Scaramucci’s Hedge Fund Conference Set for May Is Canceled (Bloomberg)
Anthony Scaramucci canceled this year’s SALT hedge fund conference in Las Vegas due to public health concerns. There are no plans to reschedule. “The well being of the SALT community is our first priority, and after consulting with numerous experts, we determined cancellation is the best course of action,” spokeswoman Jami Schlicher said in a statement Monday. The event, in its 11th year, was to be held May 19-21.
Crypto Exec Michael Novogratz Disagrees with Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman’s Coronavirus Warning, Calling it a ‘Panic’ – But They Agree People Need to Get Back to Work in 4 Weeks (Business Insider)
Michael Novogratz, the hedge fund manager and cryptocurrency evangelist, told Business Insider on Friday that people and markets were overreacting to the coronavirus pandemic, a strong counterpoint to another major investor’s dire predictions just two days earlier. “I think we’re going to look back and see this as one of the great panics of civilization,” Novogratz said. “When you look at it, this virus doesn’t really kill that many people. Since this disease started – let’s assume Dec. 15 – the earth has lost 13 million souls” and only 12,000 have been to the coronavirus, with the vast majority being all the other ways people die, Novogratz said.
David Tepper Says He’s Buying Some Tech Stocks, But Market May have 10% to 15% More to Fall (CNBC)
Billionaire investor David Tepper said he is cautiously buying some stocks, particularly in the tech sector, as the broader market tumbles amid the coronavirus outbreak. However, he noted the relentless selling may have further to go. “I’m nibbling right now, for what it’s worth,” Tepper, the founder of Appaloosa Management, told CNBC’s Scott Wapner on “Halftime Report.” Tepper noted he is adding to his positions in tech giants such as Amazon, Google-parent Alphabet and Alibaba as well as chipmaker Micron Technology. Tepper also said he’s buying some health care stocks. “Things look really interesting for the long term.”
Luis Louro / shutterstock.com
Marshall Wace Builds Short Bets Against UK Stocks, While Odey Pockets Millions (FNLondon.com)
Hedge funds including Marshall Wace and Odey Asset Management have been piling into short bets against UK stocks, making massive returns as the spread of Covid-19 jolts global markets. Leading London hedge fund Marshall Wace has been particularly prolific, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s register of short positions. The regulator tracks any company that adopts a short position of more than 0.5% in a UK stock. Odey Asset Management is claiming returns of as much as 20% on its short bets, with founder Crispin Odey telling the Mail on Sunday he made £115m from this month’s stock market crash.
D.E. Shaw Raises $2 Billion for Flagship Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
D.E. Shaw, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, has raised $2 billion in commitments after opening its doors to new capital for the first time in seven years. The New York-based firm turned away additional investor interest, capping how much it’ll accept at $2 billion, according to a person briefed on the matter. That’s the amount it believes it can put into attractive investments in current turbulent markets, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
Coatue and Fidelity are Early Adopters of $12.4 billion Startup Snowflake’s New Data Exchange — Here’s Why They Think it Can Transform Wall Street (Business Insider)
As Wall Street’s obsession with data continues to grow, firms are eager to make digesting information as easy as possible. Buzzy startup Snowflake, most recently valued at $12.4 billion, has launched a data exchange that already counts hedge funds like Philippe Laffont‘s Coatue and data vendors like FactSet as users. “I think it’s going to be the way people want to access data in the future,” Gene Fernandez, chief technology and product officer at data giant FactSet, told Business Insider.
Don’t Be Naive, Hedge Fund Investor (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – The new chief investment officer of Finnish pension insurer Veritas Pension Insurance will review the firm’s allocation to hedge funds after the industry has failed to keep pace with indices over the past decade. “Of course there are good funds out there as well,” Kari Vatanen tells Bloomberg, but “relative to indexes, hedge fund returns haven’t been great since the financial crisis, it’s somewhat of a disappointment.” Kari Vatanen, CIO at Veritas Pension Insurance. Vatanen, who started as CIO of Veritas at the beginning of March, says he cannot guarantee that the pension insurer will continue to allocate seven percent to hedge funds once a review is completed later this year. “I want to see data and evidence,” Vatanen tells Bloomberg. “I fear they don’t work, but I hope to be proven wrong.” At the end of December 2019, Veritas managed an investment portfolio worth €3.4 billion, of which €267 million, or 6.0 percent, comprised hedge fund investments.
Bill Ackman, Lloyd Blankfein Take Lockdown Disagreements to Twitter (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman renewed his call for a 30-day-shutdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic in a Twitter post on Monday, reacting to a tweet former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein had posted ten hours earlier. Blankfein had supported “extreme measures” to flatten the virus curve, but said those at lower risk of the disease should return to work “within a very few weeks”, pointing out dangers a longer shutdown would bring to the economy. Extreme measures to flatten the virus “curve” is sensible-for a time-to stretch out the strain on health infrastructure. But crushing the economy, jobs and morale is also a health issue-and beyond. Within a very few weeks let those with a lower risk to the disease return to work.
SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator at 3.11 per cent in February (Hedge Week)
The SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator for March 2020 measured 3.11 per cent, up from 2.83 per cent in February. “SS&C GlobeOp’s Forward Redemption Indicator for March 2020 was 3.11 per cent, lower than the 3.49 per cent reported for redemptions in the same period a year ago. The 3.11 per cent reported for March 2020 marks the third consecutive month of year-over-year reductions in redemption notices,” says Bill Stone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SS&C Technologies. “We note this improvement in hedge fund redemptions has occurred against the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak, but the ongoing increase in cases reported worldwide, and the potential effects of countermeasures taken, make it difficult to say whether this trend will continue.”
