New Hedge Fund Takes Short Bet Against Smurfit Kappa (Business Post)
Marshall Wace, one of the world’s largest hedge fund management firms, has joined Millennium Management in betting against the shares of Smurfit Kappa, the Irish paper and packaging company. Central Bank figures show that between them, Marshall Wace and Millennium, which was founded by Israel ‘Izzy’ Englander, are shorting 1.47 per cent of Smurfit’s shares. At the company’s current share price of around €39, that amounts to nearly €180 million worth of Smurfit’s shares.
Bridgewater Names Karen Karniol-Tambour as Third Co-CIO (Reuters)
Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Ray Dalio, is naming Karen Karniol-Tambour as its third co-chief investment officer. Karniol-Tambour, 37, joins Bob Prince and Greg Jensen as a full partner and will be responsible for the company’s investment strategy and outcomes, according to a company statement on Thursday. She will be Bridgewater’s first female CIO, in an industry still predominantly led by men.
Ritchie Shareholder Deep Field Asset Opposes IAA Deal (Bloomberg)
A small shareholder has come out against Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc.’s acquisition of IAA Inc., opposing a merger that’s received support by the activist Starboard Value LP. Jordan Moelis, managing partner of Deep Field Asset Management LLC, said Ritchie paid an “extraordinary price” to get the backing of Starboard for the proposed deal and shareholders should reject it.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Disney Proxy Fight Heats Up as Nelson Peltz Increases Pressure for Board Seat (Los Angeles Times)
Walt Disney Co. has rushed to the defense of a board member who is now a target of activist shareholder Nelson Peltz amid his high-profile campaign for influence at the Burbank entertainment behemoth. On Thursday, Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, asked Disney shareholders to boot board member Michael B.G. Froman to make room for Peltz on Disney’s board.
Activist Funds Excel at Collecting Fees, Not Fixing Companies (Barron’s)
I’m thinking of launching an activist hedge fund that buys big stakes in underperforming companies and demands their board seats. Not the positions – the actual seats. “Everyone stands until the share price doubles,” I’d tell directors in a vigorously leaked letter. “Sincerely, Bottom Up Investment.” I’d charge the standard 2% a year plus 20% of profits, and promise never to offer advice.
Wall Street’s Bears Are Coming Out to Play (Bloomberg)
The S&P 500 swung higher for the second straight week, and the US unemployment rate has hit a 53-year low. But some of the most prominent hedge fund managers are sounding the alarm: More than a decade of easy money could lead to an unruly unwind. “Anybody who’s basically under the age of 40 hasn’t really been investing professionally in a bear market,” Jim Chanos, the short seller and founder of Kynikos Associates, told me this week on the sidelines of the iConnections Global Alts 2023 conference in Miami.
ExodusPoint’s 2022 Struggles is a Lesson for all of Wall Street: Play the Hits (Business Insider)
As Insider’s Alex Morrell recently reported, 2022 was not kind to ExodusPoint. The hedge fund, which still holds the industry’s largest launch in history, ended the year with fewer assets, employees, and PMs than it started with. So what went wrong? In short, the firm made a big bet on building out an equities business that simply fell flat.
Cathie Wood Says ARKK Is ‘the New Nasdaq’ (Bloomberg)
Cathie Wood’s funds had a scorching start to the year and she wants investors to know it. The founder and chief executive officer of ARK Investment Management said Thursday that her flagship fund now gives investors better exposure to long-term innovation than most of the market’s most popular growth stock benchmarks. While the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), has jumped nearly 40% this year — more than twice as much as the Nasdaq 100 — the fund is still down more than 70% from its peak two years ago, underperforming the index by about tenfold.
Friday 2/3 Insider Buying Report: CURO, OPBK (Nasdaq.com)
At Curo Group Holdings, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Chief Executive Officer Douglas D. Clark bought 40,000 shares of CURO, for a cost of $3.82 each, for a total investment of $152,950. Clark was up about 20.6% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with CURO trading as high as $4.61 at last check today. Curo Group Holdings is trading up about 6.2% on the day Friday. This buy marks the first one filed by Clark in the past twelve months. And at OP Bancorp, there was insider buying on Wednesday, by Director Brian Choi who bought 10,000 shares for a cost of $11.35 each, for a total investment of $113,452.
Over $5M Bet On Uber Technologies? Check Out These 4 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Uber Technologies: The Trade: Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) Director Yasir Al-Rumayyan acquired a total of 250,000 shares an average price of $20.58. To acquire these shares, it cost around $5.14 million. Beacon Roofing Supply: The Trade: Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (BECN) 10% owner CD&R Boulder Holdings, L.P. bought a total of 107,185 shares at an average price of $55.98. To acquire these shares, it cost around $6 million.
