Cerberus locked out

Cerberus, that private equity/hedge fund partnership whose management put investor monies into such big hits as General Motors' GMAC and Chrysler Motors' Chrysler Motors, is shocked, shocked mind you, that its investors won't let their money be locked up in Cerberus management anymore.

According to the WSJ,

Cerberus Capital Management's investors overwhelmingly want out of the firm's core hedge funds, asking for the return of more than $5.5 billion, or almost 71% of the fund assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

"We have been surprised by this response," Cerberus chief Stephen Feinberg and co-founder William Richter wrote in a letter delivered to clients late Thursday.

Cerberus hoped it could convince them to move their assets to a new fund with longer asset "lockups" but lower fees.

Of course it did. They have a thick skin yet remain humble, and they like their funds, probably including the new one, to expense the management fees upfront.

If you can't get to the WSJ story with the link above, there's a recap here.