Paulson’s Subprime Bets Reap 410 Percent Return — So Far

From MarketWatch, catching up with a hedge fund investor who has been discussed on this blog in the past:

A hedge fund run by $20 billion firm Paulson & Co. has surged 410% so far this year as subprime bets paid off.

The Paulson Credit Opportunities fund, set up last year to take advantage of potential mortgage turmoil, returned 26.67% in August, leaving it up 410% in 2007, according to a person who has seen the firm’s most recent performance update.

Another fund set up a little later, called Paulson Credit Opportunities II, jumped 32% last month, leaving it up 229.57% so far this year, the person added on condition of anonymity.

Still think he’s unhappy with Bear Stearns and their loan workout strategies?

I’d posted in July that the Credit Opportunities fund was up 129.22 percent for the year at that time — since then, it looks like returns have shot the moon. (And the year isn’t over yet; an 800 percent return doesn’t appear to be out of the question at the current pace.)