His career as a hedge fund manager lasted almost 20 years, longer than his time in professional football. Now though he has been forced to close his boutique down.

Vega Swiss Asset Management (VSAM) based in London, the hedge fund of Ramon Vega, is being wound up, according to a report by «Financial News» (behind paywall). Vega was a professional footballer and played for Tottenham Hotspurs and the Swiss national team.

Vega said he hadn’t taken his decision to exit the business easily, adding that he had tried to close the fund for a couple of years. He also said that nothing special had occurred and that he simply wanted to do something else.

Turn for the Worse

Vega at one time managed more than $1 billion for clients and was mainly active in the currency and bond trade, according to earlier reports the media. He is said to have made a profit of 15 million euros on Italian government bonds in 2012.

But since then, things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. The banking ombudsman in the U.K. ordered the fund in two cases to pay fees back to clients, with a total of £180,000 involved.

Last year, Switzerland’s «Sonntagszeitung» reported about that Vega’s fund was set to be liquidated by the U.K.

Investment Losses

Vega told the «Financial News» that his decision to exit the business had been taken in light of Brexit. The liquidator installed said that there had been no option for Vega but to close the fund anyway because of investment losses.

Clients had cancelled their mandates after the losses. As the clients had ceased doing business with VSAM, the possibility to recover from the losses had evaporated. Therefore, the hedge fund was forced to stop trading. The fund has still some outstanding liabilities with clients, lawyers and auditors. Vega said that the repayment of those liabilities had been set in motion.

Fascinated by Football

Vega proclaimed to be open for activities in private equity or in fintech. Over the past four years, Vega also advised football associations and clubs and he even had launched a candidacy as president of football governing body FIFA.

He is still fascinated by the football world and remains convinced that his financial know-how is in great demand in this industry.

His hometown club Grasshoppers, where he launched his career as a defender, currently languishes in the second Swiss league and is currently looking for a buyer.