P.A.W. Capital Partners is a Greenwich-based hedge fund launched at the end of 1990 by its current Chief Investment Officer, General Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager, Peter A. Wright. After leading his fund for 28 years, and considering his previous work history, Peter Wright has more than 30 years of experience in the securities industry. Before he founded his own investment fund, Mr. Wright broadened his investment philosophy as the President and CEO at SoundView Financial Group, where he was in charge of trading, research, corporate finance, and more. Prior to joining SoundView Financial Group, he was an Executive Vice President and Research Director at the Gartner Group, where he had an opportunity to closely evaluate companies in the technology sector. Wright started his investment career at I.B.M. Corporation as a Financial Analyst. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Cornell University.
P.A.W. Capital Partners mainly invests in businesses from the technology sector, using a long/short investment strategy. Aside from the tech sector, the fund also has an eye for companies in healthcare and retail, especially those with “good/bad industry dynamics and improving/worsening company fundamentals”. The fund has around $160 million in total capital under management.
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P.A.W Capital’s stock picks have had both ups and downs in recent years, though many more ups. Its P.A.W. Small Capital Partners LP fund, which is long-oriented and invests mainly in US Technology, Retail/Consumer, and Healthcare turnaround stocks, returned an amazing 24.55% in 2013. The next two years were not so friendly, as the fund lost 14.46% in 2014, and 3.66% in 2015. Then, in 2016, it had a positive comeback, generating a return of 3.60%, after which it managed an impressive 21.47% in 2017. The current year has also been favorable for the fund, as it has gained 14.27% since January through October 29. P.A.W. Small Capital Partners LP fund had a total return of 613.60% and a compound annual return of 9.93%.
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On September 30, P.A.W. Capital Partners’ equity portfolio was valued at $94.96 million and counted 66 positions. Of those holdings, 9 were added during the third quarter, while the fund also dumped 7 companies from its portfolio. We’ll run through the biggest changes on the next page.
