Bodenholm with new Absolute Return UCITS Fund (HedgeNordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – At the beginning of March, Bodenholm Capital, a member of the Brummer & Partners family of managers, launched a UCITS fund which currently has 130 MEUR in AUM. The new fund, Bodenholm Absolute Return, has daily liquidity and is domiciled in Luxembourg. The UCITS-fund follows Bodenholm’s established low net long/short equity strategy, which is a European focused strategy that invests a majority of the assets in the Nordic region, spin-offs, and in conglomerates that are in de-conglomeration phase. On the short side Bodenholm, with its dedicated shorting team, focuses on the discovery of companies that make use of aggressive accounting practices.
Here Are the Manager Finalists for the 2019 Hedge Fund Awards (InstitutionalInvestor)
Bridgewater, Tiger Global, and Two Sigma are among the firms nominated. Winners will be revealed June 27. Last year was brutal for hedge funds. The industry posted its worst aggregate performance since the 2008 financial crisis, and nearly two-thirds of all hedge funds lost money in 2018. But a few funds finished the year with gains — an impressive feat given the market backdrop. Several of these elite managers will be honored this year at Institutional Investor’s 17th annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards, which will celebrate firms that prevailed in the face of a variety of market challenges and volatility.
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A $10 billion British Hedge Fund Returned $300 million to Saudi Arabia After the Khashoggi Murder (Business Insider)
UK hedge fund Pharo Management told its investors that it returned $300 million of Saudi Arabian money following the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Pharo, which controls about $9.7 billion, managed the money on behalf of the kingdom’s central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA). The move is a major call during a tricky period in which funds are struggling for capital. The fund’s founder, Guillaume Fonkenell, says the decision was based on principles, following Khashoggi’s murder last October which has been linked to the Saudi state, according to Bloomberg.
Pro Bankruptcy Briefing: Aurelius Targets Neiman Marcus; PG&E Loan Concerns; GE Settles Petters Allegations (The Wall Street Journal)
Good day. Distressed-debt hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management has set its sights on Neiman Marcus. The retailer’s recent negotiations with debtholders has given Aurelius the opening to make demands. Meanwhile, PG&E Corp.’s proposed $5.5 billion bankruptcy loan has raised concerns among wildfire victims, leading lenders to offer concessions that would give the company more time to refinance the loan in the event of a default. And General Electric Co.’s finance unit reached a deal with a bankruptcy trustee to settle allegations.
Hedge Fund Owner Bill Ackman Riding High Again on Profit Margin (The Jewish Voice)
When times are tough, stay optimistic. In particular, Ackman’s hedge fund grew more interested in Chipotle, in which it nows has a 60 percent stake, and it already helped double his returns that he gets from the S&P 500, the New York Post reports, which greatly outpaces the rest of the market. The fund is off to a good start thanks to the energy it pumped into investments instead of spending so much time on fundraising. “This has freed up substantial time and renewed focus, which have enabled me and the other members of the investment team to invest nearly all of our business time and attention on the identification, monitoring and oversight of our portfolio companies,” Ackman wrote.
Activists Seek Ouster of Bed Bath & Beyond Board, CEO (AI-CIO.com)
Three activist hedge funds are looking to shake up Bed Bath & Beyond’s entire board of directors in a proxy challenge. Ancora Advisors, Legion Partners Asset Management, and Macellum Advisors, with a combined 5% stake in the housewares retailer, seek to enlist other disgruntled shareholders to remove all 12 of Bed Bath & Beyond’s directors and its chief executive officer, Steven Temares. The company’s stock rose more than 20% the day they announced their challenge. Prior to the news, shares were down 35% over the past year.
Hedge Fund Manager Says Stock Price Gap Is Chance of Decade (Bloomberg)
The stock market’s near-historic gulf between the priciest and cheapest stocks creates the opportunity of a decade for investors, according to a portfolio manager at the Julius Baer Group Ltd.-controlled Kairos Investment Management Ltd. Even as this year’s rally added $9 trillion to the value of global equities, outflows have continued, preventing pockets of the market from erasing December’s sell-off and expanding a gap in valuations between some stocks.
Fund Manager Wars: Regal Lines Up Perpetual (AFR.com)
The country’s most talked-about hedge fund, Regal Funds Management, is understood to have made a big bet against crosstown rival Perpetual. Street Talk understands Regal is the fund that built a large short position in Perpetual, taking advantage of a share price spike that was brought about by buying from a global ETF fund. The short position is believed to be worth at least 2 million shares, or $80 million, which would represent almost 5 per cent of Perpetual’s shares on issue.
