Ken Griffin’s Millions Could Flip Illinois Supreme Court on Abortion and Unions (Bloomberg)
Republicans are seeking to regain control of Illinois’s highest court for the first time in more than 50 years, with decisions on abortion access and workers’ rights on the line. If they win, they can thank billionaire Ken Griffin. Voters on Nov. 8 will pick their candidates in two judicial races to serve a decade-long term on the state Supreme Court, which the Republicans haven’t controlled since 1969. Democrats currently have a 4-3 majority, which narrowed from 5-2 in 2004. The margin has been put at risk recently after a big push by Republican contributors led by Griffin, the founder of hedge fund Citadel, who contributed more than $10 million in the past two years to a group supporting Republican justices.
Stealthy Crypto Hedge Fund Edge Capital Raises $66.8M for DeFi Bets (Coin Desk)
Crypto hedge fund Edge Capital Management, which has very little public information, has raised $66.78 million across two decentralized finance (DeFi)-focused funds, according to regulatory filings on Oct. 19 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The U.S.-based Edge DeFi Fund LP has raised about $28 million from eight investors since sales opened on Feb. 1 of this year, according to the filing. The firm plans for the offering to last for more than one year for the fund. The other Cayman Islands-based Edge DeFi Offshore Fund has sold about $38.6 million to six investors since opening for sales at the start of October 2021.
UK Fund Manager Schroders LDI Assets Fall by 20 bln Stg (Reuters)
British fund manager Schroders (SDR.L) lost 20.2 billion pounds ($22.79 billion) in third-quarter assets from the unit that houses its under-fire liability-driven investment (LDI) business, it said on Thursday. LDI is a money-spinner for asset managers like Schroders, Legal & General (LGEN.L) and BlackRock (BLK.N), sold mainly to pension funds. UK bond yields rocketed in just a few trading sessions last month following a “mini-budget”, which triggered a rush for cash by pension funds to cover their LDI derivatives positions.
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Activist Hedge Fund Starboard Continues Busy Week With New Stake in Vertiv (Investing.com)
Shares of Vertiv Holdings (NYSE:VRT) rose 12% Thursday following news that activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP has accumulated a 7.4% stake in the provider of digital infrastructure. A 13D filing shows the firm started accumulating the position in late August. Vertiv went public in February of 2020 after a merger with SPAC GS Acquisition Holdings. According to Bloomberg News, which first reported the Starboard stake, the hedge fund is seeking operational improvements at Vertiv.
Investors Withdrew an Estimated $26bn from Hedge Funds in 3Q 2022 (Opalesque.com)
Opalesque Industry Update – As a result of the volatility and positioning for generational inflation and increased likelihood of an economic recession, institutional investors withdrew an estimated $26.0 billion from hedge funds in 3Q 2022, as reported today by HFR®, the established global leader in the indexation, analysis and research of the global hedge fund industry, in the latest release of the HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report.
Short Seller Chanos Who Exposed Enron Fraud Starts Hedge Fund With Daily Liquidity (Bloomberg)
Famed short seller Jim Chanos is offering European investors access to his bearish bets. Chanos, who put successful short bets on companies such as Enron and Wirecard AG, has joined up with London-based Green Ash Partners to launch an equity long/short hedge fund. The fund began trading this month with about $20 million of internal capital, according to a statement.
Here’s How to Get a Job at Billionaire Izzy Englander’s Millennium, from the Programing Language to Know to the Interview Questions to Prep For (Business Insider)
Millennium Management, which houses multiple trading pods across the globe, is looking for more than 100 engineers and developers to help expand its footprint in top technology hubs. Izzy Englander‘s $57 billion fund is just one of many quant shops battling it out with the finance industry and top tech companies for hot talent.
Joakim Hannisdahl Parts Ways with Cleaves (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Analyst-turned-hedge fund manager Joakim Hannisdahl has left the Cleaves Securities-backed asset management firm he co-founded and led as CEO due to “irreconcilable differences” with the Cleaves head office, according to TradeWinds. Hannisdahl co-founded Cleaves Asset Management to run the shipping-only hedge fund Cleaves Shipping Fund, which returned close to 30 percent in U.S. dollars since its launch in October of last year through the end of August 2022.
Hedge Funds See $26 bln in Net Outflows in Q3 – HFR (Reuters)
Global investors redeemed $26 billion from hedge funds in the third quarter, in the second consecutive quarter of net asset outflows, industry data provider HFR said on Thursday. In the year, investors pulled out $33.7 billion from hedge funds worldwide, HFR showed, as poor performance has spooked pension funds, endowments and family offices. The HFRI fund-weighted composite index is down 6.66% this year through September, as portfolio managers struggle to navigate highly volatile markets.
Persistency in Alternative Asset Strategies: Private Equity Funds of Funds (Preqin)
Investing in the alternatives market can be tricky. Knowing whether to rely on past performance to make decisions about future investments is even trickier. In this six-part series, we explore performance persistency across different alternative asset strategies. The third report in the series investigates private equity funds of funds. Can their past performance serve as a guide to future performance?
Hedge Fund Manager on Why Investors Hiding in U.S. Markets is a Bad Bet (BNN Bloomberg)
Barbara Ann Bernard, CEO and CIO of Wincrest Capital, joins BNN Bloomberg, to discuss the US market being expensive and how investors could benefit more from finding companies that operate in emerging markets. She also discusses what kind of aspects investors need to take into consideration when shorting stocks.
Thursday 10/20 Insider Buying Report: GABC, RCG (Nasdaq.com)
On Saturday, German American Bancorp (GABC)’s , Jack Sheidler, made a $1,806 purchase of GABC, buying 48 shares at a cost of $37.62 each. So far Sheidler is in the green, up about 1.9% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $38.35. German American Bancorp is trading off about 0.9% on the day Thursday. Before this latest buy, Sheidler bought GABC at 7 other times during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $45,977 at an average of $36.64 per share. And at Renn Fund (RCG), there was insider buying on Monday, by CEO Murray Stahl who purchased 542 shares at a cost of $2.13 each, for a trade totaling $1,154. Before this latest buy, Stahl bought RCG on 245 other occasions during the past year, for a total investment of $541,559 at an average of $2.27 per share. Renn Fund is trading up about 0.5% on the day Thursday. So far Stahl is in the green, up about 2.8% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $2.19.
Around $60 Million Bet On DICE Therapeutics? 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
DICE Therapeutics: The Trade: DICE Therapeutics, Inc. (DICE) Director Rajeev Shah acquired a total of 1,640,000 shares an average price of $36.50. To acquire these shares, it cost around $59.86 million. Rocket Companies: The Trade: Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT) CEO Jay Farner bought a total of 86,800 shares at an average price of $6.90. To acquire these shares, it cost around $599.27 thousand.
