Steven Cohen’s Hedge Fund ‘Emphatically Denies’ Sex Discrimination Claims in Employee Lawsuit (Fortune)
Just as billionaire Steven Cohen stages a comeback as a hedge fund manager, a current employee sued his Point72 Asset Management accusing it of discriminating against women and promoting a culture of sexism. Lauren Bonner, an associate director at the firm, also accused President Doug Haynes of using an inappropriate term on a white board in his office and leaving it there for weeks, according to the complaint filed in federal court in New York on Monday. Haynes, a former McKinsey & Co. director, was hired in 2014 and led efforts to revamp Cohen’s business after it pleaded guilty to securities fraud and paid a record fine.
Starboard Is Said to Blame Monotype Buying Spree for Lost Value (Bloomberg)
Starboard Value is urging Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc. to abandon an acquisition strategy that the activist investor argues has cost shareholders about $12 a share in lost value, people familiar with the matter said. The New York-based hedge fund, run by Jeff Smith, holds with its partners an 8.2 percent stake in Monotype and has been pushing for changes at the company, including plans to nominate four directors to its board. Starboard believes Monotype has drastically underperformed its peers in both operating performance and stock price since changing its strategy three years ago to acquire non-core growth businesses instead of focusing on its high-margin font business, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
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Drug Company Innoviva Settles with Activist Hedge Fund Sarissa: Sources (Reuters)
(Reuters) – U.S. respiratory drug company Innoviva Inc has reached a settlement with activist hedge fund Sarissa Capital Management LP to replace its board of directors and remove the threat of a new proxy contest, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The settlement comes just two months after a Delaware judge handed Sarissa a legal victory by installing two of the fund’s nominees to Innoviva’s board of directors. Sarissa had sued Innoviva, accusing it of backing out last April of a settlement that Sarissa agreed to end its previous proxy contest.
Why Millennials Love Warren Buffett (TheStreet)
Millennial investors remain ardent fans of billionaire Warren Buffett and his investment strategies, but they also admire him for his social conscience and his down-to-earth personality. As the largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) for many decades, Buffett’s business strategies have taught Millennial traders how to invest for the long term. His investment and trading tactics have resonated with not only Millennials, but also their counterparts, Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers who are more focused on their retirement. More than 75 million Millennials, who were born between 1981 and 1997, are ready to take over an estimated $30 trillion in wealth from Baby Boomers, according to the Pew Research Center.
Billionaire Behind the ‘Need to Impeach’ Effort Blasts Trump’s Infrastructure Vision (CNBC)
Billionaire political activist and ex-hedge fund manager Tom Steyer on Monday blasted President Donald Trump’s vision for overhauling the nation’s aging infrastructure. Steyer, the Democratic megadonor behind the “Need to Impeach” Trump effort, said the $200 billion in federal infrastructure spending that’s being talked about by the White House won’t create jobs or boost the economy. “Making an investment in of itself isn’t a good thing,” Steyer told CNBC’s “Squawk Alley.” “What’s a good thing is a smart investment, things that actually move the country forward.”
