Hedge Fund Viking Reopens Flagship Fund After Decade – Sources (Reuters)
U.S.-based Viking Global Investors has reopened its flagship long/short hedge fund for new capital having closed it more than a decade ago, according to three people familiar with the matter, as industry-wide equity hedge fund returns strengthen. Led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Andreas Halvorsen, Viking ended June with $26 billion in public equity assets under management, according to it website.
Activist Hedge Fund Turns the Screws at NRG Energy (Prospect.org)
Elliott Management is asking FERC to let it purchase up to one-fifth of the common stock in a Texas utility. A Houston-based power company has become the latest target of activist hedge fund Elliott Management’s efforts to drive up returns in the energy sector. Their brewing battle could test federal antitrust rules on investor ownership of public utilities. Last month, Elliott asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to buy up to 20 percent of stock in NRG Energy, a power company with most of its generating capacity in Texas, which has recently ventured into selling smart meters.
This Hedge Fund’s Two Feuding Founders Are Under Pressure to Make Peace (The Wall Street Journal)
Questions from regulators and investors, plus one founder’s pending divorce, are forcing Two Sigma to address the rift. John Overdeck, co-founder of the hedge fund Two Sigma, has feuded for years with the $60 billion firm’s other co-founder, David Siegel. The pair are so much at odds that the firm disclosed in a securities filing that they are unable to make basic management decisions.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Alcur Strengthens Team with Experienced Trader (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Swedish fund boutique Alcur Fonder has hired Peter Guve to oversee trading for the boutique’s assets under management that exceed SEK 11 billion. Guve brings more than 30 years of experience in a trading capacity, having most recently served as a senior portfolio manager and trader at AMF Pension for eight and a half years. “We are very happy that Peter has chosen to join our team,” the team at Alcur Fonder comments on Peter Guve’s appointment. His employment is initially confirmed for the remainder of this year.
Bitwise’s Plan to Get Crypto Into More Institutional Portfolios: A Hedge Fund of Funds (Institutional Investor)
The past 18 months have been brutal for the cryptocurrency industry. Terraform Labs and its stablecoin collapsed; Three Arrows Capital and other companies filed for bankruptcy; and criminal and civil charges were filed against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX Group, for running a massive yearslong fraud. More recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase Global, claiming it was operating as an unregistered broker-dealer.
Bitcoin Outperforms Crypto Hedge Funds in 1H2023 with Impressive 77% Gains (The Currency Analytics)
The cryptocurrency market has witnessed remarkable growth in the first half of 2023, with Bitcoin leading the way by gaining nearly 80% in value. As the undeniable leader in the digital asset space, Bitcoin significantly outperformed most crypto hedge funds, which recorded an average return of 15% during the same period. This report by 21e6 Capital, a Swiss-based crypto investment advisor, sheds light on the performance of crypto hedge funds, the impact of recent market developments, and the future of the crypto futures industry.
Hedge Funds Build Treasury Shorts as Yields Push to Year’s Highs (Bloomberg)
Into last week’s push higher in Treasury yields, new short risk was created. The latest positioning points to hedge funds building their short base, widening the divergence with asset managers taking the other side of the trade in long positions. Along with the move higher in yields, the broad increase in open interest points to fresh short positions, according to Bank of America. Meanwhile, JPMorgan’s latest Treasury client survey showed short positions gaining in the cash bond market, rising to the most on an outright basis since May 1.
Rokos Macro Fund Level for 2023 After 3.7% July Gain (Hedge Week)
Rokos Capital Management‘s macro hedge fund, which is one of the world’s biggest with $14bn in assets, has fully recouped the losses it suffered earlier in the year having racked up a gain of 3.7% in July, according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that the fund is now up 2.7% for the year through July, having at one point in March been down more than 15% after bets on short-term interest rates backfired in the aftermath of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
Wednesday 8/9 Insider Buying Report: EXFY, AXTA (Nasdaq.com)
At Expensify (EXFY), a filing with the SEC revealed that on Monday, Steven J. McLaughlin bought 499,946 shares of EXFY, at a cost of $5.99 each, for a total investment of $3M. Bargain hunters are able to pick up EXFY even cheaper than McLaughlin did, with the stock changing hands as low as $4.06 in trading on Wednesday — that’s 32.2% under McLaughlin’s purchase price. Expensify is trading off about 29.6% on the day Wednesday. This purchase marks the first one filed by McLaughlin in the past twelve months. And at Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA), there was insider buying on Friday, by CEO & President Chris Villavarayan who bought 33,710 shares for a cost of $29.67 each, for a total investment of $1.00M. Before this latest buy, Villavarayan made one other buy in the past year, purchasing $1.01M shares for a cost of $29.20 each. Axalta Coating Systems is trading up about 1.2% on the day Wednesday.
Around $1.9M Bet On Keurig Dr Pepper? Check Out These 4 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Agree Realty: The Trade: Agree Realty Corporation (ADC) Director, Executive Chairman of Board Richard Agree acquired a total of 18,249 shares an average price of $63.70. To acquire these shares, it cost around $1.16 million. Maximus: The Trade: Maximus Inc. (MMS) CEO and President Bruce Caswell acquired a total of 3,141 shares at an average price of $79.07. To acquire these shares, it cost around $248,368.
