Michael Bury the legendary investor immortalized in The Big Short for his prescient bet against the 2008 housing bubble confirmed the closure of his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, citing a fundamental disconnect between his valuation models and current market conditions.
In a letter to investors dated October 27, 2025, Bury wrote: “With a heavy heart, I will liquidate the funds and return capital but for a small audit/tax holdback by year’s end. My estimation of value in securities is not now, and has not been for some time, in sync with the markets.”
This echoes his 2008 decision to shut down his original fund, Scion Capital, amid similar frustrations with market irrationality. Scion, which managed about $155 million in assets as of March 2025, has been deregistered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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This relieves Bury of public disclosure requirements for trades, potentially shifting the firm to a family office model focused on personal investments. Burry’s third-quarter 13F filing submitted early on November 3 revealed bearish put options on AI stocks Nvidia (NVDA) and Palantir (PLTR), with a notional value of ~$1.1 billion.
He later clarified on X that his actual exposure on Palantir was only $9.2 million. These positions, combined with his warnings of “bubbles” in markets, underscore his out-of-sync view. Bury relaunched Scion as Scion Asset Management in 2013 after closing his original fund.
The new entity focused on value investing in areas like water rights, farmland, gold, and select equities. His track record includes massive gains from the 2008 crisis, but recent performance struggles—amid a bull market driven by tech optimism—appear to have prompted the wind-down.
Bury hinted at “much better things” with a tease for November 25, 2025—possibly a new venture, but details are unclear. He suggested investors contact his associate PM Phil for “coming endeavors.”
Bury’s exit highlights growing bearish sentiment among contrarian investors in a market buoyant on AI hype and retail enthusiasm. Similar moves include John Paulson converting his fund to a family office in 2020.
Analysts see this as Bury “stepping away from a rigged game,” potentially freeing him for bolder personal plays without regulatory scrutiny. Speculation swirls around shifts to alternatives like crypto or private assets, given Bitcoin’s consolidation near $103,000.
This isn’t Bury’s first “rage quit”—it’s a pattern for the self-described “Cassandra Unchained” a nod to the ignored prophet in Greek myth. While he returns capital to investors, his influence via X posts and personal portfolio could still rattle markets.
As a “Big Short” icon who’s historically timed tops via his 2008 fund closure after housing profits, or his 2021 Tesla capitulation marking the pandemic peak, this move underscores a deepening disconnect between contrarian value investing and the speculative frenzy driving AI and related sectors.
For venture capitalists (VCs) and crypto infrastructure (e.g., DeFi protocols, layer-1/2 chains, stablecoin rails, and tokenized assets), the read-through is mixed but leans bearish short-term: a potential liquidity crunch and valuation reset, with upside for resilient builders in a post-bubble shakeout.
VCs, particularly those betting on AI startups, cloud computing, and hardware-adjacent plays, face amplified risks as Bury’s exit amplifies skepticism about “aggressive accounting” in tech infrastructure.
His critiques—e.g., tech giants understating depreciation on AI hardware to inflate earnings—mirror dot-com era excesses, where capex masked weak fundamentals. With global VC dry powder at ~$300B per PitchBook data as of Q3 2025 but deployment slowing amid high interest rates, Bury’s “not in sync” letter could catalyze.
LPs (limited partners) may pull back from late-stage AI rounds, favoring proven moats over hype. Bury’s short on Palantir a data/AI darling with VC roots via Peter Thiel highlights scrutiny on ontology-driven firms.
AI startups raised $50B+ in 2025 but Bury’s bubble call echoes 1999-2000, when VC-backed tech valuations halved. Expect down rounds for 20-30% of portfolios, per VC sentiment on X. Contrarians like Bury historically thrive post-crash; VCs could scoop undervalued assets if equities unwind 15-20%.