Here’s What Jana’s Barry Rosenstein, a Top Activist Investor, is Buying Now (CNBC)
Jana Partners’ Barry Rosenstein is a top activist investor in the industry who famously pushed Whole Foods into the arms of e-commerce giant Amazon. Rosenstein’s hedge fund grew popular from its double digit returns in the years following its inception in 2001, however, it has seen lackluster performance recently. Rosenstein oversees about $5 billion as of 2019.
Jim Simons’ Renaissance Pulled $1.2 Billion Out of Tesla and Slashed Its Starbucks and Amazon Stakes Last Quarter (Business Insider)
Renaissance Technologies, one of the world’s biggest and best-performing hedge funds, slashed its stakes in Tesla, Amazon, and Starbucks in the first quarter. RenTech, founded by Cold War codebreaker and MIT math professor Jim Simons, suffered a 22% plunge in the value of its stock portfolio to about $101 billion, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week. The decline was largely due to the coronavirus pandemic hammering many of the quantitative fund’s more than 3,400 holdings, but also reflected some major stock sales.
Hedge Fund Group Marshall Wace Creates New Alt Ucits Vehicle (CityWireSelector)
Hedge fund giant Marshall Wace and Alt Ucits platform Lumyna Investments have broadened their cooperation in the alternative investment space. New York-based group is set to move its Ucits products from Ireland to Luxembourg, placing them under a new fund umbrella called Lumnya Luxembourg Sicav. Lumyna will act as the management company and principal distributor for the Sicav, with investment management responsibility executed by Marshall Wace. The transfer is expected to be complete by Q1 2021.
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Here’s What Seth Klarman, the Hedge Fund Manager Compared to Buffett, is Betting on Now (CNBC)
Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group bought large stakes in several major tech stocks and sold multiple positions previously valued at more than $200 million during a volatile first quarter for global markets.
A $3.5 Billion Hedge Fund Lures Cash With Rare Fee Discount (Bloomberg)
Selwood Asset Management, one of the fastest growing hedge fund firms in London, is enticing new clients with a type of fee structure that hasn’t been seen in the industry since the last financial crisis. The firm will waive its cut of some new clients’ profits until the net asset value of its flagship fund reaches its previous peak, a threshold known as the high-water mark, according to people with knowledge of the matter. That means Selwood won’t collect a performance fee until the fund has gained 8%, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Selwood typically charges performance fees ranging from 13.5% to 30% for its main fund.
Coronavirus Crisis Heralds Major Changes to the Hedge Fund/Prime Broker Dynamic (Hedge Week)
With the broader hedge fund industry facing multiple challenges around rising costs, squeezed profits, and a shifting regulatory backdrop, the prime brokerage sector will need to juggle future disruptions and sweeping changes in client activity as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In a new market commentary, Anthony Bennett, head of prime brokerage at Capco, a global technology and management consultancy dedicated to the financial services industry, examined the potentially far-reaching fallout of the Covid-19 crisis on the hedge funds/PB relationship, with future success possibly hinging on the degree of diversification within a PB’s business. Gauging perspectives through recent conversations with leading prime brokers, Bennett suggested primes have largely weathered Q1’s historic volatility and de-risking and “passed the initial tests” of the recent crisis.
Here are the Stay-at-Home and Software Stocks that Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global is Betting on Now (CNBC)
Hedge fund manager Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global fund made several big moves with stay-at-home stocks during the first quarter, including dumping all its shares in one digital communication company. Coleman worked under legendary investor Julian Robertson, who closed his Tiger Management fund in 2000 and gave Coleman $25 million to start his own fund. He has since burnished his own reputation as a growth investor, specifically with tech stocks.
Pantera Capital Crypto Hedge Funds Are Losing Double Digits, but Bitcoin Fund Is Up 10,000% to Date (Coin Desk)
Heavy losses are rocking alternative crypto-asset funds at Pantera Capital, one of the oldest cryptocurrency investment managers, and providing stark contrast to its bitcoin fund’s gains. Pantera Capital’s flagship bitcoin fund – a fund holding BTC since 2013 and bitcoin cash (BCH) since 2017 – lost 75.6% in 2018 and gained 87.7% in 2019, according to internal materials seen by CoinDesk. The last two years dragged the bitcoin fund’s all-time returns to 10,162%, down 54% from 2017’s peak of 22,321% but still exceeding all-time returns at elite funds hundreds of times over. On the newer end, three hybrid Pantera Capital hedge funds created in 2017 were solidly negative, suggesting access to deals was not indicative of investment performance and that novel coin vehicles were highly risky or hard for the firm to actively manage.
AIFM Launches new Fund in AIF Wrapper (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Swedish fund company AIFM Group has launched an AIF-regulated fund called Räntespar i Sverige, aiming to serve as an alternative to traditional fixed-income funds. Räntespar i Sverige was set up as an alternative investment fund that issues participating loans to investors, who, in turn, receive exposure to a pool of predominantly investment-grade corporate bonds. With the participating loans listed on the Nordic Growth Market, investors can sell their investments without Räntespar i Sverige having to liquidate existing positions. The fund is not affected by inflows and outflows, which ensures a long-term horizon that protects against short-term movements in the market.
