Knight Vinke founder says his fund can't invest in uncertain US under Trump

By Simon Jessop and Susanna Twidale

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Eric Knight said his hedge fund cannot invest in the United States under President Donald Trump because the risks have become too great, but profits can be made in Europe where rules and policies for green energy projects are more predictable.

Monaco-based Knight Vinke Asset Management sold the last of its U.S. holdings in August, its CEO and founder Knight told Reuters in a recent interview.

The fund, which Knight founded in 2003 and made its name in part by pushing Shell SHEL.L to unify into a single company in 2005, returned 17.9% in 2025, a letter to its investors which was seen by Reuters showed.

After investing in everything from Big Oil to banks, Knight has focused on the energy sector in recent years, launching a dedicated energy transition fund last year.

However, the risks of investing in alternative energy companies in the U.S. have become too high, he said.

"It's become uninvestable because the rule of law is not applied uniformly," said Knight, "the headwinds are too strong."

The Trump administration paused construction of five major offshore wind projects late last year, causing share prices to plummet, and last month Trump called wind farms 'losers'.

Shares in Danish wind company Orsted ORSTED.CO plunged to a record low in August after the U.S. government halted work on its nearly-completed Revolution wind project off Rhode Island.

Norwegian oil company Equinor EQNR.OL, meanwhile, took a near-$1 billion impairment on its green energy division after its Empire Wind 1 project was halted.

Federal judges have since allowed work to continue on all five projects as they fight the administration in the courts.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said the green energy industry received unfair, preferential treatment under former President Joe Biden.

"President Trump has reversed course on Joe Biden's dangerous ideological crusade against oil and gas companies by unleashing American energy to lower costs for American families and businesses and to protect our national security," she said.

PLANS TO SCALE UP SSE WIND CAPACITY

Knight is focusing instead on Britain's SSE, which has a large power and transmission business as well as an offshore wind unit, predicting its valuation could double over the next five to ten years.

Knight's fund, whose stake in SSE is currently under the 3% threshold requiring public disclosure, has amassed enough shares to press the company to expand its investments, backing a new 33 billion pound ($45.16 billion) capital expenditure plan, but calling for more to be spent on UK offshore wind.

He said SSE should consolidate its Berwick Bank project off the coast of Scotland, one of the world's largest, with other local assets to create a larger, connected wind power project that can produce more energy at a lower cost.

To do that, he said SSE should retain 100% of the project rather than selling off small stakes, as its management has previously done with other offshore wind assets.

He also suggested selling assets that are about to lose guaranteed revenue streams as government-backed contracts or power purchase agreements near an end, including a portfolio of onshore wind assets.

After writing to the board in February 2025 outlining the need for more ambition and greater focus, Knight said he planned to meet with SSE again in early 2026 after the conclusion of several internal SSE working groups.

A spokesperson said SSE does not speculate on any individual shareholder views.

Knight said his fund would also continue to lobby the British government, trade unions and other political parties on his vision to create much larger wind projects. They planned to convene a forum for stakeholders before Easter, he added.

Knight, who bought into SSE several years ago, said the stock had done well, especially since his "observations" to the board last February and the resulting "transformational" plan to spend big on the grid network.

Since February 2025, SSE's share price has risen more than 60% and the company is currently valued at around 28 billion pounds ($38.28 billion) but could rise significantly higher if the company backed his strategy, Knight said.

"Within 5 to 10 years it could be worth 60 billion (pounds)," he said, which would bring it closer to BP BP.L, with a stock market value of just under 70 billion pounds.

($1 = 0.7307 pounds)