一周亏损60亿！一场期货引发的破产“惨案”！

Core Insights - The collapse of Amaranth hedge fund was primarily due to a massive bet on natural gas futures by star trader Brian Hunter, resulting in a loss of approximately $6 billion in a week, which was 65% of the fund's assets [1][5][6] Group 1: Fund Background and Strategy - Amaranth hedge fund was established in 2000 by Nickolas Maounis, initially focusing on bond arbitrage with stable performance [2] - From 2004 onwards, the fund shifted its strategy to invest heavily in the energy market, with total assets reaching $9.5 billion by August 2006, half of which was allocated to energy [2] - Brian Hunter was promoted to co-head of the energy department in 2005, showcasing exceptional trading skills that generated over $1 billion in profits for the fund that year [3] Group 2: Fatal Betting Strategy - In August 2006, Amaranth held natural gas contracts predicting a widening price spread between winter and summer contracts, with a spread of $2.6 per million BTU [4] - By September 20, the price of the contracts fell significantly, leading to substantial losses for the fund as the anticipated price spread narrowed to $0.6 [4] Group 3: Rapid Decline and Impact - On September 14, 2006, Amaranth reported a loss of $560 million, which accelerated into a series of extreme losses, culminating in a single-day loss of nearly $2 billion on September 15 [5] - By September 20, the fund was forced to sell its energy positions at a significant discount, resulting in investors losing two-thirds of their investments [6][7] Group 4: Regulatory and Risk Management Issues - Following the collapse, regulatory bodies filed lawsuits against Hunter and Amaranth for market manipulation, with fines totaling $259 million for the fund and $30 million for Hunter [9] - The failure of Amaranth highlighted critical risk management deficiencies, emphasizing the need for better oversight and risk assessment practices within hedge funds [10]