Tiger Global drops 14% in May during the tech sell-off, pushing hedge fund’s 2022 losses to over 50%

Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management suffered huge losses in May amid a tech-driven sell-off, making the hedge fund’s tough 2022 even worse.

The growth-focused flagship fund at Tiger Global tumbled 14.3% in May, bringing its 2022 losses to over 50%, a source familiar with the return told CNBC’s David Faber.

“Our recent public fund performance is deeply frustrating. Our business is set up with duration to weather storms when they arise,” Tiger Global said in an investor letter.

In the first quarter, Tiger Global doubled down on a number of tech holdings, including Snowflake, Carvana and Sea, before the market decline got uglier, according to a regulatory filing. Carvana has plummeted 77% in the second quarter so far, while Snowflake is down 44% and Sea is off by more than 30% this quarter.

The tech sector, especially unprofitable firms and richly valued software names, has taken a beating lately in the face of rising rates. Those sharp declines in tech have pushed the Nasdaq Composite down more than 23% year to date and off 26% from its all-time high.

Coleman is one of the so-called Tiger Cubs, protegees of legendary hedge fund pioneer Julian Robertson. He had managed to produce double-digit annualized returns through 2020 by taking advantage of the explosive growth in technology.

Despite the steep losses, Tiger Global is seeing five times more inflows than the amount of redemptions requests, according to a source.

A spokesperson at Tiger Global didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Bloomberg News first reported the fund’s May performance.

This year’s brutal sell-off has inflicted huge pain on some hedge funds. Melvin Capital Management, the hedge fund burned by the GameStop mania, said last month it will unwind its funds and return cash to investors as losses accelerated.

— CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa contributed reporting.