Hedge Funds Eager to Prove that Short-Selling is a Legitimate ESG Strategy (Opalesque)
A study published by the Managed Funds Association indicates that targeted short-selling campaigns could slash up to $140 billion in capital expenditure at the biggest carbon emitters in the S&P 500 Index by pressuring them to clean up their acts. Incorporating short selling as part of an ESG-focused investment strategy can help shift capital away from high-emissions companies all while limiting losses for investors, said the study. “ESG is an increasingly important focus for investors of all types. Short selling is an important tool by which investors can have a real-world impact and hedge their portfolios from climate and regulatory risks. Short selling can potentially reallocate $50-$140 billion of investments away from the most heavily polluting companies. But to fully realize this potential, ESG portfolio metrics cannot ignore short positions or incorrectly treat any exposure, be it long or short, the same,” the study claimed.
Hedge Funds Spawned by Hillhouse Burned in China Tech Crash (Bloomberg)
For years, it’s been one of the best calling cards that hedge fund startups in Asia could ask for: getting support from billionaire Zhang Lei or gaining experience at his Hillhouse Capital Group. After leveraging that Hillhouse pedigree to raise a combined $20 billion, the offshoot funds are losing some of their luster. Most have posted double-digit declines this year on the same Chinese tech, consumer and health-care sectors that Hillhouse itself backed to mint so many millionaires.
Preqin 2022: Alternatives in Asia-Pacific (Preqin)
As global investors seek investment opportunities outside North America and Europe, they are turning their attention to the APAC region, which has thus far avoided the worst of the inflationary impacts seen elsewhere. We forecast that private capital assets under management (AUM) in APAC, excluding RMB-denominated funds, will represent 12.7% of the global market at the end of 2022, reaching $2.25tn by 2026, at a CAGR of 15.0%. Private equity and venture capital accounted for 73.6% of the total APAC private capital market in 2021, and we expect it to reach 83.0% in 2026.
Billionaire Investor Leon Cooperman Predicts US Stocks will Plunge 40% in Total as the Economy Crashes into a Recession (Business Insider)
US stocks have a long way left to fall, according to hedge fund veteran Leon Cooperman, who has predicted the economy will tumble into a recession in 2023. Cooperman told CNBC Tuesday he thinks the S&P 500 will suffer a total drop of 40% as a recession batters corporate profits. He said equities are unlikely to head back into a bull market any time soon.
WPB Hedge Fund Manager Headed to Prison Over $6.8M Paycheck Protection Program Fraud (The Palm Beach Post)
A 35-year-old part-time West Palm Beach resident this week was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting he lied to get $6.8 million from a federal program designed to help businesses and their employees survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Gregory Blotnick, who launched a New York hedge fund in 2019 after he left Citadel Securities, submitted 21 phony applications for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said.
Tuesday 6/14 Insider Buying Report: MGM, MTW (Nasdaq.com)
At MGM Resorts International, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Director Paul J. Salem bought 34,500 shares of MGM, for a cost of $28.92 each, for a total investment of $997,695. MGM Resorts International is trading up about 2.1% on the day Tuesday. Before this latest buy, Salem made one other purchase in the past twelve months, buying $109,370 shares for a cost of $31.25 each. And on Friday, Director Kenneth W. Krueger bought $431,036 worth of Manitowoc, buying 34,500 shares at a cost of $12.49 a piece. This purchase marks the first one filed by Krueger in the past year. Manitowoc is trading up about 4.5% on the day Tuesday. Bargain hunters can bag MTW even cheaper than Krueger did, with the stock changing hands as low as $11.91 at last check today — that’s 4.7% under Krueger’s purchase price.
