Anthony Scaramucci: Where’s The 25-Year Plan For America? (Forbes)
Opinionated? Sure. Outspoken? You bet. Anthony Scaramucci, the founder & co-managing partner of SkyBridge Capital and former White House Communications Director, has a lot to say about politics, economic opportunity and why he thinks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is “an unbelievable disaster.” SkyBridge is hosting its 10th annual SkyBridge Alternatives (SALT) Conference in Las Vegas from May 7-10, where speakers including Nikki Haley, Mark Cuban, Peter Diamandis, Valerie Jarrett and Rudy Giuliani will exchange views on current events and future opportunities in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and sustainable investing.
Hedge-Fund Ownership Cost Sears Workers Their Jobs. Now They’re Fighting Back (The Nation)
Bruce Miller got a job at a Sears in Tom’s River, New Jersey, ”fresh out of high school,” he said. He didn’t have any experience other than repairing cars in his backyard, but a friend who worked in the maintenance department knew he was looking for work and recommended him. That was the beginning of a 36-year career with the company. “Everyone I had talked to said, ‘Get into Sears. Stick with them. They’re a great company. They’ll take care of you,’” he recalled. “I just kept my eyes open and my nose clean and worked my way up.” He eventually became an auto mechanic. In 2005, the hedge fund ESL Investments Inc., owned by Eddie Lampert, took over the company. In the 1990s, Sears struggled to keep up with big-box competitors Walmart and Kmart and to compete with online retailers.
How Hedge Fund Investors are Making Money Off the Data You’re Giving Them for Free (CNBC)
It’s a thing that happens every day: Investors make money off data that you’re giving them for free. Think of something simple, like going to a store for some new clothes. That simple retail transaction generates a legion of data, like where you’re shopping, your demographics and exactly what choices you make in the store. That data is anonymized and aggregated with other shoppers’ data before being sold. The end user? It’s often hedge funds.
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Preqin Reports 69 Hedge Fund Launches, 5.40% Average Performance in Q1 2019 (Opalesque.com)
69 hedge funds were launched in Q1 2019, the majority (84%) of which were single-manager funds, reports research house Preqin in its Q1 update. Furthermore, the Preqin All-Strategies Hedge Fund benchmark returned +5.40% for the quarter. Two thirds launched in North America: Two-thirds of new funds were launched by North America-based managers, slightly up from Q1 2018 statistics (64%). The proportion of Europe-based launches has decreased from 31% to 23% of the total, suggesting that fund managers are bracing themselves for the impact of Brexit on financial markets, whichever form that may take, notes Preqin. Asia-Pacific-based fund launches have been stable, making up 8% of all new funds, but the proportion of new funds with a focus on the region has more than halved in comparison with the previous quarter.
Best Nordic Fixed Income Hedge Fund 2018 (HedgeNordic.com)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Up until this year, all podium winners in the “Best Nordic Fixed Income Hedge Fund” category of the Nordic Hedge Award had been Danish-based funds. Scandinavian Credit Fund, a Stockholm-based direct lending hedge fund, ended this Danish domination after receiving the award for the Best Nordic Fixed Income Hedge Fund of 2018. Two Danish funds, HP Hedge Danish Bonds and Asgard Fixed Income Fund, took the remaining two podium’s steps. In the past three years, it has been tough to stand out from the crowd of Nordic fixed-income hedge funds, as this group outperformed all remaining strategy categories within the Nordic Hedge Index. Fixed-income vehicles generated the highest average returns in both 2016 and 2017, as well as lost the least amount of money last year as a group.
PG&E in Deal with BlueMountain Appoints New Independent Director (Reuters)
(Reuters) – California utility owner PG&E Corp said on Monday it agreed to a deal with BlueMountain Capital Management LLC to appoint a new independent director and a safety adviser, resolving a months-long battle with the activist shareholder. BlueMountain, a New York-based hedge fund, in March selected 13 candidates it hoped to install as directors at PG&E’s board after slamming the embattled power utility for seeking bankruptcy protection.
Investors Continue to Pull Money from Hedge Funds Despite Performance Rebound, Says eVestment (HedgeWeek)
Despite a strong start to the year, which saw Q1 2019 average hedge fund performance hit +5.34 per cent, investors continued to pull money from the sector, redeeming an estimated USD13.69 billion in March, according to the March 2019 eVestment Hedge Fund Asset Flows Report. Q1 2019 marked the fourth consecutive quarter of net outflows from the industry, but Q1’s strong performance more than offset investor redemptions, leaving overall hedge fund industry assets under management (AUM) at USD3.258 trillion. Large Macro, Long/Short Equity and Managed Futures funds, which underperformed in 2018, were responsible for most redemptions in March.
Large Investors Dive Into Risky Loan Securities (The Wall Street Journal)
Canada’s government pension plan is investing $285 million in the riskiest securities of collateralized loan obligations, or CLOs, as large institutions start funneling more cash into a market that has received record sums in 2018. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, or CPPIB, will buy equity in CLOs managed by Sound Point Capital Management, a New York-based credit hedge fund founded by former Bank of America investment banker Stephen Ketchum. It is the first such partnership for the pension, which sees CLO…
Falcon Edge, Maverick, Existing Investors to Invest in Bounce at $200 million Valuation (LiveMint.com)
Mumbai: Two-wheeler rental startup Bounce is closing an $80 million funding round from its existing investors- Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and Chiratae Ventures, as well as three new investors, said three people aware of the matter, on the condition of anonymity. Two US-based hedge funds, Maverick Capital Ventures, the startup investment arm of Maverick Capital, and Falcon Edge Capital, along with B Capital Group, the venture fund started by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, are the new investors participating in the latest round of funding, the people cited above said.
Former UBS Officer Had ‘No Motive and No Money’ in Alleged Insider Trading Deals, Court Hears (CityAM.com)
Fabiana Abdel-Malek has been accused of disclosing price-sensitive information regarding five company takeovers to her family friend and trader, Walid Choucair, between June 2013 and June 2014, allowing him to make more than £1m in profit. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), prosecuting, has charged each of the defendants with five counts of insider trading, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. Both deny the charges. The charges relate to trading in the shares of Kabel Deutschland Holding, BRE Properties, Elizabeth Arden, NorthStar Realty Finance and Targa Resources.
Life Time Insider Trading Conspirator Found Guilty by Federal Jury (ClubIndustry.com)
Eric Weller was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In 2015, Weller was one of nine conspirators who, on an illegal tip, allegedly purchased and sold approximately 2,000 “highly speculative” call options for Life Time shares, amounting to $866,209, prior to the company’s privatization.
Former Provincial Official Gets 20-year Imprisonment for Bribery, Embezzlement, Insider Trading (BrinkWire.com)
CHONGQING, April 23 (Xinhua) – Wang Xiaoguang, former vice governor of Guizhou Province, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday on charges of bribery, embezzlement and insider trading. Wang was also fined 173.5 million yuan (25.8 million U.S. dollars), and his illegal gains will be turned in to the national treasury, according to the sentence by the First Intermediate People’s Court of Chongqing Municipality. Wang used his various positions between 1998 and 2017 in Guizhou to help others obtain government projects and personnel promotions, and in return illegally accepted money and goods worth over 48.7 million yuan.
Tuesday 4/23 Insider Buying Report: MS, HOFT (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, Morgan Stanley (MS)’s Head of Investment Management, Daniel A. Simkowitz, made a $332,979 buy of MS, purchasing 7,000 shares at a cost of $47.57 each. Bargain hunters are able to buy MS even cheaper than Simkowitz did, with shares trading as low as $46.88 at last check today which is 1.4% under Simkowitz’s purchase price. Morgan Stanley is trading off about 0.6% on the day Tuesday. And on Monday, Director Henry G. Williamson Jr. purchased $225,040 worth of Hooker Furniture Corp (HOFT), purchasing 8,000 shares at a cost of $28.13 a piece. This purchase marks the first one filed by Williamson Jr. in the past twelve months. Hooker Furniture Corp is trading up about 0.2% on the day Tuesday. Williamson Jr. was up about 1.6% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with HOFT trading as high as $28.58 in trading on Tuesday.
The SR. V-P, General Counsel of Unit Corp (NYSE: UNT) is Selling Shares (AnalystRatings)
Today, the SR. V-P, General Counsel of Unit Corp (UNT), Mark Schell, sold shares of UNT for $85.31K. In addition to Mark Schell, one other UNT executive reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Unit Corp’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending December 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $215 million and GAAP net loss of $77.84 million. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $205 million and had a net profit of $7.87 million. Currently, Unit Corp has an average volume of 273.2K.
