Woodford’s Hedge Fund foe Rules out a Return to Shorting his Holdings (FNLondon.com)
Kerrisdale Capital, the US hedge fund that made a public enemy of Neil Woodford after shorting two of his prominent holdings, is no longer making bets against companies backed by the embattled UK stock picker. Sahm Adrangi, chief investment officer and founder of Kerrisdale, said: “We’re focused on some other stocks. A lot of Woodford’s investments are a little bit too illiquid for us. Nowadays we try to focus on some bigger companies.” Woodford criticised Kerrisdale in 2018 after it shorted Prothena, a biotech company that counted Woodford as a major shareholder. This followed its decision to short the Woodford-backed tech incubator Allied Minds in 2015.
NEWSHedge Fund Mogul to Sell Half of Queens Steinway Factory to Robert De Niro Group (The Jewish Voice)
The historic Steinway piano factory in Queens has Robert De Niro in its sights for the future. The owner of Steinway & Sons has agreed to sell close to half of the piano maker’s 11-acre lot for $73 million to a group of investors including De Niro. John Paulson, the billionaire hedge-fund mogul, who purchased the factory in 2013 for $512 million, and has been looking to sell it for roughly $1 billion. As reported by the NY Post, the 75-year-old “Goodfellas” actor and academy award winner is purchasing the Astoria lot together with his son Raphael, his longtime business partner Jane Rosenthal and his longtime friend, Adam Gordon, who leads the film investment company Wildflower.
Image By Monkey Business – Adobe Stock
Meet the New York Couple Donating millions to the Anti-vax Movement (The Washington Post)
A wealthy Manhattan couple has emerged as significant financiers of the anti-vaccine movement, contributing more than $3 million in recent years to groups that stoke fears about immunizations online and at live events — including two forums this year at the epicenter of measles outbreaks in New York’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Hedge fund manager and philanthropist Bernard Selz and his wife, Lisa, have long donated to organizations focused on the arts, culture, education and the environment. But seven years ago, their private foundation embraced a very different cause: groups that question the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
Hedge fund Founder Says Colts’ Kenny Moore Saved a Dog’s Life, and by Extension, His Son’s (Yahoo Sports)
Drew Dickson is the founder of Albert Bridge Capital, a London-based financial group, though he grew up in Indiana. He keeps a blog on Albert Bridge’s website, “Drew’s Views”, which is usually focused on investing. But this week he wrote a deeply personal post that revealed how Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore impacted his family’s life.
Cheyne European Strategic Value Credit Fund closes on €1bn (Opalesque.com)
London-based Cheyne Capital Management has closed its inaugural European Strategic Value Credit Fund at the €1bn hard cap. The fund was significantly oversubscribed. The vehicle will invest in loans from middle market European banks that they are selling down in order to meet new capital requirements. This is the first fund for Cheyne that is focused specifically on distressed debt. Average transaction size will range from €10 – 50 million, which fall below the radar and mandate of larger distressed and special situations funds. The vehicle is expected to hold between 25 and 30 positions and has already deployed capital into eight investments across continental Europe. Anthony Robertson, who joined Cheyne as part of the BlueBay lift out, will run the strategy. Robertson has been building a team which now includes 12 people and an origination platform that includes both public and private debt markets.
New Launches Are Reason to Smile as Closures Abound (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Hedge fund closures in the Nordics are increasingly outpacing launches this year. However, a relatively high number of launches lined up for the second half of 2019 will likely keep the number of constituents in the Nordic Hedge Index above the 170-level. Seven hedge funds joined the Nordic Hedge Index since the beginning of March, three of which were launched this year. The number of hedge fund closures and index delistings has been higher than usual so far in 2019. Over the same period, eight funds that ceased operations have been delisted from the Nordic Hedge Index, and more already-closed or soon-to-be-closed funds will soon no longer be part of the index.
One of the Most Powerful Women in Hedge Funds Doesn’t Run Money (The Wall Street Journal)
In the overwhelmingly male world of hedge funds, Ilana Weinstein is one of the most powerful women. But Ms. Weinstein doesn’t manage money. Instead, she scouts the people who do. Her firm, the IDW Group LLC, headhunts for hedge funds. At a charity gala honoring Ms. Weinstein this spring, billionaire investor Steve Cohen nodded to Ms. Weinstein’s…
Westwood Alumnus On Track for Big Launch (HFAlert.com)
A former top executive at Westwood Holdings has lined up at least $150 million for the launch of a long-only vehicle. Mark Freeman, who previously ran the multi-asset investment team at the $16 billion Westwood, plans to begin trading on July 1 from his newly formed Socorro Asset Management of Dallas. Day-one limited partners include a Texas endowment and a family office that invests the fortune of the late real estate developer Fred Trammell Crow. Socorro is attracting attention from investors in part because of Freeman’s background at Dallas-based Westwood, a publicly traded investment manager where he spent two decades.
