Tudor Jones Says This Will Be the ‘Second Depression’ If We Remain in Lockdown in a Year (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund investor Paul Tudor Jones said Monday the economy would be in a “Second Depression” if the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t get contained in a year. “Just depends on whether unfortunately this goes to a year with this kind of a lockdown,” Jones said on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday. The Great Depression from 1929 to 1939 was the worst economic downturn in the U.S. history. The coronavirus has infected more than 1.3 million people in the U.S. as of Monday, including at least 79,528 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. New York state has been the epicenter of the pandemic, with more than 330,000 cases and over 20,000 deaths.
At World’s Biggest Wealth Fund, Top Hire Slammed by Watchdog (Bloomberg)
The watchdog overseeing Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund has delivered a scathing critique of the recruitment process of its next chief executive. Nicolai Tangen, the London-based hedge fund manager picked to run the world’s biggest sovereign investor, faces a growing controversy in Norway due to his personal wealth and his firm’s use of tax havens. On Monday, Norges Bank’s Supervisory Council said Tangen’s selection raised serious questions around conflicts of interest and demanded that the central bank, which manages the fund and handled Tangen’s recruitment, guarantee that a number of issues be fixed before he starts as CEO in September.
US Hedge Fund Calls on Korean Air to Sell Baggage Handling Unit (KoreanInvestors.com)
A US hedge fund with a stake in Korea Airport Service Co. Ltd. (KAS), a majority owned by Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd., is calling on the carrier to sell the profitable but non-core unit as part of self-rescue measures to be unveiled. Describing KAS with a market value of 161.5 billion won ($132 million) as a hidden jewel, Stone Forest Capital LLC’s chief investment officer Brad Lindenbaum said in a recent telephone interview that cash-strapped Korean Air needed to put the valuable unit on the market, in return for receiving a 1.2 trillion won bailout from state-run banks.
Rawpixel / shutterstock.com
Crispin Odey’s Flagship Fund Plunged in April — Reversing Virus Turmoil Gains (FNLondon.com)
Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey was caught out by the market rally in April, reversing the gains from pandemic-driven market turmoil in March. Odey Asset Management‘s Odey European fund fell 9.5% in April and is now down 3.7% in 2020, according to data from HSBC. It’s a sharp drop after a 21% gain in March, and a 6.5% rise in the first quarter of 2020. The decline in the fund, managed by Odey himself, came off the back of the rally in markets which ran contrary to Odey’s bearish strategy outlook. Odey European Fund’s annual performance has been up once since 2015 — a 53% jump in 2018.
Morgan Stanley hires PM from hedge fund that lost money in February (eFinancialCareers.com)
As we’ve noted before, the virus isn’t preventing banks from onboarding senior people who were already in recruitment pipelines before the pandemic struck. Many of them have been arriving in new roles in recent weeks. One of this cohort is Laszlo Gillemot, a quantitative strategist in Morgan Stanley’s fixed income division. Gillemot, who recently updated his LinkedIn profile, says he arrived at Morgan Stanley in London only last month. This is interesting because Gillemot looks like something of a catch for a mere investment bank. He spent the past nine and a half years working as a quant at LMR Partners, a relative value hedge fund that until recently had a reputation for almost never losing money.
Elon Musk Said He isn’t the ‘Biggest Fan’ of Warren Buffett. The Billionaires have Butted Heads Before. (Business Insider)
Elon Musk delivered his most direct criticism of Warren Buffett yet on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast last week, revealing he isn’t a huge admirer of the famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway boss. “To be totally frank I’m not his biggest fan,” the Tesla and SpaceX chief said in a discussion of the ongoing backlash against billionaires. Musk drew a distinction between consumption and Buffett’s focus on allocating funds among different businesses. “He’s trying to figure out: ‘Does Coke or Pepsi deserve more capital?'” Musk said. “It’s kind of a boring job if you ask me.”
Crypto Hedge Fund AUM Grows, but New Launches Hinge on Bitcoin Prices (Hedge Week)
Hedge funds trading cryptocurrencies doubled their assets under management last year – but returns remain volatile, with the ability to survive hinging heavily on performance, a new industry survey has found. The ‘2020 Crypto Hedge Fund Report’, jointly published today by PwC and Elwood Asset Management, a digital assets-focused investment firm, surveyed more than 40 managers running active crypto hedge funds during Q1 2020. The wide-ranging report – which explores both quantitative issues within the crypto hedge fund sector, including liquidity terms, trading of cryptocurrencies and performance, as well as qualitative themes, such as best practice with respect to custody and governance – indicates a sector gathering momentum, but still subject to volatile and unstable returns.
