Hedge fund wants biz magazine to disclose source

New York hedge fund Elliot Management Corp. has filed a legal complaint against business magazine AR: Absolute Return+Alpha asking a judge to force it to disclose how it obtained its quarterly letter to investors.

Jason Fell of Folio writes, “Now, the magazine says it will issue a formal response to Elliot Management by way of an affidavit with the court that it expects to file on September 2. A hearing about the petition is scheduled for September 9.

“‘Elliot’s legal action is an unusual move even in the opaque world of hedge funds,’ the magazine says in a post on its Web site, noting that it believes this to be ‘the first time a hedge fund manager has taken legal action against a publication in an attempt to uncover a source.’

“Elliot Management’s petition alleges that the disclosure of the fund’s performance would ’cause significant harm to Elliot and negatively affect its competitive advantage in relation to other market participants.’ AR: Absolute Return+Alpha published a story about the fund’s investor letter online on August 2 and has plans for a print version in the September edition of the magazine.”

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