Insurers’ Pullback from Hedge Fund Investments Continues for a Fourth-Straight Year (Opalesque.com)
U.S. insurers for a fourth straight year reduced their hedge fund investments, to $12 billion in 2019 from $25 billion in 2015. According to a report by A.M. Best Company, hedge fund holdings went from 1,500 positions to about 900. Only 10% of A.M.Best’s rated universe invests in hedge funds. Long/short equity dropped by $2 billion and multi-strategy dropped by $600 million in 2019, said the U.S.-based credit rating agency for the insurance industry. Jason Hopper, the associate director, AM Best, addressed why the industry has reduced its hedge fund holdings: “Over the years, hedge funds have become a little less attractive compared with some other investments, given the returns.” “Returns haven’t been favorable enough to meet the high fees, as well as the regulatory capital stream imposed by capital charges. … Not only is book adjusted carrying value declining, but the number of holdings has declined as well,” he added.
Hedge Fund Investing Isn’t Just for the Rich. How Regular Folks Can Try It. (Barron’s)
There is a little corner of the insurance market that isn’t for the faint of heart. Incredibly cheap and equally risky, it is a form of hedge fund investing for the masses. Alternative reinsurance is the area. And Greenlight Capital Reinsurance (ticker: GLRE) and Third Point Reinsurance (TPRE) are two of the players. The stocks represent a leveraged bet on the performance of some of the world’s most famous hedge funds, but investors who don’t want to put cash at risk can benefit too.
Tuesday 6/2 Insider Buying Report: MIDD, SFE (Nasdaq.com)
At Middleby, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Friday, Director Robert A. Nerbonne purchased 2,700 shares of MIDD, for a cost of $68.12 each, for a total investment of $183,932. Nerbonne was up about 10.7% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with MIDD trading as high as $75.42 at last check today. Middleby is trading up about 1.1% on the day Tuesday. Before this latest buy, Nerbonne bought MIDD at 9 other times during the past year, for a total investment of $704,258 at an average of $76.18 per share. And on Monday, Director Joseph M. Manko Jr. bought $108,319 worth of Safeguard Scientifics, buying 16,927 shares at a cost of $6.40 a piece. Before this latest buy, Manko Jr. bought SFE on 2 other occasions during the past year, for a total investment of $373,776 at an average of $6.65 per share. Safeguard Scientifics is trading up about 8.4% on the day Tuesday. So far Manko Jr. is in the green, up about 9.8% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $7.03.
Salesforce.com Inc (CRM) Chair of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff Sold $3.5 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chair of the Board & CEO of Salesforce.com Inc., Marc Benioff, sold 20,000 shares of CRM on 06/01/2020 at an average price of $174.21 a share. The total sale was $3.5 million. Salesforce.com Inc is a software-as-a-service company that provides enterprise cloud computing solutions, offering social and mobile cloud apps and platform services, as well as professional services to facilitate the adoption of its solutions.
The Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields (Other OTC: GFIOF) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the Chief Executive Officer of Gold Fields (GFIOF), Nicholas J Holland, sold shares of GFIOF for $2.77M. Following Nicholas J Holland’s last GFIOF Sell transaction on March 04, 2020, the stock climbed by 1.5%.
