Atticus Capital, one of New York’s most powerful hedge funds, has lost more than $5bn (€3.4bn) this year, as its record as one of the world’s top performing money managers was damaged by the credit crunch.

The firm’s two flagship funds fell by a quarter and almost a third by the end of August, marking among the biggest losses in dollar terms ever recorded by a hedge fund. This was as a result of its strategy of taking large, concentrated bets and using few “short” positions betting on a fall in prices to lower risk.