AQR’s Longest-Running Fund Has a Record Year With 43.5% Gain (Bloomberg)
AQR Capital Management’s longest-running strategy had its best year since its inception in 1998, posting a gain of 43.5% net of fees, as a range of its funds achieved record performance. Before fees, the Absolute Return strategy surged 55%, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing performance. At least a dozen AQR funds had record years, including a strategy dedicated to value that rose 44.7% net of fees last year, and a Style Premia Alternative Fund that climbed 30.6% by the same measure. AQR’s global macro strategy also had its best year, with a 42% increase.
Brevan Howard’s Biggest Hedge Funds Gain As Much As 28% In 2022 (FA-Mag.com)
Brevan Howard Asset Management’s two biggest hedge funds posted double-digit returns last year, joining peers making the most out of soaring interest rates. The $10 billion Brevan Howard Master fund gained 20%, while the $12 billion Alpha Strategies fund recorded its best ever year with a 28% surge, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. A spokesman for the Jersey, Channel Islands-based investment firm declined to comment.
Crypto Hedge Fund Three Arrows Capital Liquidators Demand Documents via Twitter (Strait Times)
NEW YORK – Three Arrows Capital (3AC) co-founders Zhu Su and Kyle Davies have received formal demands for information related to the downfall of their crypto hedge fund in an unorthodox forum: Twitter. Advisers working to liquidate the fund tagged Mr Zhu and Mr Davies in tweets demanding the production of sensitive documents on Thursday. The move is necessary because the pair’s whereabouts are unknown and they are not fully cooperating with 3AC’s unwinding, the advisers have said.
Image by Sergei Tokmakov Terms.Law from Pixabay
All Quiet on the Launches and Closures Front (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Tough market conditions likely present more challenges for managers to launch new hedge funds. According to HFR, new hedge fund launches in the third quarter of 2022 edged lower compared to the prior quarter, reaching the lowest level since the final quarter of 2008. The level of fund liquidations also remained historically low. An estimated 71 hedge funds were launched in the third quarter of 2022, down from the estimated 80 launches in the second quarter. The third quarter’s number of new launches represents the lowest launch rate since the depths of the Global Financial Crisis in the final quarter of 2008, which saw only 56 new fund launches. The environment was challenging for new and recently launched funds amid a decline in overall risk tolerance, according to Kenneth J. Heinz, President of HFR.
New Hedge Fund Launches Hit Historical Low as Investors Position for Recession (Opalesque.com)
Opalesque Industry Update – New hedge fund launches in 3Q 2022 ticked lower than the prior quarter, reaching the lowest level since 4Q 2008 as investors navigated an uncertain and volatile tension between generational inflation and increased likelihood of an economic recession. Meanwhile, the HFRI Asset Weighted Composite Index gained +0.5 percent YTD through November, indicating larger managers have outperformed smaller funds, increasing asset concentration and contributing to a challenging new launch environment, according to the latest HFR Market Microstructure Report, released today by HFR.
Cathie Wood Sells 99% of Silvergate Stake as Customers Flee (Bloomberg)
One of Cathie Wood’s funds sold virtually all of its shares in Silvergate Capital Corp. after the cryptocurrency-focused bank announced that it was forced to sell assets at a steep loss as customers pulled out most of their deposits during the fourth quarter. Her ARK Fintech Innovation exchange-traded fund unloaded roughly 404,000 shares of Silvergate on Thursday, cutting the ETF’s holdings by more than 99%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The fund’s remaining holdings, which amount to less than 4,000 shares, are worth about $43,000 — only about 0.01% of the fund’s total portfolio.
Steve Cohen Made More Than $1.7 Billion in 2022 (Institutional Investor)
Steve Cohen knows as well as anyone that if you’re going to shell out close to $1 billion in MLB free agent contracts, it helps to have almost twice that much money coming in. Institutional Investor estimates that the founder of Point72 Asset Management and the owner of the New York Mets last year made more than $1.7 billion in personal capital gains in his hedge fund, which posted a roughly 10 percent net gain in 2022, according to a knowledgeable source. That figure doesn’t include his share of the fees generated by the hedge fund, so he no doubt made even more than that.
Activist Hedge Fund Seeks 4 Seats on Envestnet’s Board (Barron’s)
Activist hedge fund Impactive Capital has nominated four candidates to serve on advisor-technology company Envestnet’s (ticker: ENV) board, including former UBS (UBS) wealth management executive Thomas Naratil. Impactive blasted Envestnet’s financial performance, saying the company has underperformed the S&P 500 by 61% over the past five years and delivered returns of 6% during that time, compared with returns of 113% among companies in its peer group.
Chris Rokos’s Hedge Fund Soars a Record 51% in Turn of Fortunes (Bloomberg)
Chris Rokos produced his best-ever gains last year in a dramatic change of fortunes for the hedge fund manager. The $15.5 billion Rokos Macro Fund he leads surged 51% in 2022, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The return was his best since 2015 when he began trading for his eponymous firm in London.
Alphabet And These 2 Healthcare Stocks Insiders Are Selling (Benzinga)
Alphabet: The Trade: Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan sold a total of 22,203 shares at an average price of $89.75. The insider received around $1.99 million from selling those shares. United Therapeutics: The Trade: United Therapeutics Corporation (UTHR) President and COO Michael Benkowitz sold a total of 10,000 shares at an average price of $219.65. The insider received around $2.2 million from selling those shares.
SEC Closes Insider Trading Probe into Former Republican Senator (CNN)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has closed its insider trading investigation into stock trades made by then-Sen. Richard Burr and his brother-in-law at the outset of the pandemic, the former senator announced Friday. “This week, the SEC informed me that they have concluded their investigation with no action. I am glad to have this matter in the rearview mirror as I begin my retirement from the Senate following nearly three decades of public service,” Burr, a North Carolina Republican, said in a statement.
Former BlackRock Portfolio Manager Charged with Undisclosed Conflict of Interest (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Randy Robertson, a former BlackRock Advisors, LLC portfolio manager, for failing to disclose a conflict of interest arising from his relationship with a film distribution company in which the fund he managed for BlackRock invested millions of dollars. To settle the charges, Robertson agreed to pay a $250,000 penalty. The SEC’s order finds that, from 2015 to 2019, BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust (BIT), a closed end publicly traded fund, invested in Aviron Group, LLC subsidiaries by loaning the subsidiaries, which were in the business of funding advertising budgets of motion pictures, as much as $75 million. Robertson, a co-portfolio manager of BIT, had a significant role recommending and overseeing BIT’s loans to the Aviron subsidiaries.
