Even ‘Nice’ Activist Hedge Funds Aren’t Miracle Workers (Bloomberg)
Say what you like about outspoken activist hedge fund investors such as Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman, Paul Singer or Dan Loeb but at least you know where they stand. Nowadays it’s more fashionable for activist funds to refrain from public criticism and work constructively behind the scenes to help managers turn around a business. This is fine, but it becomes a problem when one of the “kindly” investor types resigns abruptly from a board seat they’d pushed to obtain, without providing much explanation.
Bain Capital Nears Deal for Italian IT Services Firm Engineering: Sources (Reuters)
LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) – Bain Capital is close to finalizing a deal for a stake in IT services provider Engineering Ingegneria Informatica that would see the U.S. investor share ownership of one of Italy’s biggest technology companies, sources told Reuters. The deal values Engineering at more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.65 billion) and is in the final stages of negotiations, four sources familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
There’s No Better Place to Put Your Money than the U.S., Says Hedge-Fund Manager Kyle Bass (MarketWatch)
We may be roughly 11 trading sessions from the end of the year, but lately it’s been feeling more like 100. Investors are scanning the horizons for developments on Sunday’s deadline for additional, hefty tariffs on Chinese imports looms. Ahead of that we’ve got the last meetings of the year for the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, alongside a U.K. general election. Given how Wall Street has survived much of what’s been thrown at it in the past 10 years, it’ll likely muddle through this. “Don’t bet against the U.S.,” is our call of the day, from Kyle Bass, founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management.
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Hedge Funds Are All Over U.K. Politics Seeking Edge on Vote (Bloomberg Quint)
To help shape his investment position ahead of Thursday’s U.K. general election, hedge fund manager Luke Newman turned to a new source of wisdom. Rather than seek counsel from corporate executives, he sought out those directly involved in the country’s political scene. Conversations with government officials and political experts persuaded Newman to position his funds around a victory for Boris Johnson’s Conservative party. As a result, he closed or reversed short trades in U.K. banking stocks and boosted positions in the insurance and house-builder sectors, which could benefit from increased political clarity should Britain avoid a hung Parliament or a new ruling party.
Hedge Fund Manager Predicts Bitcoin Price Rise to $20 – $50K After Halving (CryptoGlobe.com)
Charles Hwang, a managing member of the hedge fund Lightning Capital, predicts the price of BTC will trade between $20,000 and $50,000 following next May’s block reward halving. Hwang, who also serves as an adjunct professor at Baruch College, published a post to medium explaining what he calls the coming “bitcoin squeeze.” The hedge fund manager argues that bitcoin’s price has historically responded to halving events in a predictable manner, Recently, many folks have noticed a pattern to these cycles linked to the bitcoin halving event that happens every 210,000 blocks or approximately every four years.
Women of Wall Street: Launching a Hedge Fund as a Woman (Bloomberg)
Maria Vassalou, founder at Vassalou Capital Management, discusses her experience in launching and managing a hedge fund. She speaks on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas.” (Source: Bloomberg).
Agilent Shares Rise After Bill Ackman Stake Revealed (CNBC)
Shares of Agilent Technologies gained more than 3% in after-hours trading on Monday after hedge fund investor Bill Ackman revealed he has taken a stake in the lab testing equipment maker. A regulatory filing showed Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital, owns more than 2.9 million Agilent shares, bringing his stake to around $246 million.
Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index Up 0.84 per cent in November (HedgeWeek)
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index gained 0.84 per cent in November, supported by the strong performance of the global equity market as represented by the 2.76 per cent gain recorded by the MSCI ACWI (Local). Market optimism towards the progress of the US-China trade talks, combined with strong corporate earnings season pushed US equities to new highs during the month. European equities also posted gains throughout the month as Germany narrowly avoided recession and pushed the DAX 2.87 per cent higher over the month.
