As Einhorn and Other Big Names Struggle, These Rising Hedge Fund Stars Were Up 40% Last Year (CNBC)
The torch is passed as the old hedge fund guard is losing its touch in the current market. A new generation of under-the-radar hedge fund stars are soundly outperforming more experienced, better-known managers such as David Einhorn and Bill Ackman. The common thread among some of the best hedge fund performers is in-depth sector expertise. In a stock market where 5 out of the 6 most valuable companies in the S&P 500 are technology firms, it’s more important than ever to be an expert on rapidly changing technology trends and consumer tastes.
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Elliott Says Chipmaker NXP Worth More Than $135 Per Share (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Elliott Management Corp said on Friday NXP Semiconductors NV is worth much more than its previous assessment of $135 per share and Qualcomm Inc’s $110 offer to buy the chipmaker. “The current $110 offer is not even in the right zipcode and a credible offer from Qualcomm requires a price in excess of our estimate of NXP’s intrinsic standalone fair value of $135 per share,” the activist hedge fund said.
Odey Blames Banks for Foiling Hedge-Fund Bears With `Fairy Dust’ (Bloomberg)
Take Crispin Odey, whose main hedge fund has tumbled by two thirds in three years because of bets against the market. He blames his losses partly on banks that rescued troubled companies to keep their own investments intact. “As a bear, this market has been so painful,” the fund manager wrote in a letter to investors after his Odey European Inc. fund declined more than 20 percent last year in its third successive annual loss. “Every occasion in which a company gets caught between a squeeze in margin and an inability, because of competitive conditions, to pass on cost increases, banks have come to the rescue.”
Lowe’s Names Two Directors After Talks with Activist Investor (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos Inc (LOW.N) appointed two independent board members and plans to add a third following talks with activist hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co, sending its shares up 2 percent premarket. The appointments follow a report last week that D.E. Shaw had built an active stake in the $84 billion company and was concerned about its performance in comparison with peers. D.E. Shaw has not publicly commented about its stake or its plans for the retailer. It was not immediately available for a comment. The CNBC report cited sources saying that the hedge fund was not planning to push for consolidation with another home retailer at this time.
Hedge Fund Westbeck Capital to Set Up Electric Vehicle Metals Fund (Financial Times)
London-based energy hedge fund Westbeck Capital is planning a fund to invest in metals used in electric vehicles, as demand surges for commodities from cobalt to lithium. Led by Will Smith, who previously ran the natural resources team at CQS — the hedge fund run by Sir Michael Hintze — Westbeck hopes to raise $100m this year. The fund will also include a former chief executive of a lithium company, according to a person familiar with its launch. The fund will invest in small and mid-cap miners of materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, rare earths and graphite, which are used in electric car batteries and motors.
