Billionaire Investor Loeb Cuts Bearish Bets to Avoid Short Squeezes – Letter (Reuters)
Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb has reduced the size of short bets on single named companies to limit the vulnerability of his hedge fund, Third Point, to short squeezes, he said in a letter on Tuesday. “The short-selling environment is much more challenging than it has been historically,” said Loeb in the letter. Analysing a company’s economic prospects has taken a backseat to watching Reddit message boards and options expiries, the letter said.
Coatue Raises $331 Million for Early-Stage Fund, 34% Below Target (TheInformation.com)
Coatue Management has raised $331 million for its third fund focused on early-stage startups, according to a financial filing, a third less than its target and lower than its previous early-stage fund. The smaller than anticipated total shows how the firms that raised huge funds during the pandemic investing boom are falling short of their fundraising goals, taking longer to reach them or choosing to raise smaller funds as valuations for private tech companies sink. The New York hedge fund and venture capital firm, which previously placed successful early-stage bets on design company Figma and corporate card startup Ramp, planned to raise $500 million for its third early-stage fund by the end of 2022 and to focus part of it on artificial intelligence startups, The Information reported in October.
Hedge Fund Manager Says ‘I Remain Short, and Wrong’ (The Street)
Contrarian Doug Kass predicted this year’s rally. With nearly 50 years of experience, he offers up his latest thoughts on stocks and an S&P 500 forecast. Doug Kass is no stranger to controversy. The self-described contrarian with a calculator views the stock market objectively and unemotionally, preferring to let valuation and facts guide his bullishness or bearishness. Kass’ dispassionate approach often puts him at loggerheads with momentum investors who, in his words, “know the price of everything but the value of nothing.”
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Hedge-Fund Giant Man Group’s Stock Heads for Worst Session in a Year (The Wall Street Journal)
A sharp decline in revenue and profit at Man Group sent shares of the hedge-fund giant falling Tuesday, even as it reported a surge in client assets. London-listed Man said funds under management swelled to a record $151.7 billion as of June. Yet that wasn’t enough to offset shareholder concerns about declines in key financial measures. Man’s stock fell 7.7% Tuesday morning, on pace for its biggest decline in a year.
Hedge Fund Managers Scored Big. Investors? Not So Much. (Bloomberg)
The fate of the firm once known as Och-Ziff shows why you should think twice before a hedge fund comes knocking. Cynics often say about hedge funds that they are a compensation scheme masquerading as an asset class. If the critics are looking for ammunition to make their case, they need look no further than Sculptor Capital Management Inc., the firm formerly known as Och-Ziff Capital Management. As a publicly listed company, Sculptor offers an unusual level of transparency. While most firms guard their privacy, Sculptor files proxy statements and earnings reports, and it hosts regular analyst briefings. Last week, 15 years in the public eye, Sculptor decided to bow out, agreeing to sell itself to Rithm Capital, an asset manager focused on real estate and financial services.
