Why Billionaire Ray Dalio Loves Criticism – and Says You should Too (CNBC)
Criticism can be a tough thing to stomach. But according to Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, it’s not something to be shied away from. In fact, it should be welcomed, says the billionaire investor. “I love it,” Bridgewater Associates’ Dalio told CNBC’s Christine Tan in a recent episode of “Managing Asia.” Why? Well, it offers an opportunity to “stress test” your ideas and improve your decisions.
D.E. Shaw Asked Staff to Sign a Take-it-or-leave Noncompete, and the Deadline is Weeks Away. Insiders Say Some People could Walk Even After Management Improved the Payout. (Business Insider)
D.E. Shaw has relaxed terms of its deferred-compensation structure ahead of a mid-September deadline on the firm’s new noncompete contract for all investment staff to either sign the agreement or get fired, insiders said. The move spotlights uncertainty inside D.E. Shaw as it prepares to enforce wide noncompetes, which are fairly common in the hedge-fund industry, for the first time in its 30-year history. At stake is the $50 billion hedge-fund manager’s investment talent – sources told Business Insider how longtime employees were assessing the terms and weighing if it makes sense to get pushed out and join a competitor.
Luis Louro / shutterstock.com
The Currency Soros Couldn’t Break Is Tempting Hedge Funds Again (Bloomberg)
Crispin Odey has some advice for the traders ramping up wagers against Hong Kong’s currency: try something else. “There are lots of good bets around at the moment,” said Odey, whose penchant for bold trades has made his hedge fund one of the world’s most volatile in recent years. “Hong Kong dollar is not there.”
Hedge Fund Reaches Potential $2.7 Million Settlement Over Rent-to-Own Home Financing (The New York Times)
New York regulators have reached a settlement worth up to $2.7 million with a hedge fund that provided financing and assistance to a large rent-to-own home firm accused of engaging in predatory business practices. The settlement announced Tuesday requires the hedge fund, Atalaya Capital Management, to provide at least $20,000 in restitution to the more than 100 state residents who thought they were entering into deals to ultimately buy homes from Vision Property Management.
Preqin Investor Update: Alternative Assets, H2 2019 (Preqin.com)
At the halfway mark of 2019, we see continued enthusiasm for alternatives among investors. Investors we surveyed in June remain upbeat about the future performance of alternatives, but are aware this may not continue. A growing proportion of investors believe we are at the peak of the equity market cycle and that a market correction is imminent. In this H2 2019 edition of our Investor Outlook series, we explore investor sentiment with regard to individual alternative asset classes, and find out how they are planning to position their portfolios in the year ahead. We also speak to CalPERS about how they have integrated ESG factors into their investment portfolio.
Tom Steyer Is Spending Millions to Get Money Out of Politics (The New York Times)
DES MOINES — As Tom Steyer, the 62-year-old billionaire former hedge funder and impeachment impresario, made his first trip to Iowa as a 2020 candidate this month, he embarked on the usual political circuit. He delivered a soapbox speech at the state fair (“We have to break the corporate stranglehold on our democracy,” he said), visited the butter cow (“Not my first butter cow,” he corrected one fairgoer; he had been last year), sipped lemonade and professed his desire to see farm animals.
Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires Two Hedge Funds from Vertex One (Opalesque.com)
Canadian financial institution Picton Mahoney Asset Management is all set to acquire the Vertex One Asset Management’s investment fund management contracts for the five hedge funds and alternative mutual funds listed below, with approximately $380m in assets. The hedge funds – Vertex Arbitrage Fund and Vertex Arbitrage Fund Plus – are offered privately according to prospectus exemptions. The Vertex Liquid Alternative Fund, Vertex Liquid Alternative Fund Plus, and Vertex Bond Alpha Fund, are offered publicly according to a simplified prospectus for alternative mutual funds dated January 11, 2019. The Funds will continue to be managed by Craig Chilton and Tom Savage, the current portfolio managers of the Funds, who intend to join Picton Mahoney upon the closing of the proposed transaction.
Challenging Fundraising Environment for HFs (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Despite hedge funds enjoying some of their best returns in a decade, investors continue to withdraw large amounts of capital from the industry. According to eVestment, investors pulled a net $55.9 billion from hedge funds in the first seven months of 2019, the worst January-to-July period for net inflows since the first seven months of 2016. In the first seven months of 2016, investors withdrew a net $58.1 billion from hedge funds, with net redemptions reaching $111 billion by the end of that year. In July this year alone, net redemptions amounted to $8.2 billion. Out of the previous 11 months, only one month recorded positive net flows to the hedge fund industry. Last month, the proportion of hedge funds with outflows was the highest in the previous four months and the second-highest in the last seven months.
