Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Crispin Odey, Seth Klarman, Och-Ziff Capital Management, GTT Communications Inc (GTT), Jason Industries Inc (JASN), and More

Hedge Fund Manager Crispin Odey Rules Out Entering U.K. Politics (Bloomberg)
Politics will have to wait for Crispin Odey. “I know my limitations and others know them better than me!” the hedge fund manager said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News, downplaying a Financial News report that said he was looking to get more active in politics. “It is not true that I am planning to enter politics.”

DealBook Briefing: Business Titans Turn Their Backs on the G.O.P. (The New York Times)
Top business donors break from the G.O.P. Seth Klarman of the hedge fund Baupost Group was the biggest Republican donor in New England. Now, he’s donating millions to Democrats to help them take back Congress. Such is the rate of his giving that, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, he could end up giving more to Democratic candidates than George Soros does over this election cycle. Les Wexner, chief executive of L Brands and one of the biggest Republican donors in the Midwest, is also withdrawing his support of the party. “I won’t support this nonsense,” the Columbus Dispatch quoted him as saying.

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

Och-Ziff to Seek $2 Billion for Its Biggest Real Estate Fund (Bloomberg)
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC is seeking to raise its largest real estate fund ever after a period of change for the firm, including new leadership. Billionaire Dan Och’s hedge fund firm is targeting $2 billion for its fourth fund focused on opportunistic property investments as soon as the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter. New York-based Och-Ziff has also raised about $750 million for a real estate debt strategy and is gathering a $150 million affordable-housing investment pool, which would be exempt from taxes, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Most of the ‘Big Shorts,’ Who Thrived During the Financial Crisis, have Faltered Since 2008 (CNBC)
While most investors on Wall Street lost money a decade ago during the depths of the crisis, some investors thrived and earned their place in the annals of financial history. They shorted the crisis and made billions. But for many of them, the decade since was not as favorable, in fact, it’s been detrimental. Take John Paulson. His assets under management have plummeted by more than three-fourths since the years after the crisis. There’s also David Einhorn, whose fund is down more than 25 percent this year with his losing bets against high-flying technology stocks.