Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Gabe Plotkin, Bill Ackman, White Square Capital, Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI), RumbleON Inc (RMBL), and More

Ackman’s Un-SPAC Elicits a Shrug from Investors (Reuters)
LONDON, June 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Bill Ackman’s online acolytes are unfazed by the dwindling premium attached to the billionaire’s Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH.N) vehicle. Self-described Tontards swap memes on Reddit glorifying the investor they call “daddy”, while a sock puppet proffers an expletive-ridden sum-of-the-parts valuation. Yet PSTH shares suggest Ackman’s unconventional special purpose acquisition company has lost its shine.

How this Ex-Hedge Fund Executive Founded Investment Management Startup WealthDesk (Your Story)
WealthDesk is an investment management platform that has raised Pre-Series A funding of $3.2 million led by Mathew Cyriac, Former Blackstone Partner, and Co-head of India PE and now Founder of Florintree Advisors. While working in the fund management segment at DE Shaw in the US, Ujjwal Jain got an opportunity to shift to Mumbai for a strategic India focused stint. The move made him realise the massive opportunity in asset management, fund management, advisory, and broking in the country.

Hedge Funds Launch Effort to Boost Image as D.C. Scrutiny Mounts (Bloomberg)
Hedge funds have long stayed out of the political fray. Now, as lawmakers and regulators increasingly put the firms in their sights, the secretive industry is reversing course. The main hedge fund lobbying group — which represents 135 funds including Citadel, Elliott Management Corp. and Renaissance Technologies — is launching a multi-million dollar campaign Thursday to better explain to Washington what its members actually do.

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GameStop Investors Flex Their Muscles amid Shuttered Hedge Fund (The Madison Leader Gazette)
Reddit investors pack a powerful punch, just ask hedge fund managers. London-based White Square Capital is shuttering its operations after losses it suffered early in the year from popular meme stock GameStop, according to a report in the Financial Times, citing people close to the situation. White Square, which was founded by Florian Kronawitter, an alum of Paulson & Co, was reportedly short GME.

New Anchor for Formuepleje (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Lars Larsen Group, which owns furniture chain Jysk and is owned by descendants of Jysk founder Lars Larsen, plans to become an anchor shareholder of Danish asset manager Formuepleje. Lars Larsen Group aims to accumulate an ownership stake of around 40 percent in the longer term, as the current major shareholder, the Hommelhoff family, is reducing their ownership.