BlueCrest Boss Michael Platt Tops List of 19 Hedge Fund Managers Among UK’s Richest (Financial News)
Michael Platt, the British co-founder of BlueCrest Capital Management, has made the top 10 of The Sunday Times’ latest ranking of the UK’s 350 wealthiest individuals. Platt, whose stock-picking career was launched on the back of a £500 gift from his grandmother when he turned 14, has a fortune of £11.5bn. This is up £1.5bn from a year earlier as BlueCrest profited from rising interest rates. TCI Fund Management founder, Sir Chris Hohn, was the next hedge fund manager to make it onto the list. Hohn’s wealth moved to £5bn, up by £2.4bn compared with the previous year.
Hedge Fund Capstone Bets on Volatility From BOJ’s Outlier Policy (Bloomberg)
US hedge fund firm Capstone Investment Advisors said it’s allocated more risk capital to Japan than ever before, as the central bank’s decision to maintain negative interest rates creates uncertainties that may benefit its volatility trading strategy. “Japan is taking a view that they are going to hold firm with their interest-rate policy, and that is a significant outlier when you compare it to the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and the Bank of England,” Chief Executive Officer Paul Britton said in an interview in Tokyo. “So that just creates volatility as investors question what the BOJ is going to do.”
Billionaire Steve Cohen Says Focusing Too Much on a Looming Recession Could Make You Miss the ‘Big Wave’ of A.I. Opportunity: ‘I’m Actually Pretty Bullish’ (Fortune)
For nearly two years now, Wall Street investment banks and top economists have warned that a recession is on the way. But while stubborn inflation and aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes have consistently weighed on the economy, it’s yet to crack. And now, with artificial intelligence technology advancing at a breakneck pace after the release of OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT in November, some of the world’s top investors believe it’s time to jump back into markets – even if the economy is still on rocky footing. Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets and founder of Point72 Asset Management, a hedge fund with assets of $28.3 billion, said this week that most investors are too concerned about a market-crushing recession, when they should be focusing on the “big wave” of opportunity in A.I.
Hedge Funds Tap Singapore-based Commodities Traders (Hedge Week)
Big name hedge fund firms including Citadel, Balyasny and Millennium are tapping Singapore’s top performing commodities traders as they look to take advantage of the opportunities presented by erratic commodity prices, and in particular oil, according to a report by eFinancial Careers. The latest trader to make a hedge fund switch is Nathan Ohayon who has reportedly left Shell in Singapore after over 11 years with the company, to join Citadel in London, where he will build a new team to trade regional waterborne crude balances.
Bill and Melinda Gates Sell 20% of Stake in Berkshire Hathaway: These 3 Stocks Are Now Their Largest Holdings (The Motley Fool)
Warren Buffett donates his shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — shares that are sometimes sold. The nonprofit organization is likely more concerned with preserving its capital, which is why it tends to look for stocks with this key trait. Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft (MSFT -0.22%), a company that is now the second-most valuable U.S. public company. Due in large part to his ownership stake in this business, Gates is currently the sixth-richest person in the world, according to Forbes. And with a portion of his fortune, Gates and his now ex-wife Melinda sought to make a difference in the world via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. On its website, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation states, “We are a nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world.” With its vast resources, the foundation is trying to eradicate malaria, provide clean water, and feed malnourished children, among other things.
