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.
The EVP of Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ: WTFC) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the EVP of Wintrust Financial (WTFC), David L. Larson, bought shares of WTFC for $72.6K. Following this transaction David L. Larson’s holding in the company was increased by 20.46% to a total of $633.8K. This is Larson’s first Buy trade following 3 Sell transactions.
Bargain Hunters Take Note: Insider Cluster-Buying At DFS (Nasdaq.com)
A particularly strong insider buying signal is what we call a “cluster-buy” where three or more different insiders make open market purchases within a short period of one another. At Discover Financial Services (Symbol: DFS), 3 different insiders purchased 21,777 shares at an average price of $74.05/share, for a total of $1.61M, with the most recent purchase on January 27, 2020. Presumably the only reason an insider would take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock of their company in the open market, is that they expect to make money. So when multiple insiders all decide to make purchases around the same time, it could be a strong indication that the stock is undervalued.
Lawyers Push to Toughen New US Insider Trading Law (AFR.com)
Washington | A group of influential US lawyers has urged Congress to toughen insider trading laws by making insiders liable even when they do not benefit from giving non-public information to traders. A task force led by Preet Bharara, the former Manhattan US attorney who led a crackdown on insider trading after the financial crisis, issued a report on Monday calling on legislators to eliminate the so-called “personal benefit” test in US insider trading law.
Personal Benefit in Title 18 Insider Trading Cases (Law.com)
In their Second Circuit Review, Martin Flumenbaum and Brad S. Karp discuss the court’s recent decision in ‘United States v. Blaszczak’, which significantly expanded insider trading enforcement authority. In United States v. Blaszczak, No. 18-2811, 2019 WL 7289753 (2d Cir. Dec. 30, 2019), the Second Circuit significantly expanded insider trading enforcement authority. In an opinion written by Circuit Judge Richard Sullivan and joined by Circuit Judge Christopher Droney, the Second Circuit held that (1) certain confidential government information may constitute “property” in the hands of the government for purposes of the wire fraud and Title 18 securities fraud statutes, and (2) the “personal-benefit” requirement of Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646 (1983) does not apply to insider trading cases prosecuted as Title 18 securities fraud and wire fraud.
Sebi Slaps Rs 95 Lakh Fine on 16 Entities for Fraudulent Trading in Dwitiya Trading Scrip (Business Insider)
New Delhi, Jan 28 () Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday levied a total fine of Rs 95 lakh on 16 entities for executing fraudulent trading in the scrip of Dwitiya Trading Ltd. The regulator has fined the entities in the range of Rs 5 lakh-Rs 10 lakh each for violating the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices norms.
The EVP, CFO, & Treasurer of Community Bancorp (NASDAQ: CTBI) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the EVP, CFO, & Treasurer of Community Bancorp (CTBI), Kevin Stumbo, sold shares of CTBI for $51.47K. Following Kevin Stumbo’s last CTBI Sell transaction on September 20, 2016, the stock climbed by 11.9%.
