Exclusive - Oil legend Andy Hall suffers first loss since 1990s

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In tumultuous markets, that's harder than ever as positions swing abruptly from profit to loss. And this year he'll have do it without his top oil trader and long-time No. 2 Malcolm McAvity, who retired last month after 26 years.

"Hall has got a double function," said one senior commodity trading executive at a different firm. The executive said his impression from speaking to employees was that Hall was starting to spend more time on the fund, which generates a 2 percent management fee.

"If you're making $80 million in fees, what would you rather do?"

Hall declined to comment for this story.

Astenbeck, named for a village near the 1,000-year-old German castle he owns, was initially set up in 2007 as a way for investors to profit from trades that mirrored Phibro's strategies. But the fund now appears to have a broader remit, according to its latest offer documents sent to investors.

Now Hall, a UK-born Oxford graduate and avid art collector who burst into wider public view in 2009 for refusing to give up a $100 million bonus, must prove his mettle anew.

VOLATILE RETURNS

Astenbeck swayed throughout last year, falling by more than 10 percent during periods in both May and August, when commodity markets unexpectedly crashed. He recovered those losses, but the fund then crashed by 18 percent in September, taking it down 5 percent for the year at that point, investors have said.

"All the markets were really subjected to these big reversals," said Fraser McKenzie, managing partner and head of research at 47 Degrees North, a fund of funds in Pfaeffikon, Switzerland, with about $300 million under management.