REPORT: Institutional investors are pulling out of Bill Ackman's hedge fund at a 'rapid pace'

Reuters/ Brian Snyder

• Institutional investors are pulling out of Pershing Square Capital at a "rapid pace," according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Pershing Square's total assets reportedly declined by 12% in the first quarter of 2018, falling to a total of $8.2 billion.

Institutional investors are pulling money out of Pershing Square Capital at a "rapid pace," according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported that "about two-thirds of the cash that could be withdrawn [from Pershing Square] at the end of the year" is "being pulled" from the fund. The fund makes one eighth of its capital available for redemption each quarter.

Firms pulling cash from Pershing Square include Blackstone Group, while JPMorgan Asset Management has reportedly told clients it can no longer recommend investing in the fund.

Pershing Square's total assets reportedly declined by 12% in the first quarter of 2018, falling to a total of $8.2 billion.

Bill Ackman, who was once tipped as the next Warren Buffett, is stepping back from investor relations, the Journal said, adding that Pershing is lowering staff numbers and is not seeking to replace the money fleeing from the fund.

Two high profile bets, against the companies Herbalife and Valeant backfired, costing Ackman and Pershing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Ackman has also been involved in a high profile public spat with fellow billionaire investor Carl Icahn, over the fortunes of Herbalife.

Icahn for a long time held a long position in Herbalife, while Ackman was short the healthcare supplement maker. Ackman ultimately lost that fight after Pershing Square exited from its $1 billion short position, likely losing hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.

A spokesman for Pershing Square declined to comment.

You can read the Wall Street Journal's full story here.