Why this former Kingsford analyst is launching an activist short fund

Known for calling out American Addiction Centers for widespread negligence, Chris Drose, a 2016 Furman University alumnus, is in the news again. The English major and former analyst at short-biased hedge fund Kingsford Capital is launching a new activist short fund – Bleecker Street Capital – according to an article in Institutional Investor.

The name is a nod to Drose’s blog, Bleecker Street Research, where he broke a story in 2014 about questionable practices at AAC – a story that led to second-degree murder charges against parent company American Addiction Centers Holdings, Inc. The charges were later dropped, but the company suffered a 54% blow to its stock price, reducing its market capitalization by $387 million – a boon to short sellers who betted against the company.

Drose says the timing is right for his new fund. “This year has been a fantastic year for activist short selling … There are always things that are working,” said Drose, citing solid performance of many activist shorts plays this year, namely among electric vehicle companies and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).