Odey’s Slump Deepens as His Hedge Fund Loses Another 30.5% (Bloomberg)
Crispin Odey’s flagship hedge fund lost money again in 2020, deepening the gloom for the bearish manager as he tries to revive his shrinking firm and fights an indecent assault charge. His Odey European Inc. hedge fund fell 30.5% despite a big gain during the pandemic-fueled selloff in March, according to an investor update seen by Bloomberg. That’s the fifth annual decline in the past six years and compares with a 5.8% average gain across all hedge funds through November.
Hedge Fund Pay, Revealed: How Much Engineers, Associates, and Researchers Make at AQR, Bridgewater, Citadel, D.E. Shaw, Point72, and Two Sigma (Business Insider)
Hedge funds are known for their top-of-the-line compensation packages, and applications for H-1B visas for foreign workers reveal what top funds pay different roles in salaries. Managers like Bridgewater, Citadel, Point72, AQR, and more rely on dozens of non-US citizens to do roles across their firms, from investing to data analysis to compliance. Even entry-level jobs, like associates on investing teams, pull in base salaries that break six figures at nearly all funds, the applications show, and that’s not even the totality of these employees’ compensation packages, which often include significant bonuses.
‘This Seems Like Genocide’: Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman Slams Delays in Getting the COVID Vaccine to the Elderly (Business Insider)
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman tweeted on Tuesday, slamming logistical failures in the US vaccine rollout. “If Elon Musk can deliver 500k Teslas and Jeff Bezos can provide same-hour delivery, we can vaccinate every American” he tweeted. As of January 4, the US has vaccinated fewer than five million people.
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Best Year in a Long Time (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Based on preliminary figures, the Nordic hedge fund industry is en route to reach its best annual performance in the past ten years. 2020 has also been a great year for hedge fund house Atlant Fonder. “2020 was the best year in terms of returns for Atlant in a very long time,” Michael Ekelund, Atlant Fonder’s CEO, writes in an update to investors. “Several of the funds far exceeded their return targets,” he continues. Atlant Fonder currently oversees a suite of seven hedge funds, including the precious metals-focused hedge fund assimilated as part of the acquisition of Pacific Fonder.
Billionaire Christopher Hohn Hedge Fund Recoups Pandemic Losses (Bloomberg)
Billionaire activist investor Christopher Hohn’s hedge fund has racked up a 12th straight year of gains, overcoming record losses at the onset of the pandemic. The Children’s Investment Fund made about 14% in 2020 as its concentrated stock portfolio rose amid surging markets, according to people with knowledge of the details. That took the fund’s assets to about $35 billion, a separate person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Hedge Funds Profit from AstraZeneca Fall, But FTSE Short Sellers Face Continued Challenges in 2021 (Hedge Week)
Hedge funds have made gains from bets against AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline in recent weeks – but bearish managers lost more than USD600 million on FTSE 100 shorts at the end of the year, with short sellers facing continuing “unpredictable swings” in 2021. Short positions in AstraZeneca – whose Covid-19 vaccine developed alongside Oxford University began rolling out in the UK this week – brought in almost GBP13 million for bearish hedge funds during December as the drug giant’s share price tumbled last month.
Chinese Fund Managers Rush to Capitalize on Investors’ Green Fever (Reuters)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese money managers are rushing to launch new energy funds, seeking to capitalize on investors’ green fever which has been fuelled by President Xi Jinping’s carbon neutrality pledge. China’s first photovoltaic industry exchange-traded fund (ETF), launched by Huatai-PineBridge Fund Management Co in December attracted hot demand, with assets under management jumping nearly six-fold in just a month to 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion).
Survey: Hedge Funds Poised for ’21 Growth (Green Street)
Despite facing a pandemic, historic volatility and billions of dollars in redemptions in 2020, hedge fund professionals are more optimistic about the industry’s future than they have been in years. Hedge Fund Alert’s 13th annual outlook survey asked managers, investors, service providers and other professionals for their takes on topics including asset growth, work-from-home arrangements and the trend toward private equity-style investments. The 55 respondents forecast, on average, that the industry’s total assets would increase by 8.9% in 2021. That’s the rosiest assessment since the survey revealed a 13% growth projection for 2014.
Wednesday 1/6 Insider Buying Report: CODI (Nasdaq.com)
At Compass Diversified, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, D. Eugene Ewing purchased 5,079 shares of CODI, at a cost of $19.61 each, for a total investment of $99,620. So far Ewing is in the green, up about 7.3% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $21.04. Compass Diversified is trading up about 6% on the day Wednesday.
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc (RARE) President & CEO Emil D Kakkis Sold $4.1 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
President & CEO of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc, Emil D Kakkis, sold 30,000 shares of RARE on 01/04/2021 at an average price of $136.9 a share. The total sale was $4.1 million. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc is biopharmaceutical company. It is engaged identification, acquisition, development and commercialization of novel products for treatment of rare & ultra-rare diseases, with a focus on debilitating genetic diseases.
The President of EnviroLeach Technologies (Other OTC: EVLLF) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the President of EnviroLeach Technologies (EVLLF), Duane Anthony Nelson, bought shares of EVLLF for $30K. This recent transaction increases Duane Anthony Nelson’s holding in the company by 5% to a total of $880K. Based on EnviroLeach Technologies’ latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $573.6K and GAAP net loss of -$1,019,693.
Mets Owner Steve Cohen Subject of Gender Discrimination Complaint (BleacherReport.com)
New York Mets owner Steve Cohen is the subject of a gender discrimination complaint against his hedge fund, Point72 Asset Management, according to the New York Times’ Matthew Goldstein. “In the complaint, Sara Vavra, who led a trading group at Point72, said Mr. Cohen stopped by her office in July 2019 and began ‘an abusive, expletive-ridden tirade’ in which he said her work ‘sucked’ and she was ‘stupid,'” Goldstein reported. “She said in the complaint that beyond dropping a few generic expletives Mr. Cohen also used a derogatory word for a woman’s genitals.”
