Investor Marc Lasry Thinks the Big-Spending U.S. Could be Headed for Distress (CNBC)
Marc Lasry, who makes his living by investing in distressed companies, thinks the U.S. is potentially heading for that status itself. Though he’s not sure of the timing and doesn’t expect major problems to happen anytime soon, the billionaire head of the Avenue Capital hedge fund and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks sees high levels of government debt eventually coming back to cause problems.
Universal Offers Bill Ackman Chart-Topping Returns (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) – Bill Ackman may bag a financial smash hit in the upcoming listing of Universal Music, which is being spun off by Vivendi. Taylor Swift’s label boasts superior profitability to rival Warner Music, making a valuation of 47 billion euros including debt plausible. That would represent a chart-topping return for the hedge fund manager who bought a stake on the cheap earlier this year.
Steven Cohen to Invest in Crypto Quant Trading Firm (The Wall Street Journal)
Billionaire Steven A. Cohen is set to invest in a new cryptocurrency trading firm, the latest bet on the digital-asset markets by a prominent Wall Street investor. The hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets agreed to make an initial investment in Radkl, a quantitative-trading firm specializing in digital assets, according to the firm’s executives and a spokeswoman for Mr. Cohen.
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‘Big Short’ Investor Michael Burry Offers an Inside Look at How His Iconic Bet Against the Housing Bubble Began (Business Insider)
Michael Burry, of “The Big Short” fame, reflected on the origins of his iconic bet against the US housing bubble, and praised a late colleague who helped him research the wager, in a tweet on Sunday. “When it all began…and RIP Joe,” the Scion Asset Management boss said. “A more brilliant one, I never met.”
Veteran Infra Investor Whitehelm Capital Bought by Real Assets Specialist Patrizia (Opalesque)
European real assets manager Patrizia is set to acquire infrastructure manager Whitehelm Capital and the combination of the two businesses creating an asset manager with more than €50bn in assets under management. According to a press release from the global real assets investment firm, the transaction will broaden its investments to include themes such as digital infrastructure, energy transition, water and environmental services, and social infrastructure. “Whitehelm’s product offering and investment expertise will significantly broaden Patrizia’s portfolio of investment solutions with a particular focus on smart cities & digital infrastructure, de-carbonization & energy transition, water, and environmental services, and social infrastructure, across equity, debt, and public listed infrastructure investments,” it explained.
Hedge Fund Amia Looks to Raise $500 Million After Beating Peers (Bloomberg)
Amia Capital, a London-based hedge fund focused on emerging markets, is in talks to raise as much as $500 million, tapping renewed investor interest in the industry. The fundraising will boost the firm’s assets to $2 billion, according to an investor letter sent to clients on Tuesday and seen by Bloomberg. It then intends to stop taking new cash. A spokesman for the firm co-founded by Antoine Estier, former chief investment officer at Grupo BTG Pactual SA’s hedge fund unit, declined to comment.
Fund Managers and the Path Towards Net zero Emissions (Hedge Week)
By Juan Cruz, Founding Partner and CIO, Cygnus Asset Management – On the path towards a net zero emissions world, some sectors will multiply their activity (multiples), others will reduce it substantially (fractions), and others will disappear (zeros). How can hedge funds and other asset managers navigate the emerging investment opportunities? At the Paris Climate Change Summit in December 2015, 189 countries reached a binding international agreement on climate change, with the aim of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.”
Elliott Said to Push for Breakup of British Power Firm SSE (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management is pushing for a breakup of SSE Plc after building up a stake in the British power company, people with knowledge of the matter said. The activist hedge fund sees value in separating SSE’s renewable portfolio from its regulated electricity businesses, the people said, asking not be identified because the information is private. Elliott has been meeting privately with representatives from SSE, which is based in the central Scottish city of Perth, as well as some of its major shareholders, according to the people.
Hedge Fund Vet Dan Tapiero has Invested More than $650 Million into Crypto’s Largest Companies (The Block Crypto)
The number of crypto unicorns — those valued at above $1 billion — is growing at a breakneck clip, drawing the interest of investors like Dan Tapiero. Tapiero, a veteran of the macro trading world, launched 10T in 2019 as a vehicle for traditional investors to get exposure to equity in crypto firms with a valuation above $500 million. Such an investment might not provide the 100x return a venture capital investor might look for when flipping a token, but it is a less risky way for pension funds and endowments to get exposure to crypto’s upside.
Tuesday 9/14 Insider Buying Report: BANF, SUNL (Nasdaq.com)
At BancFirst, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Tuesday, Executive Vice President and Dennis L. Brand purchased 9,000 shares of BANF, at a cost of $54.31 each, for a total investment of $488,750. BancFirst is trading down about 1% on the day Tuesday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Brand in the past year. And at Sunlight Financial Holdings, there was insider buying on Monday, by CFO Barry Edinburg who bought 75,000 shares for a cost of $5.34 each, for a total investment of $400,875. This purchase marks the first one filed by Edinburg in the past year. Sunlight Financial Holdings is trading up about 2.8% on the day Tuesday.
The Subsidiary Chief Executive Officer of eXp World Holdings (NASDAQ: EXPI) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the Subsidiary Chief Executive Officer of eXp World Holdings (EXPI), Jason Michael Gesing, sold shares of EXPI for $692.5K. In addition to Jason Michael Gesing, 7 other EXPI executives reported Sell trades in the last month. Following Jason Michael Gesing’s last EXPI Sell transaction on August 24, 2021, the stock climbed by 1.5%.
Notable Avalara Insider Trades $5.96 Million In Company Stock (Benzinga)
Scott Mcfarlane, Corporate Officer at Avalara (NYSE:AVLR), made a large buy and sell of company shares on September 10, according to a new SEC filing. What Happened: A Form 4 filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission states that Scott Mcfarlane purchased 30,000 Avalara shares at a price of $13.84 per share for a total of $415,200 on September 10. They then sold their shares on the same day in the open market. They sold at prices ranging from $183.77 to $186.13 to raise a total of $5,546,231 from the stock sale.
