Sailfish Capital Partners experienced severe redemptions last year but, contrary to published reports, the firm says it’s in no danger of blowing up anytime soon.

The Stamford, Conn.-based shop’s Multi-Strat Fixed Income Fund declined 13.5% last year, losing more than 12% in August alone, as the credit crisis peaked. Worse still for the hedge fund, the two-year lockup period for its initial investors expired that very month, precipitating a rush for redemptions.

Last month, investors yanked about $400 million from the fund, after the credit market weakness spiked in November. The fund’s performance tumbled another 4.8% in December.

The fund, which had about $1.9 billion in assets as recently as July, now manages just $980 million, a pair of investors told Bloomberg News.

A spokesman for the firm confirmed the firm’s losses but said its assets were not lost in the way that Sowood Capital Management or Bear Stearns lost their capital.

“Those firms lost money primarily through market action, but these were redemptions that were planned to occur when the lockup period ended,” he said, adding that that is where the majority of the assets have gone.
 
He added that the firm has “never had troubles with any of their [prime brokers]” and “this is by far not a blowup.”

Sailfish was founded by SAC Capital Advisors veteran Mark Fishman and former UBS Securities global fixed-income chief Sal Naro.