BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund Hoplite Capital is returning money to outside clients after a period of sluggish returns, the firm's founder, John Lykouretzos, told investors in a letter on Wednesday. "I have decided to close the Hoplite managed funds and return third-party capital as soon as possible," Lykouretzos said in the letter seen by Reuters. Hoplite has not "generated the returns necessary to maintain the capital duration required to successfully implement our stock picking strategy without distraction," he added in the letter.