Hedge-Fund Traders Fight BlueCrest’s Michael Platt Over Bonuses (Bloomberg)
BlueCrest Capital Management is suing two former traders who say they were forced to leave when the hedge fund’s billionaire owner, Michael Platt, described the equity trading business as “crap” and hinted it could close. The traders, Alex Codrington and Russell Hartley, say they felt they had no future at the firm after an unpleasant meeting with Platt on plans for his fund’s stock trading. They allege in a Nov. 29 filing prepared for a London court case that Platt said the discussion was so depressing that he should have brought the drug Prozac.
Warren Buffett, Tom Steyer Agree on Advice for People Who Want to Start Investing Without a Lot of Money (CNBC)
Self-made billionaire and Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Steyer has some investment advice for people who don’t have a lot of money but want to start investing. “If you want to save, buy an index fund,” Steyer tells CNBC Make It. Picking individual stocks is extremely tough, even for the experts, says Steyer, who founded the hedge fund Farallon Capital in 1986 and is worth an estimated $1.6 billion. But index funds are a form of passive investing that include a preset bucket of stocks from an index.
Bridgewater Co-CEO Eileen Murray to Depart (The Wall Street Journal)
Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, said one of its two chief executives is stepping down. Eileen Murray, among the hedge-fund industry’s few female executives, plans to leave in March, the firm said Tuesday. David McCormick, who has shared the role with Ms. Murray since 2017, would then lead the firm on his own.
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Preqin Special Report: Service Providers in Alternative Assets (Preqin.com)
As the world of alternative assets continues to grow and evolve, so too must service providers. Technological disruption is already being seen across alternative assets, from investment to operations. And as more fund managers and service providers see the value technology can provide, the required solutions within the market are changing. Amid this disruption, fund managers continue to evaluate the relationship between the cost of their service providers and the quality of the solution: 75% of surveyed fund managers have changed service provider in 2019.
Luckin Coffee Stock Has Surged, and Hedge Funds Are Buying More (Barron’s)
Big investors have woken up and smelled the Luckin Coffee. Lone Pine Capital’s management disclosed in a Friday filing that the hedge fund now owns a large number of American depositary shares of the Chinese coffee chain. Stephen Mandel, Lone Pine’s founder and a legendary stock picker, and the fund’s principals have an overall stake of 6.1 million Luckin ADSs (ticker: LK), representing 48.5 million class A ordinary shares, according to a form the fund filed with the Securities and Exchange…
Hedge Fund Billionaire Buys Florida Mansion for $111 million, Setting State Record (CNBC)
Hedge fund billionaire Steven Schonfeld and his wife bought a sprawling Palm Beach estate for $111 million, making it the most expensive home ever sold in Florida. Schonfeld, founder of New York-based Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, closed Tuesday on the 6-acre estate known as La Reverie, according to a spokesman. The estate, sold by hair-care mogul Sydell Miller, has more than 70,000 square feet of living space, with 11 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, a bowling alley, salon, spa, ice cream stand and candy parlor. It had been listed for $200 million.
SkyBridge’s Gayeski Expects Hedge Funds to Outperform Fixed Income (Bloomberg)
Troy Gayeski, co-chief investment officer at SkyBridge Capital, explains why he sees hedge funds outperforming fixed income globally “over the next several years,” barring a recession. He speaks with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg).
’Hedge Fund Alternatives’ Pass Their First Test, Says Cambridge Associates (HedgeWeek)
Alternative Risk Premia (ARP) funds – a newer breed of ‘hedge fund alternatives’ – passed their first test during the market correction in the fourth quarter of 2018 by outperforming other comparable major asset classes. That’s according to research from Cambridge Associates which reveals that during Q4 2018, equities returned -13.7 per cent and equity hedge funds returned -9.3 per cent, compared with -4 per cent for ARP funds. While these returns show promise, Cambridge Associates says longer-run data is still needed before making a judgement on ARP funds as an asset class.
U.S. Xpress: $5 Transport Stock With New Insider Buying (Seeking Alpha)
Insider Buying: The CIO and President of the company bought $170,000 in aggregate in news via two transactions on November 25th and November 26th. This follows a $33,000 buy by a director earlier in the month. Prior to that a beneficial owner purchased nearly $310,000 of shares while a different director bought over $70,000 worth of the equity in August.
Skyline Champion Corp (SKY) CEO & President Mark J. Yost Sold $537,900 of Shares (Guru Focus)
CEO & President of Skyline Champion Corp., Mark J. Yost, sold 16,500 shares of SKY on 12/02/2019 at an average price of $32.6 a share. The total sale was $537,900. Skyline Corp designs, produces and markets manufactured housing, modular housing and park models to independent dealers and manufactured housing communities located throughout the United States and Canada.
A Director at Paramount Group (NYSE: PGRE) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Director at Paramount Group (PGRE), Katharina Otto-Bernstein, sold shares of PGRE for $151.3K. This is Otto-Bernstein’s first Sell trade following 4 Buy transactions. In addition to Katharina Otto-Bernstein, 2 other PGRE executives reported Sell trades in the last month.
Goldman Sachs Banker Arrested in $2.6M Insider Trading Scheme (MarketResearchFeed.com)
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker in New York was arrested over allegations of insider trading in the U.S., according to court records unsealed on Friday. Bryan Cohen, a vice president, leaked nonpublic information for almost three years in exchange for cash as part of an international insider-trading scheme that led to $2.6 million in illicit gains, according to a separate complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that didnt identify his employer. Some information was tied to pending deals involving Syngenta AG and Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., the documents show.
Insider Trading: December 3, 2019 (BIV.com)
Insider Chin Kyu Huh, 10% owner. Company: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH). Shares owned: 10,702,517. Trade date: November 21, 22, 25, 26. Trade total: US$2,630,520. Trade: Sale of 403,892 shares at prices ranging between US$6.13 and US$6.89 per share. Insider Thomas Albanese, director. Company: Nevada Copper Corp. (TSX:NCU). Shares owned: 2,300,000. Trade date: November 21. Trade total: $216,000. Trade: Acquisition of 800,000 shares at a price of $0.27 per share.
Salesforce.com Inc (CRM) Chairman of the Board & co-CEO Marc Benioff Sold $1.6 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman of the Board & co-CEO of Salesforce.com Inc., Marc Benioff, sold 10,000 shares of CRM on 12/02/2019 at an average price of $161.58 a share. The total sale was $1.6 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.
