Editor’s Note: Chico’s FAS, Inc. (NYSE:CHS), Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS), Msci Inc (NYSE:MSCI), SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD)
Hedge-Fund Manager Mariner Looks to Green Bonds (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge-fund manager Mariner Investment Group is joining the growing ranks of ‘green bond’ investors, announcing on Tuesday that it is incorporating environmentally and socially responsible research into its investment decisions. The announcement by Mariner comes after some other milestones recently in the green-bond investing world, which caters to buyers who want to own bonds from companies and governments seen to be environmentally and socially responsible. In the past, this type of investing has been more prevalent for equity investors. Earlier this summer, Barclays PLC (ADR) (NYSE:BCS) and analysis firm Msci Inc (NYSE:MSCI) rolled out a family of green-bond indexes.
Chico’s Gets Activist Investor (Women’s Wear Daily)
Women’s specialty retailer Chico’s FAS, Inc. (NYSE:CHS) is the latest firm to get an activist investor. This time its Blue Harbour Group. According to a regulatory filing Monday with the Securites and Exchange Commission, the Greenwich, Conn.-based Blue Harbour said in the 13D that it owns 5.6 percent of Chico’s, or slightly over 9 million shares. It also said the aggregate purchase price of the shares is $125.4 million, excluding brokerage commissions.
SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (GLD), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (ETF) (EEM): Meet The ETFs Hedge Funds Are Crazy About (Insider Monkey)
57 funds in our database reported a long position in the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD), one of the most liquid gold ETFs. For some time many fund managers- as well as many finance bloggers- have been convinced that the Federal Reserve’s expansionary monetary policy would prove extremely bullish for gold. While the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD) is still up strongly from its levels five years ago, it has fallen more than 15% year to date. Gold has been a major money loser for billionaire John Paulson’s Paulson & Co., which still had over $1.2 billion invested in the ETF at the end of June.
KPMG hires Michael Cross as director of account relationships (HedgeWeek)
KPMG has hired 30-year industry veteran Michael Cross as director of account relationships as the firm continues to expand its alternative investments (AI) team serving the Southeast US. Cross, who has and continues to hold leadership roles with hedge fund and alternative investment associations throughout the Southeast, is responsible for managing client relationships and developing new business with hedge funds, private equity firms and real estate funds. “The alternative investments market in the Southeast is growing and will continue to expand over the next few years and in response, KPMG is investing in resources to meet that need,” says Al Fichera, national leader, alternative investments, audit.
Hedge Funds Lease More Space in London’s West End as Rents Climb (Bloomberg)
Hedge funds agreed to lease out more than twice as much office space in London’s West End this year as in the whole of 2012 as firms including BlueBay Asset Management LLP and Elliot Management Corp. expanded, U.S. property broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. said. Hedge funds added 58,000 square feet (5,390 square meters) of space in the district, up from 25,000 square feet last year, Cushman & Wakefield said in a statement today. The amount of new space leased by private-equity firms was little changed at 45,000 square feet.
Double Haven Hires Wells Exec. As CEO (FINalternatives)
Fast-growing Asian hedge fund Double Haven Capital has named a former Wells Fargo Securities executive its new CEO. Greg Donohugh takes the helm at the Hong Kong firm, which last year acquired hedge-fund platform DragonBack Capital and earlier this year doubled its assets under management with a US$200 million mandate from a reinsurer to create its first long-only product. Donohugh founded Wells Fargo’s Asian platform in 2004, following stints at Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns.
Icahn: Apple `Undervalued,’ Look at the Numbers (Bloomberg)
Colm Toibin, Jhumpa Lahiri Lead Shortlist for Man Booker (Bloomberg)
Colm Toibin and Jhumpa Lahiri are among six finalists for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, the U.K.’s most prestigious literary award. Sponsored by hedge-fund manager Man Group Plc., the annual contest nets the winner 50,000 pounds ($78,550) and the promise of an almost certain increase in book sales. “We were drawn to novels that sought to extend the power and possibilities of the form,” Robert Macfarlane, chairman of this year’s judging panel and an author and academic, told journalists at Man Group’s (EMG) London headquarters. ‘‘We were looking for originality.’’
Louisiana Sheriffs fund rounds up opportunistic credit finalists (Pensions & Investments)
Louisiana Sheriffs’ Pension & Relief Pension Fund, Baton Rouge, will likely hire in October its first opportunistic credit manager to run about $30 million, said Osey “Skip” McGee Jr., executive director. The $2.3 billion pension fund originally conducted an invitation-only search for a third hedge fund-of-funds manager to join Blackstone Group and Corbin Capital Partners, which currently run $48 million and $54 million, respectively.
Global hedge fund AUM declined by more than $6 billion in August (HedgeCo.net)
Hedge funds witnessed slightly negative returns in August amid increased risk aversion in global markets during the month. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was down 0.32% during the month, outperforming global stock indices as the MSCI World Index declined by 2.26% in August. The Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index gained 0.48% in August mostly due to strong returns posted by Brazil-focused funds, which were up on the back of a strong rebound in the Bovespa (up 3.68%).
Hedge Funds Off 1.13% In August (FINalternatives)
Unless you were involved in some sort of arbitrage last month, chances are you suffered losses, according to Lyxor Asset Management. The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index fell 1.13% last month, cutting its year-to-date returns to 2.02%. Ten of the 13 strategies tracked by Lyxor also lost ground—the only exceptions being long/short credit arbitrage (up 0.51%), convertible arbitrage (up 0.26%) and merger arbitrage (up 0.04%).
Dubai Holding investment unit extends $1.2 bln loan (Reuters)
Dubai Holding’s investment unit has extended the repayment of a $1.2 billion loan until 2020, following moves by other state-linked firms, who have promised full repayment of debt by extending maturities. The loan is related to Dubai Holding Investment Group’s (DHIG) acquisition of a 9.9 percent stake in U.S. hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital in 2007, according to a banker familiar with the deal. DHIG bought the stake for $1.25 billion.
