Hedge Fund Billionaire Bill Ackman Sees the Fed Keeping Rates Higher for Longer as Inflation Poses Biggest Threat to Economy (Business Insider)
The Federal Reserve and Chairman Jerome Powell will keep benchmark interest rates higher for longer to tame inflation, Bill Ackman tweeted Tuesday. The billionaire hedge fund manager said inflation poses the biggest risk to the US economy, not Fed rate hikes, as high prices weigh on consumer and business confidence. “The Fed understands this and therefore I expect Powell will show hawkish resolve on not only maintaining higher rates for longer, but also being open to a terminal rate meaningfully higher than 3.4%,” Ackman predicted.
Ellington’s Vranos Bets on ‘90s Trades That Brought Him Fame (Bloomberg)
The Federal Reserve’s flurry of interest rate hikes is recreating the market conditions that helped mortgage investor Michael Vranos make his fortune in the early 1990s. Now, he is betting the same trades will help him win again. The Fed’s current rate tightening cycle is reminiscent of the central bank’s actions nearly thirty years ago, when it raised rates by 300 basis points to 6%. This created the opportunities that allowed Vranos to set up a hedge fund now known as Ellington Management Group.
As Stock Price Deadline Looms, Waitr turns over More Shares to New York Hedge Fund (The Advocate)
A New York hedge fund has increased its stake in Waitr amid the Lafayette-based delivery service app’s attempts to shift its business strategies and find a more solid financial footing as its days on the stock market may be numbered. Luxor Capital Group bumped its ownership from about 10% to 17% through a debt-for-equity exchange, according to federal filings and company statements. The hedge fund loaned Waitr $60 million in 2018.
Rawpixel / shutterstock.com
Unintended Consequences? US Hedge Fund Industry Raises Alarm on SEC Private Fund Plans (Hedge Week)
With private fund advisor rules firmly in the SEC’s compliance crosshairs, a majority of US managers say they are concerned about the regulator’s far-reaching proposals, which could bring significant operational and compliance burdens and substantially impact certain hedge fund strategies. The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking an increasingly strident approach towards market regulation under chair Gary Gensler, with new proposals covering private fund advisors, environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures, and digital assets and cryptocurrencies, among other things, potentially heralding sweeping changes to financial services in the US.
Argosy Private Equity Raises $422m for Latest Fund (Opalesque)
Argosy Private Equity, a lower middle market private equity firm, has raised $422 million for its sixth fund. The fund beat its target and reached its hard cap. Consistent with Argosy V, Argosy VI will focus on making control investments in niche manufacturing and business-to-business service companies with $20 to $100 million of revenue and $3 to $10 million of EBITDA. “Argosy’s brand has been built upon being disciplined investors in the lower middle market and we continue to believe in the opportunity it has to offer,” said Michael Bailey, Partner.
Quant Manager Mark Carhart to Start Third Climate Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
Quant hedge fund manager Mark Carhart is starting a third fund that seeks to profit from efforts to address climate change. The Carbon Evolution Fund will trade securities such as California Carbon Allowances and derivatives tied to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and European Union Allowances for emissions, said a person with direct knowledge of the new offering from Kepos Capital.
BlackRock’s $1.4 Billion Obsidian Fund Hedge Fund is Down Double-Digits Amid the Market Turmoil. Here’s How Three Massive Money Managers are Performing. (Business Insider)
BlackRock, Pimco, and Janus have experienced losses and underperformed so far in 2022. BlackRock’s Obsidian Fund was down 19.2% year to date for the period ending July 8. The average hedge fund returned 5.8% over the first six month of 2022, according to data from HFR. Massive money managers like BlackRock, Pimco, and Janus have seen less than stellar returns in their hedge fund offerings during the first half of the year.
Billionaires Are Piling Into These 2 Dividend-Paying Pharma Stocks (The Motley Fool)
Billionaires are taking advantage of the weakness in Pfizer and Viatris this year. U.S. stock markets are going through a historically turbulent period right now. Rising interest rates, geopolitical unrest, supply chain woes, and record-setting levels of inflation have wreaked havoc on U.S. stock prices this year. The S&P 500’s performance during the first half of 2022 was its worst on record since 1970. Likewise, the Dow Jones Industrial Average delivered its worst returns on capital in 60 years over the prior two quarters. The Nasdaq Composite, for its part, churned out an all-time low in terms of its performance during the first six months of 2022. Billionaire super-investors like Bridgewater Associates‘ Raymond Dalio and Citadel‘s Kenneth Griffin haven’t exactly shied away from buying certain equity classes this year, however.
Tuesday 7/26 Insider Buying Report: RVMD, NIC (Nasdaq.com)
On Friday, Revolution Medicines’ Director, Lorence H. Kim, made a $1M buy of RVMD, purchasing 50,000 shares at a cost of $20.00 a piece. Kim was up about 21.0% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with RVMD trading as high as $24.20 in trading on Tuesday. Revolution Medicines is trading up about 4.2% on the day Tuesday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Kim in the past year. And also on Friday, Director John Nicholas Dykema purchased $757,198 worth of Nicolet Bankshares, purchasing 9,586 shares at a cost of $78.99 a piece. Nicolet Bankshares is trading up about 0.4% on the day Tuesday. So far Dykema is in the green, up about 1.2% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $79.97.
$10 Million Bet On This Financial Services Stock? 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Health Sciences Acquisitions Corporation 2: The Trade: Health Sciences Acquisitions Corporation 2 (HSAQ) CEO Roderick Wong bought a total of 1,000,000 shares at an average price of $10.01. To acquire these shares, it cost around $10.01 million. Baker Hughes Company: The Trade: Baker Hughes Company (BKR) Director Michael Dumais acquired a total of 10,000 shares at an average price of $24.39. To acquire these shares, it cost around $243.9 thousand.
Former Congressman Among Nine Charged with Insider Trading (Fox Business)
Federal prosecutors have charged nine people, including a former U.S. congressman from Indiana, with insider trading that resulted in millions of dollars in illegal profits. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams told a news conference that the cases, in addition to several other recently announced crackdowns on insider trading, represent a follow-through on his pledge to be “relentless in rooting out crime in our financial markets.” “We have zero tolerance, zero tolerance for cheating in our markets,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC Enforcement Division.
SEC Files Multiple Insider Trading Actions Originating from the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed insider trading charges against nine individuals in connection with three separate alleged schemes that together yielded more than $6.8 million in ill-gotten gains. Those charged include a former chief information security officer (CISO), an investment banker, and a former FBI trainee, all of whom allegedly shared confidential information with their friends, who then traded on that confidential information. Each of the three actions announced today originated from the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit’s (MAU) Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns.
