STEVE BANNON: “Robert Mercer, a billionaire investor who is a big backer of many conservative causes and a patron of the former White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon, is stepping down as co-chief executive of Renaissance Technologies, the giant hedge fund.
Mr. Mercer sent a letter to investors and pension advisers on Thursday [11-2-17] morning in which he said he would step down. A copy of the letter was reviewed by The New York Times.
In the letter, Mr. Mercer said he was stepping down from his post as of Jan. 1, 2018, and would also step down from the hedge fund’s board. He said he would remain active on the research side of the hedge-fund firm, which makes trades using complex mathematical equations.
The one-paragraph letter to investors did not give a reason for Mr. Mercer’s decision. Mr. Mercer’s involvement in conservative politics became a lightning rod for criticism during and after the presidential election.
But in a letter to the employees of the hedge fund, with the subject line ‘past, present, and future,’ Mr. Mercer acknowledged the public scrutiny he has faced since Mr. Trump’s election…
Mr. Mercer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.”
-Matthew Goldstein and Kate Kelly, “Robert Mercer to Step Down as Co-Chief of Renaissance Technologies,” The New York Times online, Nov. 2, 2017