the S&P 500 Index and the average hedge fund, it wasn't the big number that many expected, given SAC Capital's history of averaging annual returns of about 30 percent.
This year has been better. Point72 returned almost 5 percent in the first quarter of 2019. That compares with a 13 percent rise in the S&P and a 3 percent gain for the average hedge fund.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hema Parmar in New York at hparmar6@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Vincent Bielski, Katrina Nicholas
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