Ray Dalio Says He wouldn’t Rule Out China Weaponizing its Massive US Treasury Holdings (CNBC)
Hedge fund titan Ray Dalio said he wouldn’t rule out China using its Treasury holdings to gain an upper hand against the U.S. in the trade war — a view that contrasts with many other observers. “We have a debtor-creditor relationship, not just a trade relationship. And (that) can be a dangerous thing,” Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, told CNBC’s “Managing Asia” in Singapore.
Billionaire Bill Ackman Explains Why He Invested 11% Of His Fund In Berkshire Hathaway (Forbes)
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management is riding high after a multiyear stretch of trouble. A publicly traded vehicle that houses the vast majority of his fund’s assets is up 48% net of fees as of August 13, about triple the return of the S&P 500 Index. Big turnaround investments in Chipotle Mexican Grill and Starbucks are trouncing the market in 2019, as is his return to familiar holdings like Hilton Worldwide and even a highly speculative bet to back mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which remain in government conservatorship.
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Hedge Funds Binged on GE Shares Before Worst Rout in 11 Years (Bloomberg)
General Electric Co.’s biggest plunge in 11 years came at an awkward time for some of Wall Street’s savviest investors, after a recent buying spree by the likes of Renaissance Technologies, Citadel Advisors and Adage Capital Management. Hedge funds added more shares of GE than any other company to their industrial investments in the second quarter, according to an initial analysis of U.S. regulatory filings compiled by Bloomberg Global Data. Their holdings increased by 25% to a total of 199.3 million shares, valued at $2.09 billion at the quarter’s end.
Chicago Titan Citadel Just Keeps Growing. The Rest of the City’s Hedge Fund Industry, Not So Much (ChicagoBusiness.com)
Tired of paying hefty fees for mediocre returns, investors have pulled money out of hedge funds in recent years. With less capital to go around, Chicago’s hedge funds are caught in the $3.1 trillion industry’s consolidation that increasingly favors megafirms. Many of the local firms, including No. 2 Magnetar Capital Partners, have fewer assets today than at their peak, and one returned investors’ money this year as it shut down trading for outside clients. At the same time, few new hedge funds have sprung up. Citadel, a notable exception, spawned much of the Chicago industry, with managers breaking away to start new firms, but now those smaller players are having a harder time attracting capital and talent for expansion.
Hedge Fund in Bond Lawsuit Owns Derivatives that will Pay Off if Illinois Defaults on the Debt (CapitolFax.com)
Warlander Asset Management, the hedge fund seeking to invalidate $14.3 billion of Illinois bonds, bought derivatives that will pay off if the state defaults on the debt. An attorney for Warlander’s co-plaintiff, John Tillman, the chief executive officer of the Illinois Policy Institute, disclosed the firm’s derivative wager at a hearing in Springfield on Thursday. That confirms the assertion made by two big bond investors, Nuveen Asset Management LLC and AllianceBernstein, in a brief arguing that the case should be tossed out — saying it raises questions about Warlander’s motives.
Ackman Protégé’s Activist Hedge Fund Loses 90% of Assets (FNLondon.com)
A well-known activist hedge fund that had the backing of billionaire William Ackman has lost more than 90% of its assets. Marcato Capital Management’s assets fell to around $250m at mid-year from $3.2bn in 2015, people familiar with the numbers said. Marcato’s decline in assets is due to poor performance and client redemptions, the people familiar said. In recent months, Marcato founder Richard “Mick” McGuire sold investment positions to meet redemption requests, though he has no plans to shut his firm, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
Equity Hedge Funds Are Riding the Bullish Wave Sweeping Bonds (Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street has been sounding alarm bells all year over swelling valuations and overcrowding in stocks tracking the fortunes of government bonds. The smart money kept the faith, and it’s paying off. Equity hedge funds have gained 7% in 2019 as exposure to the momentum factor — which buys the winners and dumps the losers over the past 12 months — jumps to the highest in two years, according to Sanford C. Bernstein citing Hedge Fund Research.
SS&C GlobeOp Hedge Fund Performance Index at 0.42 per cent in July (HedgeWeek.com)
The gross return of the SS&C GlobeOp Hedge Fund Performance Index for July 2019 measured 0.42 per cent. Hedge fund flows as measured by the SS&C GlobeOp Capital Movement Index advanced 0.38 per cent in August. “SS&C GlobeOp’s Capital Movement Index for August 2019 was 0.38 per cent, reflecting increased net inflows compared to 0.21 per cent net inflows for the same period a year ago,” says Bill Stone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SS&C Technologies. “The hedge fund sector’s ability to attract and retain assets in the current highly volatile market environment is truly impressive.”
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc (BR) President and CEO Timothy C Gokey Sold $4.8 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
President and CEO of Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc, Timothy C Gokey, sold 37,737 shares of BR on 08/15/2019 at an average price of $126.48 a share. The total sale was $4.8 million. Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc provides investor communications & technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers and corporate issuers. Its services include investor & customer communications, securities processing & data & analytics solutions. Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc has a market cap of $14.62 billion; its shares were traded at around $127.91 with a P/E ratio of 31.51 and P/S ratio of 3.49. The dividend yield of Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc stocks is 1.51%.
Friday 8/16 Insider Buying Report: SYMC, OTEL (Nasdaq.com)
On Tuesday, Symantec Corp (SYMC)’s Director, Peter A. Feld, made a $22.28M buy of SYMC, purchasing 985,809 shares at a cost of $22.60 each. So far Feld is in the green, up about 3.7% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $23.45. Symantec Corp is trading up about 0.8% on the day Friday. Before this latest buy, Feld bought SYMC on 5 other occasions during the past year, for a total investment of $137.73M at an average of $21.72 per share. And on Thursday, Ira Sochet bought $514,542 worth of Otelco (OTEL), buying 44,993 shares at a cost of $11.44 a piece. Before this latest buy, Sochet bought OTEL on 22 other occasions during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $7.04M at an average of $15.96 per share. Otelco is trading up about 0.4% on the day Friday. So far Sochet is in the green, up about 2.9% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $11.77.
Swiss Pharma Executive Gets US Sanction for Insider Trading (SwissInfo.ch)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has fined Lorenz Erne, a former senior executive at Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche, for insider trading and ordered him to pay back the ill-gotten profits. Erne accepted the accusations and agreed to the terms of a settlement with the SEC, according to an SEC documentexternal link published on Thursday. He has to pay back $159,228 (CHF156,000) plus a fine of $79,614 within 14 days to the SEC “for transfer to the general fund of the United States Treasury”.
Ex-KPMG Partner’s Broker Probably Won’t Be Doing Any Insider Trading For a While (GoingConcern.com)
The last man standing in the KPMG insider trading case (the one not involving Scott London) has finally fallen. From the SEC: Today [Aug. 14], jurors in Atlanta federal court returned a verdict finding New Jersey securities broker Raymond J. Pirrello, Jr. liable for insider trading in advance of three merger and acquisition transactions. Pirrello was the broker for former KPMG Atlanta partner Thomas Avent Jr., who opted not to go to trial and went the settlement route. The court approved a deal on Aug. 2 that allowed Avent, former partner-in-charge of the KPMG mergers and acquisitions tax practice for the Southeast region, to pay a $125,000 civil penalty without admitting to the allegations against him. And as part of the deal, Avent agreed to testify in Pirrello’s trial.
A Director at Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE: OFC) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, a Director at Corporate Office Properties Trust (OFC), Steven Kesler, bought shares of OFC for $9,712. Following Steven Kesler’s last OFC Buy transaction on December 31, 2018, the stock climbed by 7.6%. In addition to Steven Kesler, one other OFC executive reported Buy trades in the last month.
Party City Holdco Inc (PRTY) CFO Michael A. Correale Bought $100,359 of Shares (Guru Focus)
CFO of Party City Holdco Inc, Michael A. Correale, bought 24,300 shares of PRTY on 08/15/2019 at an average price of $4.13 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $100,359. Party City Holdco Inc is a party goods retailer in North America. It designs, manufactures, contracts for manufacture and distributes party goods, including paper and plastic tableware, metallic and latex balloons, accessories, novelties and among others.
SEC Charges Former CFO of Cash Advance Company With Defrauding Retail Investors (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 1 Global Capital LLC’s former chief financial officer, Alan G. Heide, with defrauding retail investors. The now bankrupt Florida-based cash advance company allegedly fraudulently raised more than $322 million from 3,600 investors between 2014 and last year. The SEC previously charged 1 Global and former CEO Carl Ruderman with fraud and charged Henry J. “Trae” Wieniewitz, III for his allegedly unlawful sales of 1 Global securities. Ruderman and Wieniewitz have consented to final judgments. According to the SEC’s complaint, although 1 Global promised investors profits from its short-term cash advances to businesses, the company used substantial investor funds for other purposes, including paying operating expenses and funding Ruderman’s lavish lifestyle.
Analyst Says GE Stock Recovering because Madoff Whistleblower Fraud Allegations are Baseless (CNBC)
The allegations by Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos of a $38 billion fraud at General Electric are “at best disingenuous” and “at worst highly inaccurate,” according to Nick Heymann, co-group head of global industrial infrastructure at the William Blair financial services firm. “You got the stock on sale yesterday for absolutely no basis. This is why all the insiders are buying,” Heymann told CNBC on Friday, one day after GE shares tanked 11% to $8.01 per share, in their worst trading session in more than a decade.
