Two Sigma Appoints CEO of Venn Platform (Hedge Week)
Two Sigma has appointed Marco Della Torre as CEO of Venn, its portfolio analytics platform. In this newly created role, Della Torre will lead the product and business development of Venn, drawing from his nearly two decades of experience leading high-growth technology companies. Della Torre most recently served as chief product & innovation officer of Forge Global, a private securities marketplace and data platform, where he oversaw the company’s product strategy and roadmap.
How Mets CTO Mark Brubaker Splits His Time With Ballclub and Steve Cohen’s Point72 Hedge Fund (Sport Techie)
Mark Brubaker remembers getting a phone call from Steve Cohen in 2020, about a year after Brubaker joined Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management firm as chief technology officer. Now, the billionaire hedge fund founder wanted Brubaker to handle the same title for the New York Mets, which Cohen bought majority control of for $2.4 billion in November 2020.
Dalio is Right to Short Europe, Strategist Says: ‘The Pain will Go On for Quite a While’ (CNBC)
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio is right to have bet against European stocks, and global markets still have a rough road ahead, according to Beat Wittmann, partner at Zurich-based Porta Advisors. Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates has at least $6.7 billion in short positions against European stocks, according to data group Breakout Point, which aggregated the firm’s public disclosures. It is unknown whether Bridgewater’s shorts are outright bets against the stocks, or part of a hedge.
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One of China’s Most Famous Hedge Funds Is Springing Back to Life (Bloomberg)
A sudden rise in the volatility of funds run by one of China’s best-known money managers suggests the firm may be rebuilding positions in the stock market after liquidating nearly all its holdings earlier this year. Weekly net asset values at several funds managed by Dan Bin’s Shenzhen Oriental Harbor Investment Management Co. began showing more dramatic swings last Friday, after being little changed since late February. The increase in volatility is an indication of rising market exposure.
Traditional Managers Have ‘Nowhere to Hide.’ Can Hedge Funds Pick Up the Slack? (Institutional Investor)
With fixed income falling short in protecting on the downside, TIFF Investment Management is betting on hedge funds to help diversify some investment risks. Despite the bad headlines and their mixed track record, TIFF Investment Management, the $8 billion outsourced chief investment officer for endowments and foundations, will keep betting on hedge funds to soften the blow of market stress. “There’s a feeling of ‘nowhere to hide’ if you are only a traditional equity and fixed income portfolio [manager,]” said Zhe Shen, director of diversifying strategies at TIFF. “My belief is that hedge funds are a great way to diversify the portfolio and help smooth out returns.”
The Founder of a $300 Million Hedge Fund Returning 24% This Year Shares What He’s Eyeing in the Battered Biotech Sector (Business Insider)
Activist hedge fund founder James Rasteh is finally using his degree in genetics to dive into the biotech space. Rasteh’s $300 million firm Coast Capital had focused its concentrated portfolio on European industrial companies like FirstGroup, a transport firm based in Scotland, and HomeServe, a British multinational home repairs business that is set to be acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.
Private Equity’s Record on Returns Faces Unprecedented Test (Preqin)
Since the Global Financial Crisis, private equity has shown it can provide investors with strong performance and less volatility – but today’s market conditions present a fresh challenge. Private equity’s (PE) strong performance and low volatility have helped the industry to secure huge sums of institutional capital. Over the past decade and more, the industry has shown it can insulate portfolios from public equity downturns. Privately held businesses aren’t required to report their performance publicly each quarter, shielding them from the large swings in valuation that listed companies face.
ESG Investment Cools as the Sector’s Notoriety Grows (Advisor Perspectives)
Since the start of 2019, investors have plowed more than $300 billion into environmental, social and governance (ESG)-themed exchange traded funds. Monthly investment has ebbed and flowed, but the annual trend has been on a consistent upward trajectory: $30 billion in 2019, $94 billion in 2020, and $159 billion in 2021.
BlackRock to Launch an Infrastructure Fund Focused on the Energy Transition (Opalesque)
American multinational investment management corporation BlackRock is launching an infrastructure investment strategy focused on energy security and helping polluting companies to become greener as the world’s largest money manager adjusts to new demands on climate change. BlackRock’s perpetual infrastructure strategy will target institutional investors and seek investments in both energy transition and energy securities, along with digital and community infrastructure and sustainable mobility said a press release. Over half of the strategy will initially be allocated to Europe, although BlackRock has asserted it will be “becoming increasingly global” moving forward.
Friday 6/17 Insider Buying Report: MP, STER (Nasdaq.com)
On Thursday, MP Materials’ Director, Randall J. Weisenburger, made a $997,500 purchase of MP, buying 30,000 shares at a cost of $33.25 each. MP Materials is trading up about 3.4% on the day Friday. Before this latest buy, Weisenburger bought MP on 2 other occasions during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $4.64M at an average of $39.66 per share. And on Wednesday, Director L. Frederick Sutherland purchased $657,984 worth of Sterling Check, purchasing 43,296 shares at a cost of $15.20 a piece. Sterling Check is trading up about 3.8% on the day Friday. So far Sutherland is in the green, up about 10.4% on their purchase based on today’s trading high of $16.78.
Insiders Buy More Than $20M Of 3 Stocks (Benzinga)
HireRight Holdings: The Trade: HireRight Holdings Corporation (HRT) 10% owner Stone Point GP Ltd acquired a total of 824,156 shares at at an average price of $14.83. To acquire these shares, it cost around $12.22 million. Ares Capital: The Trade: Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) Executive Vice President Michael Arougheti acquired a total of 300,000 shares at an average price of $17.75. To acquire these shares, it cost around $5.33 million.
Carvana Insiders Including The CEO’s Billionaire Father Are Buying Up Shares As Stock Hits Lows (Forbes)
It’s been a rough couple of months for Carvana. In April the embattled used car retailer reported its first-ever decrease in quarterly sales. On May 10, the company laid off 2,500 employees, or 12% of its workforce. The company is battling a class action lawsuit and angry state regulators over its failure to provide customers with vehicle titles. All of this has sent Carvana’s stock crashing. Some insiders see a buying opportunity. Ernest Garcia II, the company’s largest individual shareholder and father of its CEO, spent $42 million buying up shares between last Friday and Monday, according to a new filing. Carvana was trading around $21 per share, its lowest price in over four years and down 94% from its pandemic peak in August 2021.
