Andurand’s Oil Hedge Fund Suffers Second Consecutive Annual Loss (Bloomberg)
Pierre Andurand, one of the oil market’s last remaining hedge fund managers, posted his second consecutive annual loss with a 7.1% decline in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter. The loss at Andurand Commodities Fund further darkens the picture for the industry, which over the last five years has seen many high-profile managers shutting down their flagship commodity hedge funds while others suffered large losses that spooked investors.
Chicago Trib Reporters Desperately Seek Solution to Alden Acquisition (SubscriptionInsider.com)
David Jackson and Gary Marx, investigative reporters for the Chicago Tribune, are desperately seeking a solution to a possible acquisition by Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that currently owns 32% of Tribune Publishing. In addition to the Chicago Tribune, the publisher owns The (New York) Daily News, The Baltimore (Maryland) Sun, The Hartford (Connecticut) Courant, The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, The (South Florida) Sun-Sentinel, the Daily Press (Virginia), The Virginian-Pilot (Virginia) and The Morning Call (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania). The New York Times published an op-ed piece by Jackson and Marx on January 19.
Crescit Protect Joins the NHX (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Crescit Protect, a hedge fund that seeks to generate market-like returns with lower volatility, has now joined the Nordic Hedge Index. The fund managed by Stockholm-based alternatives manager Crescit Asset Management returned 5.2 percent since launching in mid-April of last year with over SEK 1 billion in assets under management. Managed by a team of four, Crescit Protect uses equity derivatives to generate returns similar to the MSCI World Index. The fund employs a systematic derivatives-focused strategy to allocate to different global equity market indices.
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Ex-Citadel Macro Traders are Finding New Jobs at Rival Funds (eFinancialCareers.com)
One month after being released from Citadel, members of the shuttered macro strategies unit are arriving in new roles. Or at least three have, so far. Gordon Ibrahim, a former macro portfolio manager at Citadel, has just joined quantitative hedge fund Winton in London as a macro systematic portfolio manager, according to his LinkedIn profile. Giacomo Mustarelli, a former Citadel macro quant analyst, also just joined Winton in a similar role. Both men were at Citadel fleetingly. Mustarelli joined from shuttered hedge fund Arrowgrass on a fixed term contract in April 2019. Ibrahim was at Citadel for 18 months.
A Decade In Review (Forbes)
At New Years’ Eve in 2009, the mood was somber yet cautiously optimistic as the S&P500 had rebounded halfway from its bottom in the Great Recession and “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas topped the pop music charts. Twitter just turned two years old, smart phones were beginning their growth, and Barack Obama served half of his first term as President of the United States. Warren Buffet was also two years deep into his winning bet that the S&P 500 would outperform a basket a hedge funds for the next decade. In this quarter’s KnowRisk Report, we’ll take a deeper look at some of the winners (and losers) of the past decade.
The Hedge Funds of Funds with 27 Year Track Record that’s Actually Enjoying Inflows (Opalesque.com)
A conversation about outperformance and manager selection with Cedric Kohler, Head of Advisory at Geneva-based Fundana. Fundana was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1993 as one of the first independent Swiss institutions fully dedicated to alternative investments. It was instrumental in the creation of the first Fund of Hedge Funds of Swiss jurisdiction. Apart from its impressive track record, Fundana is especially respected among investors for their manager selection and operational excellence. For example, during the rough period of 2008, the hedge funds of funds advised by Fundana (and thus their clients) had no gates, no suspension of redemptions and no Madoff exposure.
Tom Steyer Wins Endorsement from Edith Childs, the S.C. Woman behind Obama ‘Fired Up!’ Chant (The Washington Times)
Democratic presidential hopeful and billionaire Tom Steyer on Monday won the endorsement of Edith Childs of South Carolina, who launched President Barack Obama’s “Fired Up! Ready to Go!” chant that became a staple of his 2008 presidential campaign. The Steyer campaign released an ad that features both Ms. Childs and Mr. Obama talking her up by saying he heard her voice “shout out” from behind him on his first trip to Greenwood. “We need something different to beat Trump,” Ms. Childs, a Greenwood County Council member, says in the ad. “Tom Steyer can bring it. My guy Tom’s fired up, and Trump got to go.”
Regal Funds Portfolio Manager Resigns (AFR.com)
Regal Funds Management portfolio manager Julian Babarczy has resigned after 14 years at the hedge fund. Street Talk understands Babarczy, who was a portfolio manager in the emerging companies team, is planning to move his family to Melbourne. “Julian’s been a terrific contributor to the Regal team over many years and we thank him for his service and the value he has generated for our clients,” Regal founder and chief investment officer Philip King told Street Talk on Tuesday.
