Unilever Taps Outsider as New CEO Backed by Activist Peltz (Reuters)
Unilever on Monday appointed Hein Schumacher to replace Alan Jope as chief executive from July 1 in a move welcomed by board member and activist shareholder Nelson Peltz. One of the world’s largest consumer companies with more than 400 brands ranging from detergent to ice cream, Unilever has had a bumpy couple of years after failing to buy GSK’s consumer goods business. Schumacher, 51, joined Unilever last October as non-executive director and is currently the chief of Dutch dairy business FrieslandCampina.
What’s the Link Between Top-Earning Hedge Fund Citadel and GameStop Stock? (The Street)
2022 was phenomenal for Citadel‘s flagship hedge funds, which posted a record annual profit of $16 billion and outperformed all hedge fund peers. In January 2021, Citadel was involved in GameStop’s massive short squeeze and has been the target of criticism from retail investors ever since. Last year, Citadel’s Ken Griffin said in an interview that the decline of speculative assets like meme stocks, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs is healthy for the economy. The Best-Performing Hedge Fund of the Year: In 2022, hedge funds lost 6.5%, making it the worst year for returns since 2008, according to Reuters. However, for the Citadel hedge fund, the story was quite different.
‘Bitcoin (BTC) Over $100,000,’ Hedge Fund Founder Shares His Bullish Take (U.Today)
The founder of crypto hedge fund BlockTower Capital, Ari Paul, has expressed a bullish opinion, stating that Bitcoin could reach a price of $100,000 per coin by the end of 2024. Aware of the extreme optimism of his prognosis, Paul shared the arguments that had led him to think so. Given the current macroeconomic climate, Bitcoin reaching its double all-time high, which would be just around $110,000, seems a plausible, though not easy, development. If financial markets turn on risk-on as they did in 2021, perhaps this target will even be conservative, Paul says.
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Global Macro Hedge Fund Asia Genesis Gets Listed on ADDX (Opalesque)
A global macro hedge fund has taken the tokenised road to minimise its subscription size. ADDX has just listed Asia Genesis Macro Fund, a global macro hedge fund launched by veteran trader Chua Soon Hock in May 2020. ADDX is a global private market exchange in Singapore that wants to democratise the private capital markets through blockchain and smart contract technology. Using these tools, ADDX was able to reduce the minimum subscription size of Asia Genesis from US$1m to US$20,000 for its investors.
Tech-Driven Hedge Fund Two Sigma Renews Lease on Lower Sixth Avenue (New York Post)
The retrenchment and space-shedding wave that’s swamping financial and tech firms hasn’t struck Two Sigma yet. The technology-driven hedge fund — which employs AI as part of its trading strategy — quietly renewed on 260,000 square feet for seven more years at 100 Sixth Ave., we’ve learned. The firm also has over 100,000 square feet at 101 Sixth Ave. next door. No one involved would comment. Our source said the asking rent was $80 per square foot. The owners of 100 Sixth are a joint venture of Trinity Real Estate, Norges Bank Investment Management and operating partner Hines.
US Billionaire Takes Stake in Watch Company (HenleyStandard.co.uk)
AN American billionaire has taken a minority stake in Henley luxury watchmaker Bremont. Bill Ackman, a Wall Street hedge fund manager, has invested £48 million in the company alongside its long-standing investor Hellcat. Bremont says the move will help it bring large-scale watchmaking back to the UK. Ackman, 56, said he had long admired the company and last summer sent a note to brothers Nick and Giles English, who founded Bremont in 2002.
Now a Barclays MD Quit for Millennium Before Bonuses (eFinancialCareers.com)
Millennium, the hedge fund founded by Israel Englander, is still poaching bank MDs – and not just JPMorgan ones – before bonus are paid. Cagdas Aksu joined Millennium this month after over 18 years at Barclays. He was most recently an MD and head of Barclays’ head of European Rates Strategy. He is based in London. Millennium declined to comment on Aksu’s arrival. However, it’s thought that he’s joining an investment pod rather than the central strategy team that hired JPMorgan MD Jack Yang earlier this month.
Elliott Takes Massive Salesforce Stake: Hedge Funds and C-Suites Weekly (Investing.com)
Salesforce shares climbed on news that activist hedge fund Elliott Management bought a stake in the company. And here is your full weekly roundup of the biggest news out of hedge funds and company top brass, all first covered on InvestingPro. Elliott Management takes a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce: The news of Elliott’s new Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) stake follows the company’s recent 10% workforce reduction plan announced on January 4, part of a restructuring effort to lower operating costs and improve margins. The plan also involves reducing office space in selected markets.
Monday 1/30 Insider Buying Report: BANC, SHW (Nasdaq.com)
On Wednesday, Banc Of California’s , James Andrew Barker, made a $800,830 purchase of BANC, buying 48,435 shares at a cost of $16.53 each. So far Barker is in the green, up about 4.2% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $17.23. Banc Of California is trading off about 0.3% on the day Monday. Before this latest buy, Barker made one other buy in the past year, purchasing $249,187 shares for a cost of $19.32 a piece. And on Friday, CEO John G. Morikis purchased $500,327 worth of Sherwin-Williams, purchasing 2,207 shares at a cost of $226.70 a piece. Before this latest buy, Morikis made one other buy in the past twelve months, purchasing $519,100 shares for a cost of $259.55 a piece. Sherwin-Williams is trading up about 1.1% on the day Monday. So far Morikis is in the green, up about 2.4% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $232.08.
Alphabet, Micron Technology And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling (Benzinga)
Alphabet: The Trade: Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) President, Global Affairs, CLO J. Kent Walker sold a total of 11,313 shares at an average price of $100.00. The insider received around $1.13 million from selling those shares. Ralph Lauren: The Trade: Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) President and CEO Patrice Louvet sold a total of 18,500 shares at an average price of $125.00. The insider received around $2.31 million as a result of the transaction.
