Drifting Hedge Fund Star Could Do With a New Co-Pilot (Bloomberg)
Michael Hintze should find a way to focus on trading again. After all, CQS once boasted returns that were triple the hedge fund industry average. When the mojo starts to fade at a previously successful hedge fund, founders will often ask a colleague to run the overall business in order to concentrate on the trading opportunities that built the riches in the first place. But what if that road to redemption is compromised by a previous failed attempt to cede control? Billionaire Michael Hintze’s hedge fund is down by 42.5% this year after losing a third of its value during the Covid-driven market turmoil in March, my Bloomberg News colleague Nishant Kumar reported earlier this month. Investments in structured credit, Hintze’s specialty, were hammered amid concern the pandemic would trash the economy and spark a wave of debt defaults.
Anthony Scaramucci Says First Presidential Debate Was an ‘Embarrassment’ to the U.S. (CNBC)
SINGAPORE – The first debate between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was an “embarrassment” to the country, said Anthony Scaramucci, a hedge fund investor who briefly served as Trump’s White House communications chief. During the 90-minute debate on Tuesday night, the candidates constantly interrupted each other and the moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, struggled to maintain control.
Silver Lake Launches New 25-Year Investment Strategy Backed by Mubadala (The Wall Street Journal)
Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. is making an investment in Silver Lake and contributing $2 billion to help the technology-focused private-equity firm launch a new long-term strategy. Mubadala will take a stake of less than 5% in Silver Lake, buying roughly half of what Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s Dyal Capital Partners purchased in 2016, the private-equity firm said Wednesday.
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Union Fund Sues Over Stock Offering to Ackman, Pershing Square (Pensions&Investments)
Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 292 Pension Fund, Troy, Mich., is suing to gain access to the books and records of Howard Hughes Corp. in connection with a private stock offering to a hedge fund firm. The suit, filed Sept. 23 in chancery court in Delaware, said that in March, HHC offered 10 million shares of common stock to Pershing Square Capital Management, while concurrently offering 2 million shares to the public. HHC Chairman William A. Ackman is Pershing Square’s founder, CEO and portfolio manager.
Hedge Fund Launches at “Historically Low” Levels Despite Q2 Recovery, But Liquidations Ease Following Covid Crash (Hedge Week)
The rate of new hedge fund launches grew between April and June following the coronavirus-fuelled first quarter slump, as hedge fund performance recovered – but the number of new roll-outs over the past 12 months remains “historically low”, Hedge Fund Research says. New hedge fund launches totalled an estimated 129 in the second quarter. That number was a sharp increase on Q1 which proved the highest quarterly launch total since 153 funds were rolled out in Q2 2019, according to HFR’s latest Market Microstructure Report.
Mets Sale to Steve Cohen Excuses a Decade of Wilpon Errors (Bloomberg)
Fred Wilpon and his brother-in-law, Saul Katz, made their first investment with Bernie Madoff in 1985. The amount was $3 million, which came from revenue from their real estate company, Sterling Equities. The next year, Wilpon, who was a minority shareholder in the New York Mets, raised his stake to 50% of the team. Then in 2002, he paid the Mets’s longtime owner, Nelson Doubleday, $135 million for the other 50% (along with the assumption of the team’s debt). The deal gave the team a valuation of $400 million. As Wilpon prepares to sell the team to hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen, keep that number in mind.
