Is Melvin Capital Still In Business in 2024?

Wondering if Melvin Capital Is Still In Business? Well, the answer is no. Melvin Capital, a big player in finance, closed its doors in June 2022. Let’s explore why this happened and what it means for investors and the financial world. 

Melvin Capital faced significant losses because of some stock market problems, especially with GameStop and AMC in 2021. Even though another company called Citadel gave them a lot of money to help, Melvin Capital still lost a lot.

By April 2022, Melvin Capital’s money went down to $7.8 billion from $13 billion in January 2021. Then, they sold everything they had and returned the money to those who invested.

If you were one of the investors, you might wonder what happens to your money. Usually, when a company like this closes, it sells all its stuff, which might make it lose money. Also, investors might have to pay taxes on any money they make from selling stuff.

About Melvin Capital

Melvin Capital was a money management company in New York City started by Gabriel Plotkin in 2014. He named it after his grandpa. On May 18, 2022, Plotkin said the company would close and they’d give back any money left by June 2022. In April 2022, they had about $7.8 billion. The company usually invests in tech and consumer stocks and makes a lot of money yearly.

But in 2021, during the GameStop situation, they lost a lot of money – 53% or $6.8 billion. They were losing more than a billion dollars every day at one point. In the first part of 2021, their money went down by 49%, and by the end of 2021, it was down by more than 39%. That’s when the S&P 500 went up by 28.7%. In January 2022, they started with a 17% loss. Plotkin decided to close the company and give back the money to customers.

What Is The History Of Melvin Capital?

Gabriel Plotkin went to Northwestern University and studied economics. After that, he worked at a few different investment companies. He even worked at SAC Capital, where he managed a lot of money for them.

In 2014, he decided to start his own company called Melvin Capital. He named it after his grandpa. The company did well, making a lot of money every year. They were known for being one of the best investment companies.

But in 2021, things went wrong. They made some bets that didn’t work out and lost a lot of money, especially with a company called GameStop. People on a Reddit website were making bets against Melvin Capital, which caused significant problems for them. Other companies gave Melvin Capital money to help, but it didn’t fix everything.

By the end of 2021, Melvin Capital had lost more than 39% of its money. Plotkin decided to close the company and give back the remaining money to those who invested.

In May 2022, it was in the news that Melvin Capital was closing for good, and they would give back the money by June. Gabriel Plotkin, who led the company, was also in the news for buying expensive houses and getting involved with a basketball team.

David Kurd also worked at Melvin Capital as the COO (Chief Operating Officer). That means he helped with the day-to-day stuff at the company.

Why Did Melvin Capital Shut Down?

Gabe Plotkin’s investment company, Melvin Capital, is shutting down. Gabe Plotkin started the company in 2014. He wrote a letter to the people who invested money in Melvin Capital. He said he would sell everything the company owned and give back the money to the investors.

Gabe Plotkin thought he needed to stop managing other people’s money. Last year, he had a hard time when he made some wrong bets on companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment. He thought those companies would do poorly, but they did the opposite. People on the internet kept buying their stocks, so the prices increased significantly.

Because of this, Melvin Capital lost a lot of money – more than half of it in January 2021. Other rich people gave Melvin Capital money to help, but it didn’t fix everything. One of these rich people was Steven A. Cohen, also the New York Mets baseball team owner.

But even with the extra money, Melvin Capital still had problems. Some rich people who gave money decided they didn’t want to invest in Melvin Capital anymore. So, they took their money back.

Before Gabe Plotkin decided to close Melvin Capital, he thought about trying to fix it. But in the end, he decided to close it for good. This was a big hit to Gabe Plotkin’s reputation because he was known as a successful investor before this happened.

Who Are The Competitors Of Melvin Capital?

Melvin Capital had some tough times with the GameStop situation and the market going down; it used to make much money compared to other money companies. Now, let’s look at a few other companies that compete with Melvin Capital:

  • FIS Group: This is a company that helps businesses with their money. It might not be as famous as others, but it does important work.
  • Systematic Investments: This company is like Melvin Capital but operates worldwide. It likes using specific plans and math to make money.
  • Seafarer Capital Partners: This company focuses on investing in places that are just starting to grow. They want to help these areas become substantial over time.

All these companies, and many more, compete in different ways. They try to be the best at making smart money choices, managing risks, and doing well overall. It’s important to know that new companies are permanently joining this competition. So there are more out there than we talked about.

The Bottom Line

So, Is Melvin Capital Still In Business? No, Melvin Capital is not in business anymore. It closed its doors in 2022. Melvin faced big problems, especially with GameStop, and lost much money. The boss, Gabe Plotkin, decided it was best to give back the remaining money to those who invested and stop managing money for others. Even though Melvin Capital had done well in the past, it couldn’t recover from its losses. So, it’s not around anymore, and people who invested with them have their money back.