Billionaire Stock Picker Jeffrey Vinik to Shut Down Hedge Fund (The Wall Street Journal)
Billionaire investor Jeffrey Vinik said he is closing his stock-picking hedge fund less than eight months after he started it, the latest sign of challenges facing the hedge-fund industry. The closure puts an end to what would have been the third comeback for the former Fidelity Investments star and current owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning professional hockey team.
Avenue Capital to Seek $1 Billion For Aircraft Leasing (Bloomberg)
Avenue Capital Management is in talks with investors to raise as much as $1 billion for the purchase of aircraft to boost its leasing business, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The New York-based investment firm led by Marc Lasry expects to raise the funds over the next three months to buy up to 50 planes, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.
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Billionaire Leon Cooperman Says Elizabeth Warren is ‘s—ting’ on the American Dream (Business Insider)
The hedge-fund billionaire Leon Cooperman isn’t pulling any punches when it comes to talking about the Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s plan to tax the ultrarich. “What is wrong with billionaires?” Cooperman told Politico. “You can become a billionaire by developing products and services that people will pay for.” He added: “I believe in a progressive income tax and the rich paying more. But this is the f—ing American dream she is s—ting on.”
Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones Says ‘I Love Mayor Pete’ (Bloomberg)
Paul Tudor Jones was at a gala Tuesday night for iMentor, working his way through a crowd thick with his people — hedge fund managers including Dan Loeb, David Einhorn, Rob Pohly, John Lykouretzos — when he stopped to take a question about Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. “He’s my man,” Jones, 65, the billionaire founder of Tudor Investment Corp., said of the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Hedge Fund Lab Launches Its Startup Fund Accelerator (PR.com)
London, United Kingdom, October 23, 2019 –(PR.com)– Hedge Fund Lab, a multi-manager hedge fund platform, today announced the launch of its accelerator to support the next-generation fund managers with niche and innovative investment strategies. The accelerator is on a mission to discover and back high-potential portfolio managers to help them build scalable investment vehicles. The program is designed to leverage Hedge Fund Lab’s institutional platform and a network of investors to support managers through all phases of growth from inception to scale in three ways: Access to turnkey infrastructure. Accelerating growth. Raising capital.
Hedge Fund Capital Flows Mixed in Q3 (Hedge Week)
Total hedge fund capital was narrowly changed for Q3 2019, falling from the prior quarter record with flows mixed across strategies as investors navigated heightened fixed income risk and volatility, as well as fluid political developments across the U.S., Europe, the UK and Asia. Total hedge fund capital declined modestly to USD3.24 trillion, a slight reduction from the prior quarter record of USD3.245 trillion, a decline of USD5.5 billion, or approximately 0.17 basis points, according to data released today by HFR, the established global leader in the indexation, analysis and research of the global hedge fund industry.
Diamond Merchant Offers Financing Vehicle (HFAlert.com)
A well-known figure in the diamond industry is marketing a fund that offers financing to manufacturers and dealers of fine jewelry. Chris Del Gatto, chief executive of an online jewelry exchange called I Do Now I Don’t, formed DelGatto Capital of New York earlier this year to launch DelGatto Diamond Finance Fund. The firm this month raised $100 million from a large family office. The fund originates secured loans to “midstream” diamond businesses — that is, those in the supply chain between mining companies and retailers. “Due to tightening capital restrictions, commercial banks are leaving the middle-market segment of high-end diamond and other jewelry businesses,” according to DelGatto Capital’s pitchbook.
Goldman VP, Poker Player and Lovers In Insider-Trading Plot (Bloomberg Quint)
(Bloomberg) — It’s like the cast of a new “Ocean’s 11” movie: a Greek with a chain of Manhattan restaurants, the son of a pharmaceuticals company board member, a poker-playing securities trader in Monaco, a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. vice president and a London investment banking couple who called each other “Pops” and “Popsy.” They’re all accused of participating in a “wide-ranging international insider-trading ring.” U.S. prosecutors unveiled the charges in the past week, piggy-backing on similar actions taken in France and the U.K. in recent years. Taken together, it’s a dramatic assault on a network of bankers and traders operating on both sides of the Atlantic who allegedly reaped tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits.
PPL Corp (PPL) Chairman and CEO William H Spence Sold $7.1 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman and CEO of PPL Corp., William H Spence, sold 215,020 shares of PPL on 10/22/2019 at an average price of $33 a share. The total sale was $7.1 million. PPL Corp is an energy and utility holding company operating through its subsidiaries. The company generates and markets electricity in the northeastern and western U.S. and in the delivery of electricity in Pennsylvania and the U.K. PPL Corp has a market cap of $23.86 billion; its shares were traded at around $33.04 with a P/E ratio of 13.60 and P/S ratio of 3.11.
SodaStream CEO Allegedly Gave Ayala Cohen NIS 400,000 to Buy Company Stock (CalcalisTech.com)
The plot of SodaStream’s ongoing insider trading investigation thickens. Israel Securities Authority (ISA) investigators have discovered that Daniel Birnbaum, the former CEO of SodaStream International Ltd., transferred over $113,250 (NIS 400,000) to Ayala Cohen, his acquaintance suspected of using insider information to trade in the company’s stock. According to investigation transcripts reviewed by Calcalist, Birnbaum is suspected of giving Cohen the money to assist her with buying $85,000-worth (NIS 300,000) of SodaStream stock ahead of the company’s announcement of its $3.2 billion acquisition by PepsiCo Inc., from which Cohen gained a profit of $42,500 (NIS 150,000).
A Director at Destination XL (NASDAQ: DXLG) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, a Director at Destination XL (DXLG), Mitchell Presser, bought shares of DXLG for $35.5K. This recent transaction increases Mitchell Presser’s holding in the company by 6.91% to a total of $510.7K. In addition to Mitchell Presser, 2 other DXLG executives reported Buy trades in the last month.
SEBI Said To Start Probe Against Infosys Over Whistleblower Charges (Bloomberg)
The market regulator has begun its probe into alleged non-disclosure of price-sensitive information by Infosys Ltd.’s management and corporate governance lapses in the wake of allegations levelled by a whistleblower, officials said on the condition of anonymity. Securities and Exchange Board of India is also examining possible insider trading in the company’s securities, they added. Sources said the regulator has already asked the stock exchanges to collate trading data of Infosys’ shares as well as about derivative positions, while details are being sought about alleged non-disclosure of key information.
Goldman Banker Denies Insider Trading As Gov’t Suspects 6 (Law360.com)
Law360, New York (October 22, 2019, 5:24 PM EDT) — A Goldman Sachs investment banker denied insider trading charges in Manhattan on Tuesday as prosecutors announced three arrests in what they call a large-scale illegal tipping ring with six total suspects located in the U.S., Europe and Thailand that generated tens of millions of dollars in illegal profits. Bryan Cohen, 33, a French national who is on leave from the $75 billion megabank, pled not guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud conspiracy before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III. Judge Pauley set Cohen free on a $750,000 bond – denying a prosecution request for him to…
