(Bloomberg) -- Redwood Capital Management, a $9.4 billion hedge fund focused on opportunistic investments in credit and special situations, is looking to raise another $2.25 billion for its next drawdown fund, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg. 

The firm’s last drawdown vehicle reported a net internal rate of return of 31.6% so far this year and 17.4% since its 2021 inception, tied to opportunities that arose mostly from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, higher interest rates and inflation, according to documents shared with investors. Redwood has invested 50% of that fund’s capital. 

For the next fund, Redwood is planning to concentrate more cash in each of its investments in order to wield power during the increasingly complex and aggressive restructuring maneuvers that now characterize distressed debt deals. Credit markets are beset with such maneuvers, often referred to as ‘lender violence,’ after years of low interest rates pressured lenders to accept weak debt protections for access to riskier deals with higher yields, which were in high demand. 

Redwood’s co-chief investment officer, Ruben Kliksberg, described “adapting to industry shifts, such as the rise of liability management exercises and adversarial creditor transactions,” in the Oct. 21 letter. “We’ve navigated these changes by holding larger positions to defend our rights and influence outcomes,” he wrote. 

The amount of distressed debt available for investment is hovering near the lowest levels of the year, at just over $500 billion, according to Bloomberg’s global distressed debt tracker. On average, distressed-debt hedge funds are up 11.1% this year, according to an index tracked by PivotalPath. 

Kliksberg runs Redwood alongside his co-chief investment officer, Sean Sauler. A representative for Redwood declined to comment on the fund’s plans or its past returns. 

Redwood’s new drawdown fund is set to close June 16 of next year and begin investing the following month.

Redwood was founded in the year 2000 with its master fund, which invests in distressed and stressed credits; that fund has a net year-to-date return of 16.2% for its main series, according to the investor documents. The firm’s opportunity fund, formed in 2009 and managing $2.4 billion, returned 12.5% for the same period. All year-to-date return figures are through the end of October. 

--With assistance from Katherine Burton.

(Updates to add average fund metrics in fifth paragraph.)

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