One of President Barack Obama’s biggest campaign supporters is waiting to make a profit if Obama drives the economy over the fiscal cliff. Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group is poised to take advantage of a market sell-off if Obama can not produce a deal to avoid the looming fiscal cliff, according to Bloomberg.
Marc Lasry, founder of Avenue Capital Group LLC, is heading into the end of the year with more cash than his firm usually holds, to take advantage of a possible market selloff should U.S. lawmakers fail to agree on steps to reduce the country’s debt.
Avenue Capital has about 20 percent to 25 percent of its assets in cash, compared with the 15 percent it usually holds, Lasry said at the Bloomberg Hedge Funds Summit in New York today. The firm anticipates that volatility will increase amid the prospect of more than $600 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January if Congress doesn’t act.
"Hopefully we’ll be able to take advantage of that by buying things on the cheap," Lasry said.
During the 2012 cycle, Lasry was a bundler for the Obama campaign committed to raising more than $500,000. He also hosted Wall Street fundraisers for Obama. Additionally, one of Lasry’s five children landed a job at the White House.