Ken Griffin Says He’s Less Likely to Move Citadel to NYC After Amazon’s ‘Heartbreaking’ Exit (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin said Amazon’s decision to pull out of New York City is “heartbreaking,” and the political climate “dramatically” reduced his interest in moving the headquarters of his financial firm to the city, according to a Bloomberg report. “I’m a bit frustrated by the political winds in the city over the last two months. Amazon opting out of New York is heartbreaking,” Griffin said Thursday on Bloomberg Television. Griffin runs Citadel, a giant financial firm with vast trading operations and a hedge fund unit that manages more than $30 billion.
Gulati’s Hedge Fund Becomes Victim of Too-Calm Markets (Bloomberg)
The lack of market volatility — or swings in the prices of securities — has claimed one of its most high-profile victims. Argentiere Capital is returning capital to investors from its flagship $940 million hedge fund after years of unsuccessful wagers on rising market turmoil, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
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South Korean Pension Fund Deals Blow to Elliott in Hyundai Fight (Reuters)
SEOUL (Reuters) – Elliott Management received a potentially fatal blow in its proxy fight to shake up South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group on Thursday when major shareholder the National Pension Service (NPS) said it would vote down the U.S. hedge fund’s proposals. Elliott, founded by billionaire Paul Singer, has been battling to get South Korea’s No.2 conglomerate to return excess capital to shareholders and fix governance problems since May last year when it scuppered a restructuring plan.
Phil King’s Regal Funds resurrects its $500m LIC (AFR.com)
Regal Funds Management has resurrected plans to raise up to $500 million via a listed investment company, adding to a rush of fund-manager raisings on the stock exchange. The Sydney-based hedge fund is expected to open an offer in late April, with a plan to list a fund tied to several of its strategies as early as June. The fund initially postponed the raising as sentiment soured towards listed investment companies after the poor, post-float performance of Melbourne hedge fund L1 Capital’s offering. But its decision will test the appetite of investors to support the controversial structure.
Hedge Fund Sees China Distressed Debt Yielding Juicy Returns (Bloomberg)
Bets on beaten-down Chinese distressed bonds could pay off if the nation persists with its credit easing and there’s a sustained rally in the domestic stock market, according to an Asia-based hedge fund that manages $3.5 billion. Distressed dollar bonds from Chinese issuers have had their best start to a year since 2012. A strategy that includes investing in these notes “could generate out-sized returns” if an improving economy and share gains help investors recover more money from troubled debt, said Kevin Wu, a portfolio manager at Pinpoint Asset Management.
Hedge Fund Specialist Theta Capital Management Adds Partner (HedgeWeek)
Theta Capital Management, one of the oldest and largest independent hedge fund specialists in the Netherlands, has appointed Marc de Kloe as a Partner. De Kloe’s role at Theta will be to further develop the firm’s offering to an expanding client base and to work with the current team to provide additional robustness to the investment and operational processes. De Kloe brings a great deal of industry experience, relations and knowledge in the hedge fund space as well as private credit, private equity, and traditional investments.
Ascalon Maps Asia-Focused Seeding Vehicle (HFAlert)
Ascalon Capital’s new owner aims to raise up to $500 million for a drawdown fund that would offer seed and acceleration capital to hedge fund managers in the Asia-Pacific region. Generation Development Group, a Sydney alternative-investment firm that closed on its purchase of Ascalon last month, has begun marketing the planned Ascalon Growth Catalyst Fund with the aim of holding a first equity close before yearend. To lead the effort, Generation hired long-time Credit Suisse executive Myo Schollum as chief executive of the hedge fund-seeding unit. Ascalon’s previous chief executive was Chuak Chan, who joined the Sydney firm in 2011 and executed a series of seeding deals funded by its former owner, Australian bank Westpac.
