So Much for Engine No. 1’s Climate Activism at Exxon Mobil (The Wall Street Journal)
Many readers may have been surprised to see Christopher James, the founder of Engine No. 1 and guiding force behind its successful proxy contest at Exxon Mobil, calling for increased production of U.S. shale oil (“U.S. Shale Is the Key to a Renewable Future,” op-ed, March 18). However, I am not one of them. As I’ve argued in the Harvard Business Law Review, Engine No. 1’s activism at Exxon wasn’t really about mitigating climate change. It was a clever way to generate investor interest in the launch of two Engine No. 1-sponsored ETFs.
ETH Price Hits $3K as Major Crypto Fund Adds Over $110M Ethereum to Lido’s Staking Pool (Coin Telegraph)
Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) rose above $3,000 on March 22 as fresh data suggests Three Arrows Capital staked at least $110 million worth of ETH into Lido’s liquidity pools. The Singapore-based hedge fund manager provided liquidity worth 36,401 ETH to Lido’s “Curve stETH pool” using a third-party Ether wallet, data from Etherscan shows. As a result, it became eligible to receive at least 36,401 stacked Ether (stETH) tokens from Lido: to ensure low slippage when un-staking those tokens for real ETH plus staking reward.
Biden Track Record ‘Indefensible’: Ex-CEO of World’s Largest Hedge Fund (Fox Business)
Pennsylvania Senate candidate and former Bridgewater Associates CEO David McCormick joined “Mornings with Maria” Tuesday to discuss the Biden administration’s record on top domestic issues, including rising gas prices, inflation and the ongoing crisis plaguing America’s southern border. During the segment, McCormick criticized President Biden for waging a “war on energy” and labeled his track record as “indefensible.”
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New Analysis Shows Hedge Fund Industry is Booming (Hedge Week)
New in-depth analysis by quant technologies provider SigTech, reports that after continued expansion in 2021, there are currently 27,255 active hedge funds globally. The hedge fund industry remains dominated by the US market, which is home to 67 per cent of all hedge funds globally, followed by 9 per cent in the UK, 4 per cent in China, and circa 2 per cent each in Brazil, Canada and Switzerland.
Brookfield to Acquire Melbourne-Based La Trobe from Blackstone (Pensions&Investments)
Brookfield Asset Management will acquire Melbourne, Australia-based credit boutique La Trobe Financial from Blackstone and La Trobe CEO Greg O’Neill for A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion). Brookfield, a Toronto-based private markets investor with $690 billion in assets under management, said in a news release that the purchase price includes a contingent payment tied to La Trobe achieving certain performance milestones.
Artifacts Seized from U.S. Billionaire Returned to Israel (The Durango Herald)
NEW YORK (AP) – Prosecutors in New York announced the repatriation Tuesday of $5 million worth of looted antiquities seized from billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt to Israel, where Steinhardt is well known as a patron of cultural institutions. The 39 items being returned to Israel include two gold masks dating from about 5000 B.C. that are valued at $500,000 and a set of three death masks that date from 6000 to 7000 B.C. and are worth a total of $650,000, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Activist Fund Executives on Board Bolstered Olympus, CEO Says (Bloomberg)
The involvement of U.S. hedge fund ValueAct Capital Management in Olympus Corp.’s strategy and management is spurring the transformation of the world’s leading maker of endoscopes, Chief Executive Officer Yasuo Takeuchi said, boosting its stock price and profit. Olympus’s shares have more than doubled since ValueAct persuaded Olympus to accept its director nominations in 2019 – a seldom seen victory for activism in Japan.
The Nordic Winners of EuroHedge Awards (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Three Nordic funds have been handed out winning trophies at last week’s awards ceremony of the With Intelligence EuroHedge Awards 2021 in London. Borea Høyrente, OAM Absolute Return Fund and STORM Bond Fund, all based out of Norway, received recognition for strong risk-adjusted performance on 17 March at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London.
3 Funds That Could Let You Live On Dividends Alone (Forbes)
A contrarian indicator just flashed, and it’s telling us that now is the time to buy one of my favorite high-yield investments: closed-end funds (CEFs). Today we’re going to look at three yielding an outsized 11.6%. Yield hunters that we are, we know the power of such a payout: with a $520,000 investment, we can kickstart a $60,000-a-year income stream.
Canada the World’s Fifth Largest Hedge Fund Market, Report Finds (Investment Executive)
Canada was home to 2.1% of the world’s hedge funds in 2021, making it the fifth largest market globally, finds a report from U.K.-based SigTech. Most of those funds were based in Toronto, which was home base for 395 or 1.4% of the world’s funds. That makes Toronto the tenth largest city in terms of hedge fund concentration. According to SigTech’s analysis, there are 27,255 active hedge funds globally. The U.S. was by far the largest market in 2021, with 67.2% of funds based there.
Tuesday 3/22 Insider Buying Report: PCT, RVMD (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, PureCycle Technologies’ Director, Jeffrey Richard Fieler, made a $5M buy of PCT, purchasing 714,284 shares at a cost of $7.00 each. So far Fieler is in the green, up about 33.3% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $9.33. PureCycle Technologies is trading up about 2.9% on the day Tuesday. This buy marks the first one filed by Fieler in the past twelve months. And on Monday, Director Thilo Schroeder purchased $3.43M worth of Revolution Medicines, purchasing 168,051 shares at a cost of $20.40 a piece. Before this latest buy, Schroeder purchased RVMD at 3 other times during the past year, for a total investment of $34.17M at an average of $24.80 per share. Revolution Medicines is trading up about 11.9% on the day Tuesday. So far Schroeder is in the green, up about 14.2% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $23.31.
Insiders Sell About $138M Of 5 Stocks (Benzinga)
Eli Lilly and Company: The Trade: Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) 10% owner Lilly Endowment Inc sold a total of 220,000 shares at an average price of $283.80. The insider received around $62.44 million from selling those shares. RPC: The Trade: RPC, Inc. (NYSE: RES) 10% owner Rollins Holding Company Inc sold a total of 865,000 shares at an average price of $9.78. The insider received around $8.46 million from selling those shares.
