How LPs Approach Diligencing the ESG Capabilities of Prospective GPs (Preqin)
While LP approaches to ESG diligence vary, GPs should be proactive in developing ESG plans in line with their business objectives. There has been substantial growth in the number of LPs increasing the weighting of an ESG review in their overall diligence, such that it’s now one of LPs’ top gating factors before adding new GP relationships to their book. Capstone tracks diligence trends as part of our engagement with LPs, and the number expanding their GP due diligence to include an ESG review has increased significantly since the start of 2020.
SEC Charges Infinity Q Founder with Orchestrating Massive Valuation Fraud (Hedge Week)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged James Velissaris, the former Chief Investment Officer and founder of Infinity Q Capital Management, with overvaluing assets by more than USD1 billion while pocketing tens of millions of dollars in fees. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from at least 2017 through February 2021, Velissaris engaged in a fraudulent scheme to overvalue assets held by the Infinity Q Diversified Alpha mutual fund and the Infinity Q Volatility Alpha hedge fund.
Hudson Bay Capital to Expand in Greenwich With Connecticut’s Aid (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital is expanding its office in Greenwich with the help of Connecticut’s taxpayers. The asset management firm will receive as much as $1.3 million from the state if it creates and retains 40 new full time jobs, Governor Ned Lamont said in a statement. Hudson Bay, the successor to Gerber Asset Management, employs 120 worldwide and expects its Greenwich office to employ about 50 people as new positions are filled.
Elon Musk And Brother Kimbal Musk Under Investigation For Insider Trading (Mashable India)
The SEC is looking into whether the Tesla CEO’s and his brother’s recent stock trades “violated insider-trading regulations.” The SEC investigation began last year after Kimbal sold 88,500 Tesla shares worth $108 million, “one day before the Tesla CEO polled Twitter users asking if he should unload 10% of his stake in the electric-car maker and pledging to abide by the vote’s results.”
Insiders Buy Around $98M Of 3 Stocks (Benzinga)
Republic Services: The Trade: Republic Services, Inc. (RSG) 10% owner William Gates III acquired a total of 637,253 shares at an average price of $116.83. To acquire these shares, it cost around $74.45 million. TELA Bio: The Trade: TELA Bio, Inc. (TELA) 10% owner Ew Healthcare Partners Fund UGP LLC acquired a total of 759,808 shares at an average price of $11.75. To acquire these shares, it cost around $8.93 million. EverQuote: The Trade: EverQuote, Inc. (EVER) Director David Blundin bought a total of 1,004,016 shares at an average price of $14.94. To acquire these shares, it cost around $15 million.
Avendus Hedge Fund On When It Will Start Deploying Cash Again (Bloomberg Quint)
There is no “merit” in trading in the markets in the immediate short term as “volatility is here to stay”, according to Vaibhav Sanghavi of Avendus, India’s largest hedge fund. “We had preempted volatility but on account of the Fed tightening further. We didn’t take Russia into account,” the co-chief executive officer at Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies, told BloombergQuint’s Niraj Shah in an interview.
