Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha is Pure Gold in the First Quarter (Institutional Investor)
The world’s largest hedge fund firm is closing the macro strategy to new investors. Bridgewater Associates’ Pure Alpha fund has gotten off to one of its best starts in recent memory.The flagship macro strategy of the world’s largest hedge fund firm surged 9.23 percent in March and 16.34 percent in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the results.
Crypto Values will Skyrocket to $500,000, Says Scaramucci (AFR.com)
This is an edited transcript of a video interview conducted by Tom Richardson with SkyBridge founder and managing partner Anthony Scaramucci. Tom Richardson: Could you talk to us a bit about SkyBridge and how you talk to clients about investing in crypto? Anthony Scaramucci: SkyBridge is a 17-year-old firm. What SkyBridge basically does is three things. It’s a pension advisory firm. It’s a fund of US- based primarily hedge funds and, about 18 months ago, we made a strategic decision to pivot into digital assets.
Chicago Area Gets a Greater Share in Forbes’ Billionaire Ranking (Chicago.SunTimes.com)
Ken Griffin is still No. 1 in the local standings, while insurance investor Patrick Ryan moves to No. 2, and new names join the list. The Chicago area has minted four new billionaires, increasing its presence in the ranks of the world’s richest people despite a volatile market that lowered the net worth of many peers, Forbes said Tuesday. Publishing its 36th annual World’s Billionaires List, the business magazine said its 2022 data includes 25 people from Chicago or its suburbs, including four new to the exclusive club. In 2021, the Chicago region had 23 billionaires, in Forbes’ reckoning. The net gain accounts for two people who dropped from the list.
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Quant-Driven Funds Including Bridgewater and D.E. Shaw Thrived in What was a Disastrous Quarter for Many Managers (Business Insider)
In a chaotic quarter, it’s the computers that came out on top. While stock-picking managers like Tiger Global, Melvin Capital, and Whale Rock fell by double-digits through the year’s first three months, quant-driven firms like D.E. Shaw, Bridgewater, and Renaissance Technologies had strong returns thanks partially to positive gains in March.
Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital Ends First Quarter With 20.6% Loss (Bloomberg)
It was another rough start to the year for investors in Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital Management, with the hedge fund tumbling 20.6% in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter. The fund fell 3.8% in March, marking the third straight month of declines, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn’t public. The losses follow a tumultuous 2021, when New York-based Melvin Capital ended the year down 39%.
GI Partners Raises $1.45bn for Fund Targeting Data Centers, Life Sciences (Opalesque)
GI Partners, a private investment firm with 20-plus years of investing in technology and healthcare real estate, has lined up $1.4 billion in commitments for its initial fundraising round for its latest investment vehicle, the GI Real Estate Essential Tech + Science Fund (ETS Fund). The initial fundraise period for the firm’s first commingled real estate fund surpassed expectations, exceeding the hard cap with total commitments reaching $1.45 billion and representing one of the largest initial raises for an open-end real estate fund in recent years.
Best Month in a Decade for Excalibur (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Sweden’s second-oldest hedge fund, Excalibur Fixed Income, recorded its best month in March since 2008. The fixed-income macro hedge fund managed by Thomas Pohjanen, Björn Suurwee and Marek Ozana gained 4.2 percent last month to bring its year-to-date return to 4.4 percent and its annualized return over the past 36 months to 6.6 percent. “We have been of the opinion that central banks have been too complacent when it comes to inflation risks and we have been building strategies around those themes for a number of months.”
Tapping into the Hedge Fund Renaissance (Hedge Week)
As hedge fund assets rise and performance rebounds, prime brokers can be a critical part of the industry’s growth. The hedge fund industry is on the up. Following several years of patchy manager performances, a number of high-profile closures, and sustained investor reluctance to continue coughing up hefty fees in exchange for often-lukewarm returns, the sector is enjoying something of a renaissance. In 2021 hedge funds generated their third biggest annual gain since the Global Financial Crisis, while global industry assets under management swelled to record volumes last year – in the neighbourhood of more than USD4 trillion in total.
Crispin Odey’s Hedge Fund Surges 53% as Short Bond Bet Pays Off (Bloomberg Quint)
Crispin Odey’s high-conviction short bet on government bonds is paying off. His flagship Odey European Inc hedge fund soared by about 15% in March, according to an investor update seen by Bloomberg. That lifted this year’s return to 53%, the update shows. Odey has long predicted and bet on surging inflation and is being rewarded now as central banks reverse their easy money policies and scramble to combat soaring prices. A spokesman for London-based Odey Asset Management declined to comment.
Wednesday 4/6 Insider Buying Report: PTVE, AOMR (Nasdaq.com)
On Friday, Pactiv Evergreen’s President, Food Merchandising, Eric Wulf, made a $100,000 purchase of PTVE, buying 10,000 shares at a cost of $10.00 each. Bargain hunters have the opportunity to bag PTVE even cheaper than Wulf did, with shares changing hands as low as $9.75 at last check today which is 2.5% below Wulf’s purchase price. Pactiv Evergreen is trading off about 1.7% on the day Wednesday. This buy marks the first one filed by Wulf in the past twelve months. And also on Friday, Director Jonathan Morgan bought $65,600 worth of Angel Oak Mortgage, buying 4,000 shares at a cost of $16.40 a piece. This buy marks the first one filed by Morgan in the past year. Angel Oak Mortgage Inc is trading off about 1.1% on the day Wednesday.
Executives Sell Over $50M Of 5 Stocks (Benzinga)
AutoNation: The Trade: AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN) 10% owner Edward S. Lampert sold a total of 119,007 shares at an average price of $98.97. The insider received around $11.78 million from selling those shares. VMware: The Trade: VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) Chief Financial Officer Zane Rowe sold a total of 76,362 shares at an average price of $114.39. The insider received around $8.74 million from selling those shares.
