Omega Advisors

Omega Advisors

Cooperman launched Omega Advisors as a fundamental, value-oriented hedge fund after retiring as Goldman Sachs' general partner and chair of its investment policy committee. The firm operated as a traditional long-short equity manager, concentrating on publicly traded securities across sectors where Cooperman's deep analytical experience gave the firm an edge — industrials, financials, energy, and special situations. At its peak, Omega managed over $10 billion, making it one of the largest single-manager hedge funds in New York. Omega's strategy centered on intensive bottom-up research and a concentrated portfolio of high-conviction positions. Cooperman was known for detailed earnings-model work, direct management meetings, and willingness to hold large, publicly disclosed stakes in companies he believed were undervalued. The firm did not use high-frequency trading or complex derivatives but relied on old-fashioned security analysis. Notable positions over the years included Atlas Air Worldwide, SandRidge Energy, and Sirius XM Holdings. The investment approach blended activism-adjacent engagement with a patient, multi-year holding period. The firm faced regulatory headwinds in the 2010s. In 2016, Omega Advisors settled with the SEC over insider trading allegations related to Atlas Pipeline Partners, paying a penalty and Cooperman personally accepting a settlement without admitting or denying the findings. The firm also agreed to a compliance consultant review (per Wall Street Journal, 2017). In July 2018, Cooperman announced he would wind down Omega's external hedge fund and return all outside investor capital, converting the firm into a family office managing his personal fortune. He cited a desire to escape the pressures of marking-to-market and quarterly redemptions. Omega's arc is distinguished by its single-manager concentration and its terminal conversion. Unlike multi-strategy platforms that scale by adding pods, Omega's returns and reputation were indivisible from Cooperman's own judgment. His willingness to appear regularly on CNBC and give market commentary — unusual for a hedge fund manager of his size — made Omega one of the more publicly accessible large funds. The succession was seamless because it was purely structural: the same investor, the same capital, just without outside limited partners. Cooperman continues to manage that capital from Boca Raton, Florida.