Hedge Fund Giant Bridgewater Makes Sustainability Splash with New Multi-Asset Strategy (Hedge Week)
Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, has unveiled a new multi-asset strategy which will trade assets that align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, in a move aimed at further tapping into investor appetite for sustainable investing. The Lyxor/Bridgewater All Weather Sustainability Fund – which is managed by Lyxor Asset Management and sub-advised by Bridgewater – is built around Bridgewater’s pioneering systematic research process, and will use the hedge fund giant’s “All Weather” asset allocation framework to engineer its portfolio. Specifically, the UCITS compliant strategy will look to identify and trade a range of public market assets, including equities, government bonds and commodities, that meet the United Nation’s 17 SDG benchmarks.
Analysis: SPAC U-Turn Mars Ackman’s Hedge Fund Pivot (Reuters)
July 20 (Reuters) – It was poised to be William Ackman‘s brilliant pivot from activist hedge fund manager to prominent dealmaker. It ended up souring his rebranding. Ackman last year launched a $4 billion special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the largest blank-check acquisition firm ever raised. With backing from his investors and available bank debt, he amassed enough firepower to take public a company worth tens of billions of dollars.
Crypto Exchange FTX Valued at $18 Billion in Funding Round (The Wall Street Journal)
Investors include SoftBank, Sequoia Capital and Daniel Loeb’s Third Point hedge fund. Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has raised money at an $18 billion valuation, a deal that shows investors’ enthusiasm for digital currencies even after a crash that erased half of bitcoin’s value over the past three months. FTX raised $900 million in a new funding round that closed Tuesday. Participants in the round included Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group Corp. , Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Sequoia Capital and Third Point, the hedge fund led by billionaire Daniel Loeb, FTX said in a statement.
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AIMA Publishes New Guidance on How to Be an Ally in the Global Hedge Fund Industry (Opalesque)
Opalesque Industry Update – Drawing on the stories of members of the global hedge fund industry, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has published a guide on how to be an ally to colleagues from minority or underrepresented groups. ‘How to be an Ally: Stories from the Hedge Fund Industry’ provides examples of how members of the industry can support their colleagues, and breaks allyship down into four pillars: listening, supporting, educating, and persisting. Each pillar is illustrated with stories from the industry, featuring individuals and firms from across the world. The paper also includes a list of a dozen actions industry members can take immediately to support their colleagues.
Hedge Fund Kimmeridge Criticizes High Exec Pay in Energy Sector (Reuters)
July 20 (Reuters) – Energy-focused private equity firm Kimmeridge Energy Management Co LLC on Tuesday released a white paper that criticized high executive compensations by U.S. oil producers in a year that marked one of the industry’s worst downturns. The COVID-19 pandemic and a price war between oil giants Saudi Arabia and Russia last year pushed crude prices to historic lows, worsening a more than six-year downturn that has left investors frustrated with low returns.
