Daniel Loeb’s Hedge Fund Wants Centene to Consider Selling Itself (The Wall Street Journal)
Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC has built a stake in Centene Corp. and wants the health insurer to consider selling itself before spending $15.3 billion on its deal to purchase WellCare Health Plans Inc., according to people familiar with the matter. While it isn’t clear exactly how big Third Point’s stake is, it owns at least $300 million in Centene shares, one of the people said. And with derivatives, the hedge fund could have significantly more exposure to Centene’s stock-price movement.
Former Hedge Fund Manager Michael Novogratz Says America Needs Redistribution of Wealth (CNBC on MSN.com)
Macro trader turned bitcoin bull Michael Novogratz is calling for fixes to capitalism – and a possible tax on Wall Street. The former Fortress hedge-fund manager pointed to a rising income gap and lack of investment in public education in the United States. One place to start could be a “controversial” Wall Street transaction tax, which would also extend to cryptocurrency trades. “I think you need redistribution of wealth, there are lot of different ways you can do that,” Novogratz told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday. “I think a Wall Street tax is an interesting one.”
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Uber, Slack, and a Hedge Fund’s Other Big Bets on the Future (Barron’s)
Glen Kacher and Jay Kahn spend their days looking for the next big technology trend. Kacher, 48, is the chief investment officer of Light Street Capital, which he founded in 2010, and Kahn, 39, is a partner at the firm, overseeing internet and media investments. Kacher works in Palo Alto in the heart of Silicon Valley, and Kahn is based in San Francisco. Together, they have identified and invested in some of the biggest changes in the tech world, from the launch of cloud computing to the growth of ride-sharing.
Soros Hedge Fund Bets on GAM (SWFInstitute.org)
The troubled Swiss asset manager GAM has found support from a George Soros hedge fund unit. SFM UK Management LLP, a unit of the George Soros hedge fund empire, accumulated a 3% stake in GAM Holding, according to a filing on the SIX Swiss Exchange website. GAM’s largest shareholder remains Silchester International Investors with a…
French Fund Manager Scor Investment Partners Buys London Hedge Fund Firm Coriolis Capital (Opalesque.com)
SCOR Investment Partners has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the capital of UK based fund manager Coriolis Capital to expand Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) unit. With this first acquisition, SCOR Investment Partners is entering an important new phase in its development and expanding its capacity on the ILS market, reaching an aggregate sum of $2.1bn of assets under management and operating in both Paris and London. SCOR Investment Partners is French reinsurer SCOR group’s portfolio management company. Coriolis Capital is a pioneering fund manager in the Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) field, investing in catastrophe bonds, collateralized reinsurance and climate derivatives.
Hedge-Fund Lookalikes Suffer Eighth Straight Month of Outflows (Bloomberg)
Investors yanked money from European mutual and exchange-traded funds that mimic hedge funds in April, the eighth consecutive month of redemptions, according to Morningstar Inc. Another “month of pain” for so-called alternative investment funds drove their assets under management down 10% in the 12 months through April to 423.5 billion euros ($474 billion), according to a Morningstar report on Friday. That decline resulted from outflows and poor performance, the report states. The broad category of alternative funds covers investment strategies including debt and currency arbitrage.
Hedge Funds Score Win Against Regulatory Threats (The Wall Street Journal)
Muddy Waters, the pugnacious Californian hedge fund run by Carson Block, is enjoying a day in the sun. A French company it warned about more than three years ago admitted Thursday night that it is in financial distress. The saga shows a lack of foresight among some European regulators that would rather short sellers just go away. Rallye, the controlling shareholder of French supermarket giant Groupe Casino, saw its stock fall more than 60% Friday after the company said it was under creditor protection. It won’t have to make…
Hennessee Hedge Fund Index gains +1.07% in April, up +6.83% YTD (Opalesque.com)
Global equity markets rose in April, with encouraging economic data and ongoing dovishness from major central banks supporting appetite for higher risk assets. Corporate bonds outperformed government bonds. US equities advanced, supported by strong labour market data as well as better-than-expected Q1 GDP growth. Corporate earnings generally remained robust. Eurozone equities registered a further gain in April. Top performing sectors included information technology and financials. Economic growth for Q1 proved more resilient than feared. Emerging markets equities posted a positive return amid easing global growth concerns.
Legg Mason Cuts 12% of Staff in Revamp as Peltz Joins Board (Bloomberg)
Legg Mason Inc. is cutting 120 people, or about 12% of staff, and streamlining its executive committee just days after adding investor Nelson Peltz to its board. The cost-cutting steps are “critical to our ongoing growth,” Joseph Sullivan, chief executive officer of the Baltimore-based asset manager, said in a memo to staff Thursday.
D.E. Shaw’s Top Shareholder Activist Koffey Leaves Hedge Fund (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Hedge fund manager Quentin Koffey, who joined D.E. Shaw & Co two years ago from Elliott Management Corp to lead its shareholder activism strategy, has left to join Senator Investment Group LP, the firms told Reuters on Thursday. The move is a setback for D.E. Shaw, which is seeking to emulate Elliott as a generalist hedge fund with strong activist leanings, advocating for major changes at companies, such as putting themselves up for sale.
