‘Mall-Short’ Expert McNamara Forms New CMBS-Focused Hedge Fund

A portfolio manager who made a fortune shorting shopping malls in 2020 during the pandemic is forming his own hedge fund that aims to bet on distressed real estate.

Daniel McNamara, whose fund at MP Securitized Credit Partners generated a 119% net return in less than four months last year by shorting a commercial mortgage-bond credit derivatives index with outsized exposure to failing shopping malls, has left the firm. He is forming a new long/short hedge fund focused on the CMBS market.

The firm, dubbed Polpo Capital, is starting with approximately $100 million in capital. It’s looking to produce ...