How Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager David Tepper Got The Coldest Revenge Ever On His Former Boss (CelebrityNetworth.com)
If you live outside of Pittsburgh or North Carolina, you probably don’t know the name David Tepper. For Pittsburghers, Tepper is the hometown boy done good. A hard working kid from humble beginnings who worked his way up to the top-top-top of the finance industry, made a fortune then gave large chunks of that fortune to local charities and institutions which now bear his name. For North Carolinians, Tepper is the guy who in 2018 paid a then-record $2.275 billion for the Carolina Panthers NFL team. But even outside of Pittsburgh and North Carolina, Tepper is a fascinating and inspirational guy. Especially for anyone who dreams of getting sweet revenge on a former terrible boss.
Exclusive: Starboard Eyes Cloud Software Firm Box Board Challenge – Sources (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Hedge fund Starboard Value LP is preparing to launch a board challenge against Box Inc unless the U.S. cloud services provider takes steps to boost value for shareholders, according to people familiar with the matter. Box has become an activist investor target after it failed to capitalize on the work-from-home trend during the COVID-19 pandemic as many of its cloud computing peers have done. Its shares have barely risen since the company’s initial public offering six years ago, and are up just 9% in the last 12 months, underperforming the 33% rise in the S&P 500 Application Software index over the same period.
How Fortress Is Getting Busy in the SPAC Market (Institutional Investor)
The credit specialist is the most active hedge fund firm in the booming blank check company market. Fortress Investment Group continues to distinguish itself as the most active hedge fund firm in the blank check world.The credit specialist disclosed plans at the end of last week for its sixth special purpose acquisition company while on Monday an earlier SPAC backed by the firm announced a merger partner.
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Ray Dalio’s Bubble Indicator Finds US Stocks aren’t Dangerously High – But 50 of the 1,000 Biggest Companies are in ‘Extreme Bubbles’ (Business Insider)
Ray Dalio‘s bubble indicator suggests US stocks aren’t trading at unsustainable prices and could climb higher. The billionaire co-chief of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, said in a research note this month that his market gauge is at the 77th percentile for the overall US stock market. Its readings for the bubbles in the 1920s and 1990s are in the 100th percentile.
High-Profile Hedge Funds Still Circling Tullow Oil, as Debt-Laden Explorer Mounts Fightback (Hedge Week)
A number of well-known hedge fund short sellers continue to target London-listed oil and gas company Tullow Oil, as the beleaguered exploration firm looks to overhaul its business model and improve its balance sheet position. Pictet Asset Management, the investment management and hedge fund arm of wealth management giant Pictet Group, grew its short position in the FTSE250 name from 1.47 per cent to 1.55 per cent this week. Värde Partners Europe meanwhile has a 2.53 per cent net short position in the multinational oil and gas explorer, according to regulatory disclosures.
Hedge Funds that Hunkered Down After GameStop are Now Missing Out on Market Gains (CNBC)
Hedge funds are still licking their wounds after a retail trading frenzy forced the industry to slash its overall exposure to stocks, leading to an underperformance in 2021. Last month, an army of retail investors who coordinated on social media managed to push GameStop shares up 400% in just one week, creating massive squeezes in a slew of heavily shorted names. Hedge funds getting burned on their short positions scrambled to take down overall risk and sell winners to raise cash.
Basalt Infrastructure Partners Raises $2.75bn for the Third Fund (Opalesque.com)
The mid-market infrastructure investment firm Basalt Infrastructure Partners has raised $ 2.75 billion for its third fund, more than doubling the $ 1.3 billion raised for its second fund in 2018. The fund will focus on opportunities in the utilities, power, transport, and digital communications sectors across North America and Europe. Rob Gregor, Managing Partner of Basalt Infrastructure Partners LLP, an exclusive investment adviser to the Basalt funds, said: “Completing an oversubscribed fundraise for Basalt III through this pandemic is a testament to the disciplined focus on our mid-market strategy and the resilient and strong risk-adjusted returns of Basalt funds. We are incredibly grateful for the significant investor support shown for our strategy and our growing franchise. Market conditions remain positive for the Basalt strategy with Basalt III off to a strong start with commitments to the first three investments, Habitat Solar and Xpress Natural Gas in the US, and Full Fibre in the UK.”
The Activist Investor Reportedly is Pushing Principal to Focus More on its Wealth Management Operations and Less on the Life Insurance Business. (Investment News)
The New York-based hedge fund has been pushing the company to explore selling or spinning off its more capital-intensive life insurance business to focus on its more profitable wealth management operations, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. The company said in a statement Monday as part of the deal with Elliott it had struck a committee to initiate a strategic review of its business mix, capital management, and capital deployment options.
Risk Premia Investing Should Be Dynamic (Preqin.com)
Investing in known investment factors has been shown to add value to portfolios. But the academic evidence for investing in factors – or risk premia – does not always conform to investors’ experience of it. Outsized paper returns simply may not be available in the real world. Why? Because the value that can be harvested from risk premia is not permanent. It can get crowded out or decay for other reasons. A passive investment in risk premia can therefore leave a lot of value on the table and expose investors to unnecessary drawdown. There must be a better way for investors to harness risk premia than through static allocations.
Keeping Pace with ESG (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Sustainable and responsible investing is rapidly evolving and making significant inroads into the asset management arena’s mainstream, including the hedge fund industry. Helsinki-based alternative investment manager AIM Capital, which manages two funds of funds and bespoke advisory mandates for institutional investors, has now updated its Responsible Investment Policy to keep up with this rapidly changing and evolving area.
Crypto Hedge Fund ARK36 Partners with CVX Ventures (Hedge Week)
ARK36, one of Europe’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency-focused investment funds, has partnered with CVX Ventures, a Danish venture investor, as part of the fund’s ongoing effort to strengthen its presence in the European market and to provide more value at scale to its investors. CVX Ventures’ mission is to create value for the most promising new companies by facilitating the exchange of skills and knowledge and driving their growth through capital investment. Their current network of partners includes more than 380 private investors, advisers, and board members, as well as investment funds.
Tuesday 2/23 Insider Buying Report: FSP, CAR (Nasdaq.com)
At Franklin Street Properties, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Dennis J. McGillicuddy bought 300,552 shares of FSP, for a cost of $4.22 each, for a total investment of $1.27M. So far McGillicuddy is in the green, up about 15.0% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $4.85. Franklin Street Properties is trading up about 7.1% on the day Tuesday. Before this latest buy, McGillicuddy bought FSP at 3 other times during the past year, for a total cost of $1.09M at an average of $4.36 per share. And at Avis Budget Group, there was insider buying on Friday, by EVP & Chief Financial Officer Brian J. Choi who purchased 23,735 shares for a cost of $45.88 each, for a total investment of $1.09M. This buy marks the first one filed by Choi in the past year. Avis Budget Group is trading up about 2.5% on the day Tuesday. So far Choi is in the green, up about 13.6% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $52.14.
Facebook Inc (FB) COB and CEO Mark Zuckerberg Sold $11.8 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
COB and CEO of Facebook Inc, Mark Zuckerberg, sold 44,750 shares of FB on 02/19/2021 at an average price of $263.83 a share. The total sale was $11.8 million. Facebook Inc is the world’s largest online social network. Its products are Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Its products enable people to connect and share through mobile devices and personal computers.
The EVP, Res, Dev & Qlty of Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the EVP, Res, Dev & Qlty of Mondelez International (MDLZ), Robin Hargrove, sold shares of MDLZ for $2.51M. Following Robin Hargrove’s last MDLZ Sell transaction on May 15, 2017, the stock climbed by 12.1%. In addition to Robin Hargrove, 2 other MDLZ executives reported Sell trades in the last month.
