David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital returned just 1.6% last year, says 'it feels like we have been running face first into the wind'

Reuters

Greenlight Capital founder David Einhorn at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, May 8th, 2017

David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital returned 1.6% last year after fees, compared to a 21.8% gain in the S&P 500, according to a fourth-quarter letter seen by Business Insider.

Greenlight lost 1.6% in the fourth quarter last year, compared to a 6.6% gain in the S&P 500 over the same period.

In the January 16 letter, Greenlight said it was frustrated by the underperformance.

"As we were in the batter's box so to speak, it felt like we were swinging well and hitting the ball hard. We just didn't deliver a satisfactory result on the scoreboard."

The letter added:

"While it feels like we have been running face first into the wind, we don't intend to capitulate and are sticking to our strategy of being long misunderstood value and shorting 'not value.'"

A spokesman for Greenlight didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.