Stanley Druckenmiller is Still Bullish the Market Because of the Fed and Trump (CNBC)
Hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller said Friday he agrees with fellow billionaire investor David Tepper’s optimism on the market and said he, too, is still “riding the horse.” “I revealed a very bullish posture intermediate term since October when [Fed Chairman Jerome] Powell guaranteed he would not rescind the insurance cuts,” Druckenmiller said in an email to CNBC’s Joe Kernen. “Since then, both have worked out and the Fed is still whining about inflation being below target.”
Ex-Millennium Trader Quadruples Hedge Fund Assets to $1 Billion (Bloomberg)
A hedge fund set up by a former Millennium Management investment manager has more than quadrupled its assets to $1 billion over the past year, defying an exodus of capital from the industry. Michael Cowley’s Sandbar Asset Management, which started trading in August 2018, had about $230 million of assets a year ago, according to a spokesman for the London-based firm. The subsequent surge was boosted by the October launch of a retail-friendly fund that offers daily dealing, and whose assets have jumped to more than $600 million from $100 million. The rest of the firm’s assets are held in its main strategy.
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Catella HFs Go Fossil Fuel Free (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – The absolute return funds under the umbrella of Stockholm-based asset manager Catella Fonder have gone fossil fuel-free towards the end of last year. Catella Hedgefond, Catella Credit Opportunity and Catella Nordic Corporate Bond Flex, all of which are members of the Nordic Hedge Index, no longer maintain long exposure to fossil fuel companies. Catella’s other traditional equity and fixed-income funds had already removed fossil fuel assets from their portfolios. During 2019, Catella’s hedge funds sold positions in companies such as Flex LNG, Torm, Drilling Company of 1972, Frontline, Euronav and BW LPG. Catella Hedgefond, the asset manager’s flagship hedge fund with about €664 million in assets under management, can short companies that produce, process or transport fossil fuels.
Hedge Fund Performance Update: December 2019 (Preqin.com)
All hedge fund structures posted strong performance at the end of 2019. The Preqin All-Strategies Hedge Fund benchmark returned +2.00% in December, bringing the 2019 return to +11.58%. This factsheet presents the hedge fund performance benchmarks for December 2019. Plus, the 2019 and three-year annualized return figures for all top-level strategies, structures, denominations, and size classifications.
David Tepper Says He’s Still Betting on This Bull Market: ‘I Love Riding a Horse that’s Running’ (CNBC)
David Tepper, billionaire founder of Appaloosa Management, said Friday he still likes this bull market, which is the longest on record. “I love riding a horse that’s running,” Tepper told CNBC’s Joe Kernen in an exclusive email. “We have been long and continue that way.”
Hedge Funds That Bet on Big Trends Are Trying to Bounce Back (Bloomberg)
Greg Coffey’s hedge fund firm, Kirkoswald Asset Management, gained 28% for clients in 2019. That’s a decent profit by any standard, but what makes it more impressive is that Coffey is what’s known as a macro investor. That’s a tough trade to ply. It wasn’t always this way. The macro style used to be synonymous with the hedge fund industry. Imagine a money manager sitting in judgment on the entire world, sifting through trends in global economies and geopolitics to make big bets on everything from currencies to interest rates to stock indexes. That’s macro.
Will Volatility Return for Hedge Funds in 2020? (Hedge Week)
The upcoming US elections and the possibility of a rate shift in the UK and Europe could present hedge funds with alpha hunting opportunities, writes Hedgeweek Editor-in-Chief, James Williams… The last decade was dominated by sustained central bank intervention, giving rise to supercharged performance in equity and bond markets. And stripping away volatility like one would offensive wallpaper in a new home. This was not a period for hedge funds to operate at their optimal best, but perhaps this new decade – and indeed this year – could start to re-introduce some much needed volatility and give hedge fund managers something to really shout about.
JPMorgan Invests in DE Shaw Hedge Fund Tech Spin-off (FNLondon.com)
JPMorgan has invested in alternatives technology provider Arcesium, a spin-off from the quantitative hedge fund D.E. Shaw, in a deal that extends the collaboration between the two firms in providing services to hedge funds and other asset managers. The US bank has had a partnership deal with Arcesium since 2017, and credits the New York-based tech platform with helping it to grow its alternatives administration business “substantially”. Arcesium provides middle-office and treasury-management software to JPMorgan’s fund administrators, who then look after money for hedge funds, private equity and property fund managers.
Former GOP Rep. Chris Collins Set to be Sentenced in Insider Trading Case (CNBC)
Disgraced former Rep. Chris Collins faces sentencing Friday in the insider-trading case that led him to give up his seat in Congress. U.S. Judge Vernon Broderick is scheduled to announce the sentence at 2:30 p.m. ET in federal court in lower Manhattan. Federal prosecutors want Broderick to sentence Collins to nearly five years in prison – the top end of the federal guidelines range – to set an example that will “promote respect for the law, in light of the lack of respect that Collins has shown for it.”
The Controller of Lennar (NYSE: LEN) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the Controller of Lennar (LEN), David M. Collins, sold shares of LEN for $625.4K. Following David M. Collins’ last LEN Sell transaction on October 08, 2019, the stock climbed by 4.0%. Based on Lennar’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending November 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $6.97 billion and quarterly net profit of $674 million.
Aurora Cannabis stock slammed by executive departure and insiders selling (Market Watch)
Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s U.S.-listed shares slid 8% Monday, after the company announced the exit of a key executive, amid insiders selling stakes, dilutive financing moves and questions about the company’s path to profitability. The Canadian company, which is the most widely held stock ACB, -0.47% ACB, +1.08% on trading platform Robinhood, said late Saturday that Cam Battley, its chief commercial officer and the man widely viewed as the face of the company, was leaving. Battley had been with Aurora since 2016 and will remain on the board of MedReleaf Australia, a private cannabis company in which Aurora owns a stake.
Albemarle Corp (ALB) EVP & CFO Scott Tozier Sold $1.2 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
EVP & CFO of Albemarle Corp., Scott Tozier, sold 14,500 shares of ALB on 01/15/2020 at an average price of $80.13 a share. The total sale was $1.2 million. Albemarle Corp is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of engineered specialty chemicals. It provides services to end markets including petroleum refining, consumer electronics, construction, automotive, lubricants and pharmaceuticals.
Insider Weekends: Insider Buying At A Potato Spin-Off From Conagra (Seeking Alpha)
Insider buying decreased last week. Notable Insider Buys: Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc., Mosaic Acquisition Corp., Hersha Hospitality Trust, salesforce.com, inc., Amazon.com, Inc. Notable Insider Sells: Uber Technologies, Inc., TTEC Holdings, Inc., Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., CarGurus, Inc., RealPage, Inc. Insider buying decreased last week with insiders purchasing $7.49 million of stock compared to $16.77 million in the week prior. Selling, on the other hand, increased significantly with insiders selling $1.19 billion of stock last week compared to $433.74 million in the week prior.
