Hedge Fund Highlights: Tom Steyer, Ken Griffin & Mariner Investment Group

Billionaire Steyer picks fights with Kochs, Rubio in climate change push (CNBC.com)
Tom Steyer has picked a lot a fights recently. The billionaire former hedge fund manager has continued his high-profile campaign against climate change this year, using his NextGen Climate group to create attack ads targeting conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, and Terri Lynn Land, the GOP Senate candidate in Michigan. Steyer continued his digs at the Koch brothers–prominent supporters of conservative politicians–by challenging them to a debate on climate change and energy policy.

Citadel Marks First Global Hedge Fund to Raise Fund in China (Bloomberg)
Citadel LLC, led by billionaire Ken Griffin, became the first international hedge fund to complete yuan fundraising from Chinese wealthy individuals and companies through a local unit. Citadel (Shanghai) Foreign Investment won regulatory approval for currency exchange on March 26, marking the first qualified domestic limited partner, or QDLP, to have successfully completed fundraising in China, according to a statement from the Shanghai government’s information office.

Hedge Fund Mariner Hires Bowens for Rates as Banks Diverge (1) (Businessweek)
Mariner Investment Group LLC, the $11 billion hedge-fund firm, hired Marx Bowens from CRT Capital Group LLC to trade interest rates anticipating a divergence in global central bank policies. Bowens, 44, joined New York-based Mariner this month as a money manager focusing on rates strategies as part of its Silvermine team, according to co-chief investment officer Basil Williams. The unit manages $500 million and invests in sovereign debt, interest-rate derivatives and foreign exchange.

Hedge fund exit requests rise to five month high in May (Reuters)
Demand to pull out money from hedge funds rose to five month high in May as investors looked to adjust their portfolios ahead of the mid-year point. The SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator, a monthly snapshot of hedge fund clients giving notice to withdraw their cash expressed as a percentage of assets under administration, rose to 4.32 percent in May from 3.23 percent in April and the highest since December last year.

Hedge Fund Magnetar Sues McKesson Over Celesio Deal (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge fund Magnetar Financial LLC on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) alleging that the U.S. drug retailer breached German law in its takeover of German rival Celesio AG earlier this year, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Magnetar accuses McKesson of offering a higher price to one large Celesio shareholder, Elliott Management Corp. McKesson officials weren’t immediately available to comment. An Elliott official declined to comment on the lawsuit.

When Alibaba may go public (CNBC.com)