Vinik Seeds Ex-Manager Iben’s Fund Firm With $20 Million (Bloomberg)
Jeffrey Vinik, the money manager who shut his hedge fund earlier this year after returns slumped, is providing $20 million in startup capital for an investment firm run by his former stock picker David Iben. Vinik made a five-year, $5 million loan to Iben’s Tampa, Florida-based Kopernik Global Investors LLC and invested $15 million in two of its private funds, the advisory firm said in a U.S. regulatory filing approved in September. Vinik will keep the money in the funds until July 2015, according to the filing. Vinik recruited Iben from Nuveen Investment Inc.’s Tradewinds unit in June 2012, only to announce 11 months later that he would shutter his fund to focus on Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment, the parent of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hedge funds profit in land of Greek opportunity (Financial Times)
From Andrew Liveris of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) to ambassador John Negroponte, the great and the good of the Greek diaspora gathered this month to clink champagne glasses at a dinner prepared by Argiro Barbarigou, Greece’s celebrity chef du moment, under the expansive dome of 583 Park Avenue. Bill Clinton gave a speech, somewhat stealing the limelight from the evening’s other guest of honour, Antonis Samaras, Greece’s prime minister. A clue to the thrust of the event lay in the guest list: alongside Greeks, a who’s who of Wall Street. Indeed, for Mr Samaras, the gala marked the end of a whistle-stop New York tour that had kicked off with a private meeting with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s Jamie Dimon and an afternoon spent in the company of hedge fund managers including John Paulson, the multibillionaire head of Paulson & Co.
Icahn Gets Key Board Appointment at Enzon Pharmaceuticals (Insider Monkey)
In an amended 13D just filed with the SEC, Carl Icahn and Icahn Capital reported that Jonathan Christodoro has been appointed to a Director post at Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENZN). Christodoro is also a managing director at Icahn Capital. At the end of last quarter, Enzon was the 18th largest position in Carl Icahn’s equity portfolio. The appointment of Christodoro to the Board of Directors comes amid major changes at Enzon. The company recently announced that it has suspended its operating activities and is not planning to resume any clinical developments.
Meredith Whitney to launch hedge fund (Financial Times)
Meredith Whitney, whose bearish calls on financial stocks ahead of the credit crisis turned her into one of the most famous analysts on Wall Street, has deregistered her eponymous brokerage firm and plans to launch a hedge fund. Meredith Whitney Securities, which was launched in 2009 amid high expectations, requested deregistration by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority at the end of August. Meanwhile, her financial advisory business, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, has stopped publishing regular investment research. Ms Whitney told Finra that she had set up a business called Kenbelle Capital.
Hedge funds score big win bankrolling tax refund case (Reuters)
A group of hedge funds looks set to win an eyewatering return after bankrolling the winning party in a court fight over a $373.8 million tax refund in the bankruptcy of Downey Financial Corp. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi ruled on Tuesday that the disputed tax return belonged to Downey. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp had argued it was entitled to the refund. For backing the right horse, four hedge funds stood to gain up to a third of the refund, which the FDIC said in court documents could amount to a return of 1,000 percent on what they spent on legal fees. The four funds are Alden Global Capital, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Halcyon Asset Management and Farallon Capital Management.
Chanos: Stay away from state-owned oil companies (CNBC.com)
Hedge fund manager James Fry gets 17½ years in Petters fraud (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle sentenced James Fry to 17½ years in prison Wednesday for his role as a key financial resource to former Wayzata businessman Tom Petters and his $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme. Kyle told a stoic Fry that his offense constituted a “serious crime” that required a “substantial prison sentence” after Fry’s June conviction on 12 counts of fraud and making misleading statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fry’s sentence is second in length only to the 50-year sentence of ringleader Tom Petters among the nine defendants sentenced so far for their roles in the Ponzi scheme.
Kyle Bass Reveals Why He Bought J.C. Penney Stock (Insider Monkey)
Kyle Bass is one of the most notorious personalities in the hedge fund universe. Especially when it comes to companies that are on everyone’s radar. Today, on CNBC, the manager of Hayman Advisors made several important points regarding J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Here’s what Bass had to say about the company’s management: “The prior CEO [Ron Johnson] destroyed more value in a such short amount of time that I’ve never seen in my life. He was clearly the wrong guy for the job. Bringing back Ullman, someone who knows retail very well…he has grown up in retail, he knows who the customer is, and our investment was predicated on the fact that…we thought J.C. Penney had an adequate liquidity to get through the holiday 2014.”
Pensions chief joins credit hedge fund manager Angelo Gordon (Creditflux)
Hedge fund giant Angelo Gordon has announced that it has hired Lawrence Schloss, the chief investment officer for the New York City Retirement Systems (Nycers). Schloss will start in his new role on 11 November, joining as a president and also becoming a partner in the employee-owned firm. Nycers with $140 million of assets under management is regarded as the largest municipal public pension scheme in the US. Schloss is credited with reversing the fortunes of the fund and growing AUM by $40 billion during his four years at the helm. One of the core strategies he employeed was to reduce exposure to equities and increase allocation to the debt markets.
Ignis Unveils First Hedge Fund (FINalternatives)
Ignis Asset Management is a long-only firm no more. The Phoenix Group money manager launched its first hedge fund, seeded with £25 million of internal capital. The Global Macro Government Bond Fund is just the first of at least four hedge funds the London-based firm, which has a fund of hedge funds unit, plans. The new vehicle is a souped-up version of its Absolute Return Government Bond Fund. The hedge fund, run by Russ Oxley, is targeting twice the volatility of the existing fund, which the firm hopes will allow it to return between 10% and 12% per year above cash.
