Neil Woodford Gives Up on UK Investment Fund Comeback (ProactiveInvestors.co.uk)
Fallen-star fund manager Neil Woodford has seemingly given up his attempt to return to the UK fund management market. An application has been made for his new WCM Partners business to be removed from the Companies House register. According to the company’s accounts, the business had current assets of £1.3mln split between debtors and cash at the end of last year.
Major Spirit Shareholder Backs Merger with JetBlue (AeroTime Hub)
A major Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) shareholder, the American hedge fund Discovery Capital Management, has urged the carrier’s Board of Directors to reject its possible merger with Frontier Airlines, arguing that the deal with JetBlue (JBLU) is “more favorable”. In an official letter sent to Spirit Airlines (S64) (SAVE) on July 12, 2022, Discovery Capital, which owns 1.4% of Spirit, implored the American low-cost carrier to abandon its merger with Frontier and to create the US’s fifth-largest air carrier by joining forces with JetBlue (JBLU). “We are writing you today as we are concerned about the upcoming vote on July 15th for the proposed merger with Frontier Airlines.
Schonfeld Asia Hedge Fund Spin-Off Raises More Than US$750m: Source (Business Times)
A HEDGE fund spin-off from Schonfeld Strategic Advisors that focuses on Greater China stocks has raised more than US$750 million within a few months, a rare feat in a year when slumping returns have deterred investors. Keystone Investors began trading on Apr 1 with backing from Schonfeld, while the majority of money was raised from other investors, the new venture’s chief executive officer Ken Tonkinson said. The fund is closed to new capital to manage asset size and plans to reopen in the fourth quarter, he said.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Viking Hedge Fund’s 7% Loss in First Half Still Beats Its Tiger Cub Peers (Bloomberg)
Viking Global Investors’ move to reduce risk, concentrate long wagers and hold onto its short bets helped the hedge fund limit losses in the first half of 2022 and outperform several stock-picking peers. Andreas Halvorsen’s $19 billion flagship fund gained 2% last month, paring its decline for the year to 7.4%, according to an investor letter seen by Bloomberg. While the fund is on track to post the worst annual loss in its 22-year history, that performance is far better than other so-called Tiger Cubs, some of which tumbled 30% or more this year.
Stocks are More Attractive than Bonds ‘Any Day of the Week’ as Yields are Still Too Low, Leon Cooperman Says (Business Insider)
Stocks are more attractive than bonds as yields remain too low, billionaire investor hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman said. With consumer price inflation at 8.6% and 10-year Treasury yields below 3%, bonds have no real return, making stocks comparatively better, he told Bloomberg TV on Monday. “I’d rather be in a common stock than I would be in a bond any day of the week, given the relative price of bonds versus equities,” Cooperman said.
Inside the Rise and Fall of Three Arrows Capital (Bloomberg)
The rise and fall of Three Arrows Capital parallels the transformation of crypto itself. It started with speculation on a few well-known coins like Bitcoin and Ether, and became an interdependent industry of tokens linked to other tokens, crypto companies acting like banks offering depositors double-digit yields, and lots of borrowing by traders looking to juice their returns.
Atlas Responsible Investors Launches a New Long/Short Equity Impact Fund (Opalesque.com)
Opalesque Industry Update – Atlas Responsible Investors (Atlas), a French independent investment management firm, announced the launch of a UCITS version for its Long/Short impact equity strategy. Atlas has been running this strategy for three years for family offices; under UCITS format, the fund will give a wider access to this unique fusion of authentic responsible investing and traditional equity long/short virtues. Both sustainability and absolute returns are the very core of one of the first SFDR9 absolute returns strategies. Atlas was established in 2019 by Quentin Dumortier, with a mission to align capital with purpose.
Vailshire Partners Hedge Fund Client Memo – 3Q 2022 (Seeking Alpha)
In June of 2022, Vailshire Partners LP holdings returned +2.16% (see table below), compared with a -8.25% total return for the S&P 500. The past decade of seemingly unending quantitative easing and stock market gains has come to a painful end and has brought serious consequences with it. The current economic conditions and Federal Reserve’s actions bode poorly for most risk assets over the coming months.
Wednesday 7/13 Insider Buying Report: SFIX, MRUS (Nasdaq.com)
On Friday, Stitch Fix’s Director, J. William Gurley, made a $5.43M purchase of SFIX, buying 1,000,000 shares at a cost of $5.43 each. Stitch Fix is trading up about 18.1% on the day Wednesday. This buy marks the first one filed by Gurley in the past twelve months. And on Tuesday, President, CEO & PFO Sven Ante Lundberg purchased $99,685 worth of Merus, purchasing 4,340 shares at a cost of $22.97 each. Merus is trading up about 3.9% on the day Wednesday.
Robinhood And 3 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling (Benzinga)
BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings: The Trade: BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (BJ) EVP, Chief Operations Officer Jeff Desroches sold a total of 15,000 shares at an average price of $66.58. The insider received around $1 million from selling those shares. Paychex: The Trade: Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) Chairman and CEO Martin Mucci sold a total of 21,631 shares at an average price of $116.80. The insider received around $2.53 million as a result of the transaction.
Blackstone’s King of Hedge Funds Shakes Up Its Lagging Business (Bloomberg)
When Blackstone Inc. recruited Ivy League endowment manager Joe Dowling to make its lumbering hedge fund division more competitive last year, it took pains to minimize any appearance of drama. Within a year, Dowling’s co-head atop the unit left. So, too, have other senior staff, by choice or pushed out, as Dowling made big hires. Clients including pensions noticed all the turnover, and some have raised questions.
