DJ reports hedge fund manager Bill Fleckenstein writes in his Daily Rap column that he's closing down his Fleckenstein Capital fund because he no longer wants to run a short fund. Describing running a short-only fund as "stressful, nerve-wracking and generally not very much fun, he said he became a short seller in part because of the "bubble" he saw forming because of Alan Greenspan-era policies and because of widespread lack of respect for risk. "However, the recent carnage in the stock market, real estate market and the financial system (as well as the job losses) has washed away those excesses to a large degree and it has violently demonstrated the risks associated with investing," he wrote. He said that though he believes the stock market "still has unfinished business on the downside," he said 2009 will be the time "to prepare for a return to managing money in a more balanced fashion, with longs (and some shorts), as there are currently plenty of interesting ideas that appear to offer a margin of safety." Fleckenstein said he'll return to investing using a more balanced investing approach in a vehicle that will not be a hedge fund.