Fund That Thrived With Founder in Russian Jail Can’t Escape War
- Baring Vostok’s clients are left stuck after Ukraine conflict
- Calpers, UTIMCO among Baring Vostok investors unable to exit
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Michael Calvey spent decades believing in Russia. He made successful bets on technology and consumer firms as the country emerged from the breakup of Soviet Union, and stayed invested after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Even his arrest and incarceration in 2019 didn’t put him off.
It helped that funds managed by Calvey’s Baring Vostok Capital Partners exploded in value from $2.6 billion to $9 billion during the 2 1/2 years he battled charges he said were baseless from jail and, later, house arrest, according to a person with knowledge of the firm’s operations, who asked not to be named discussing results.