Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Robert Luciano, Paul Tudor Jones, Carl Icahn, Chris Hohn, New Mountain Capital, Helikon Investments, Bannerman Energy Ltd (BNNLF), Fastenal Company (FAST), and More

Hedge Fund Manager Robert Luciano Suffers $500m Drop in Wealth (AFR.com)
Sydney fund manager Robert Luciano has dropped more than half a billion dollars from his personal fortune in the past two years from the dwindling value of shares in his hedge fund, VGI Partners, which fell to a record low on Tuesday. The 41 million shares Mr Luciano owns in VGI, which listed on the sharemarket in 2019, are now worth $206.9 million, $523.9 million less than the $730.7 million two years ago when the share price reached a high.

Paul Tudor Jones Is Using Crypto to Hedge Against Inflation (Bloomberg)
Paul Tudor Jones is betting on crypto as a hedge against inflation, which he called “the single biggest threat to financial markets.” The billionaire founder of hedge fund Tudor Investment Corp. said that he prefers digital assets over traditional hedges like gold, and has “crypto in single digits in my portfolio.” “We’re moving into an increasing digitized world,” Tudor Jones said Wednesday in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.’’ “Clearly there’s a place for crypto, and clearly it’s winning the race against gold at the moment.”

New Mountain Capital closes Direct Lending Fund on $1.15 Billion (Opalesque)
New york-based New Mountain Capital has closed its latest direct lending fund on $1.15 billion – beating its target. New Mountain Guardian III BDC included a substantial investment from the general partner and employees of the firm. After leverage the fund will have approximately $2 billion to invest. New Mountain’s private credit strategy focuses on lending to the highest quality companies in select, non-cyclical defensive growth industries. The fund has already deployed more than $1.1 billion into 79 portfolio companies across industries including enterprise software, business services, healthcare services and healthcare technology.

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Preqin Alternative Assets in Asia-Pacific: South Korea (Preqin)
South Korea’s private equity industry has experienced accelerated growth, reaching a record total assets under management of $113bn as of December 2020, almost doubling in two years. While buyout strategies remain prominent, fundraising has increased for both buyout and venture capital strategies. More carve-out opportunities may be expected with upcoming reforms around chaebol governance. Korea also boasts a vibrant venture capital ecosystem, which has produced several unicorns in the technology space.

Bitcoin Hits All-Time High. Icahn Says It Might be Best Inflation Hedge (Proactive Investors)
Bitcoin climbed to a new high and is on its way to US$100,000 according to many commentators. The cryptocurrency rose by 5% to US$65,844, helped by the seemingly tacit acceptance from US regulators that bitcoin is high to stay. ProShares’s BITO Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) this week became the first of its kind to be approved by the US SEC.