Fir Tree Partners Launched A New Hedge Fund. (HFN)
The fund, offered by Fir Tree affiliate Camellia Advisors, raised $96 million starting Dec. 1, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made public on Wednesday. Also in the filing, the fund will be open to investors for less than a year. The money was raised from 10 investors who put in a minimum investment of $1,513,800.
Hedge Fund Buys Rare Gold Coin (FINalternatives)
A hedge fund has acquired one of the rarest coins in the world for more than $7 million.The unidentified Wall Street firm bought the 1787 Brasher gold doubloon last month for $7.4 million through a New Orleans-based intermediary, the seller, Steven Contursi, said. Contursi’s Rare Coin Wholesalers bought the coin six years ago for less than $3 million.
‘Greedy’ Insider Trader Jailed For Using Hedge-Fund Tips (Bloomberg)
A London management consultant was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of making about 500,000 pounds ($774,000) using confidential tips from a hedge-fund trader. Jurors found Rupinder Sidhu guilty on 22 of 23 insider- dealing charges yesterday, said Chris Hamilton, a spokesman for the U.K. Financial Services Authority, which filed the case. A separate charge of money laundering wasn’t considered. Sidhu, 40, used information from AKO Capital LLP trader Anjam Ahmad about the hedge fund’s trading plans to spread bet on companies including Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER), Swatch Group (UHR) AG and Michael Page International Plc (MPI) between June and August 2009, prosecutors said. He is the eighth person sentenced to prison for insider trading in a case brought by the FSA.
Einhorn Replaces Credit Swaps With Shorts When Betting On Sovereign Debt (Bloomberg)
David Einhorn, the hedge-fund manager who compared the Greek bailout to a surrealist painting, recast a bet against sovereign debt in a way that reduces risks posed by government regulators and big banks. Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. (GLRE), a publicly traded insurer controlled by Einhorn, held credit default swaps on $667 million of sovereign debt as of June 30. During the third quarter, the company exited about half of those swaps, designed to pay off should a government default, and entered into short sales on non-U.S. sovereign bonds, according to a regulatory filing.
Investors Falling Out Of Love With Hedge Funds (Reuters)
Deep cracks are starting to show in the love affair between hedge funds and their investors, after another year of paltry returns on expensive investments leaves many feeling cheated and close to bailing out. An asset class once feted for its ability to make money in all markets is back under the spotlight after the average fund lost 4.4 percent in the first 11 months of the year, data from Hedge Fund Research shows. Hedge funds, which made money both in 2001’s tumbling markets and 2003’s rally, have been caught out this year by whipsawing markets and high volatility amid the euro zone’s prolonged and deepening debt crisis.
JCAM Shuts Flagship Fund, Plans New Liquid Credit Trading Strategy (Hedgefund Intelligence)
James Caird Asset Management, the $1.9 billion London and New York-based hedge fund led by former Moore credit managers Tim Leslie and Robert Miller that span out from Moore in 2008, is liquidating its flagship JCAM Global Fund and returning capital to investors in a reorganisation aimed at adapting to long-term structural changes in the global credit markets.
Boyer Allan To Shutter Two Hedge Funds (Reuters)
Boyer Allan Investment Management is shutting two of its hedge funds after losses and a fall in assets this year, four sources familiar with the matter said, lengthening the list of Asia focused funds that have closed this year. The company, which managed about $1.8 billion in three products before the financial crisis, was shutting its pan-Asia Boyer Allan Pacific fund after an 18.7 percent loss up to the end of November, two of the sources said. It is also shutting the Boyer Allan Greater China fund, which has lost 7.8 percent this year. The firm will continue to run its Boyer Allan Pacific Opportunities fund.
Northill Capital Acquires Majority In Wellfield Partners (FINalternatives)
London-based asset manager Northill Capital has acquired a majority interest in Wellfield Partners, a systematic global investment manager. Under the terms of the detail, Northill will provide dedicated seed and equity capital to support and accelerate Wellfield Partners’ growth in target European and international markets. Northill has committed seed capital of $30 million for a minimum of three years.
Hedge Fund Manager Pleads Guilty To Fraud (FINalternatives)
Ward Onsa yesterday admitted to running a Ponzi scheme at his New Century Hedge Fund Partners. According to prosecutors, Onsa raised more than $5 million for the vehicle, mostly from investors’ individual retirement accounts. Onsa now faces up to 20 years in prison.
Hedge Fund Lobby Group Spent $1M (HFN)
The hedge fund industry’s lobbying group spent more than $1 million in the third quarter of this year to petition federal officials voting on financial regulations affecting the industry. The Washington D.C.-based Managed Funds Association spent $1.02 million, according to an Associated Press article citing the group’s quarterly filing with the House of Representatives office.
NorthPoint, CurAlea Offer New Hedge Fund Solution (HFN)
Technology consultant NorthPoint has partnered with hedge fund risk advisor CurAlea Associates to offer a new hedge fund solution. RiskSuite provides an automated and fully customizable solution for risk measurement, assessment, and decomposition at the portfolio and position level, according to a statement by NorthPoint.
