Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Ken Griffin, Michael Novogratz, Nelson Peltz, Two Sigma Advisors, Brevan Howard Asset Management, ValueAct Capital Management, Bireme Capital, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc (PLAY), Tradeweb Markets Inc. (TW), and More

Citadel’s Griffin Tells NYC Mayor That Crime Is No. 1 Priority (Bloomberg)
Citadel’s Ken Griffin told New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other business leaders that public safety is the top priority, and that the city can’t be attractive to companies if crime is an issue. New York has the highest density of financial talent in the world, including more than 1,500 Citadel employees, but crime trumps everything, Griffin said, according to people at Thursday’s roundtable meeting, which was closed to the media.

Disney Stock Gains After Activist Hedge Fund Challenge (The Wall Street Journal)
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is launching a proxy fight for a seat on Disney’s board. Shareholders seem happy about the development. The stock was up nearly 2% shortly after markets opened on Thursday, making Disney the best performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. That’s a welcome change from 2022, when Disney shares endured their worst year since 1974.

Tory Donor’s £82m Earnings Surpass Hedge Fund Rivals in Difficult Year (The Guardian)
The billionaire Tory donor Alan Howard – who hired Lady Gaga sing at his Italian wedding last year – collected £82m in annual pay from his hedge fund. Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP paid Howard, who co-founded the fund in 2002, a total £82,038,938 in pay in the year to the end of March 2022 according to accounts filed at Companies House on Wednesday.

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Virgin Orbit Crashed in the UK – Here’s Why This Hedge Fund is Shorting Its Sister Firm (Financial News)
A Philadelphia-based hedge fund is betting against Sir Richard Branson’s spaceflight company Virgin Galactic, as shares in sister firm Virgin Orbit fall on the back of a failed launch attempt. After booking 35% profits on a long Twitter bet in October 2022, Bireme Capital expanded its short book to end the year with 36% in gains. Virgin Galactic is now another target.

Hedge Fund Two Sigma Keeping 265K-SF 100 Avenue of the Americas Offices (Commercial Observer)
After toying with the idea of leaving its two-building mini-campus in Tribeca, hedge fund Two Sigma Investments decided to stay put, Commercial Observer has learned. Two Sigma signed a renewal to keep its 265,000-square-foot offices at 100 Avenue of the Americas for another seven years, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Asking rent was in the mid-$80s per square foot.