Stanley Druckenmiller: If a ‘Crazy’ Democrat Beats Trump, Stocks will Drop ‘A Lot’ (CNBC)
Billionaire hedge fund investor Stanley Druckenmiller warned that if one of the “crazy” Democrat presidential candidates beats President Donald Trump in 2020, the stock market could see a big sell-off. Druckenmiller said he believes Trump will lose his re-election bid thanks to discontent in key swing states. He just hopes the winner is more centrist and not one espousing socialist policies.
Fortress Billionaire Wes Edens Bets on ‘Freedom Gas’ Exports (Bloomberg)
Wes Edens is an unlikely evangelist for the benefits of U.S. natural gas exports — or “freedom gas,” as the Department of Energy likes to call it. The 57-year-old billionaire is a creature of Wall Street. After stints at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and BlackRock Inc., he co-founded Fortress Investment Group, the private equity and hedge fund firm. He has the trophy assets to go with his fortune: Co-ownership of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team and storied English soccer club Aston Villa (newly promoted to the Premier League, too).
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Whitebox Founder Departs As Firm’s Bankruptcy Focus Grows (The Wall Street Journal)
Whitebox Advisors LLC founder Andy Redleaf is stepping away from the firm, a credit specialist that in recent years has been rewarded for investing more in bankrupt borrowers. Mr. Redleaf, Whitebox’s founding partner, will leave at the end of August to focus on other business interests, but will remain personally invested in investment funds managed by Whitebox, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the firm’s investors.
CQS Appoints Group CFO (HedgeWeek.com)
CQS has appointed Serge Harry as Group Chief Financial Officer. He will report to Xavier Rolet, CQS’ Chief Executive Officer, and he will join the CQS Executive Committee. Harry will also oversee the Human Resources function. Harry was previously a Member of the Executive Committee of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Chief of Staff to the Group CEO, and Group Country Head for France, Benelux and Germany.
U.S. Regulators Probe Embattled Hedge Fund Firm City Financial (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. regulators are investigating City Financial Investment Company, a London-based hedge fund firm that entered administration three months ago, according to a notice published at UK companies registrar Companies House on Tuesday. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) watchdog started an inquiry before two administrators from FRP Advisory were jointly appointed on March 21, the notice of administrator’s proposals said.
The Couple Who Feds Say Scammed Berkshire Hathaway for Millions (Bloomberg)
Jeff Carpoff had a lot to celebrate as friends and business associates gathered at his company’s Christmas party last year. The one-time auto mechanic and his wife, Paulette, had started a solar company about a decade earlier that was doing remarkably well — so well that it could count Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as an investor. Their business, making mobile solar generators, had afforded them lavish goodies. They owned more than 90 cars, from classic Fords and Plymouths to Bentleys, at least 20 properties, and even a professional baseball team in Martinez, just northeast of San Francisco.
Activist Hedge Fund CIAM will ‘Strongly Oppose’ FCA-Renault Deal (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – Activist hedge fund CIAM has written to the board of French automaker Renault to say it “strongly opposed” a planned $35 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler. Calling the deal “opportunistic”, the fund said the current deal terms strongly favored Fiat Chrysler and offered no control premium.
Nordic Hybrid Security Hedge Fund, a New Type of Diversifier (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Non-correlated returns have always been in high demand among institutional investors, more so in the current environment. Backed by Swedish real estate investor Erik Selin, the team at Carlsson Norén Asset Management launched a new hedge fund investing in hybrid securities with features of both debt and equity. The fund earned a positive return in each of the first five months of 2019, including May – a tough month for markets.
