Brevan Howard Said to Shut Emerging Market Fund After Loss in 2013 (NYTimes)
Brevan Howard Asset Management, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, with more than $40 billion in assets under management, is closing down its emerging markets fund, according to a person briefed on the fund’s activities. The $2 billion fund, founded in 2007, lost 15 percent last year as emerging markets like Brazil and Turkey were rattled by tightening United States monetary policy… But its 2013 returns were lackluster. In his year-end letter, Alan Howard, co-founder the firm, called Brevan Howard’s 2.6 percent return “somewhat disappointing.”
Owings Mills hedge fund raises nearly $20M (BizJournals)
LG Capital Fund LP has raised another $19.7 million, according to its most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The Owings Mills hedge fund has raised a total of $59.9 million from investors as of Jan. 29, according the filing. That is up from $40.2 million listed on a federal filing in August 2013. Andrew Grossman, the fund’s managing partner, declined to comment.
Large Shareholders Join Forces With Corporate Directors to Defeat Hedge Fund Locusts (HuffingtonPost)
Sam Levenson once observed, “The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy.” The same could be said for a new alliance between groups who have often been at odds and more often had no communication at all: large institutional shareholders and corporate directors. A new initiative called SDX is prompted in part by a mutual interest in combating “activist shareholders” whose short-term pressure for performance is detrimental to both corporations and long-term investors…
Meet The Hedge Funder Whose Finance Roots Date Back To The Shanghai Stock Exchange During WWII (BusinessInsider)
Hedge fund manager Christopher Tsai got hooked on investing when he was only 11 years old. “I purchased five shares of a re-insurance company, which I really did not know much about it, but it looked good to me at age 11. I used gardening money. Ever since, the $US25 profit on that trade, I was hooked.” Tsai, who is now 39, runs long/short equity hedge fund Tsai Capital.
Michael Zimmermans Hedge Fund Says Mcommerce Must Be Retailers Top Priority (EINNews)
Optimizing for mcommerce is a must for retailers of all sizes, Zimmerman believes, or they will miss a huge revenue opportunity from smartphone shoppers. A recent poll found poorly optimized sites lost nearly $15.9 billion in abandoned mobile sales this 2013 holiday season. Michael Zimmerman’s hedge fund Prentice Capital notes that during 2013, retailers smartphone revenue increased 113% and tablet revenue by 85% over the previous year, according to a survey conducted by Shop.org and Forrester Research. (1) The survey additionally found that 21% of retailers’ entire online revenue derived from either a smartphone or tablet during 2013.
Petters Ponzi Scheme Suit Against Hedge Fund Goes To Jury (Finalternatives)
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against a Thomas Petters-linked hedge fund and its manager is in the hands of a Minneapolis federal jury. The panel began deliberations yesterday to determine whether Marlon Quan and his Acorn Capital Group and Stewardship Investment Advisors are liable for their alleged role in Petters’ $3.5 billion Ponzi scheme, which collapsed more than five years ago. The case against Quan and his firm is the first civil matter to go before a jury; to date, 13 people have pleaded guilty or been convicted in the case—the latter group including Petters himself and James Fry, the founder of hedge fund Arrowhawk Capital Management.
Hedge Fund Manager Pays $27M for Chelsea Building After Cashing Out of His Home (CommercialObserver)
Hedge fund manager Mark Sonnino has reportedly purchased an office building at 555 West 25th Street in West Chelsea from Sharone Ben-Harosh of FlatRate Moving for $27 million just months after selling his home for $43 million. The 40,856-square-foot building, between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, is occupied by creative tenants, including the Dillon Gallery, a showcase of works by international contemporary artists; and an American furniture showroom by design firm Khouri Guzman Bunce. Rents in the building, built in 1891, are far below market rate, according to a statement from Massey Knakal, first reported on by The Real Deal.
Re Hedge Funds 2-11-14 (YouTube)
New York hedge fund generates $5 million in bitcoin deposits in three days, “expect to multiply tenfold” (PFHub)
Financial institutions across the globe are beginning to adopt bitcoin (BTC) and incorporate the digital currency into its business model. This is evident after NYSO HEDGE, a hedge fund located in New York City, announced that it has accepted approximately $5.4 million in bitcoin deposits. This hasn’t been a long endeavor to amass a sum, though it did apply for regulatory approval this past summer. The hedge fund announced Friday that it would be accepting bitcoins for deposits, which means it has only taken three full days to accumulate an immense sum. The company explained that the virtual currency has the ability to provide individuals with options to invest in stocks without any chargebacks and fees. This, NYSO HEDGE says, contributes to the less usefulness of credit cards.
George Soros Smacked by Actress Ex-Girlfriend (FreeBeacon)
Tempers flared during a Tuesday deposition between billionaire George Soros and his South American soap actress ex-girlfriend, causing her to strike him in the head, according to court papers. Adriana Ferreyr grew angry at Soros, 83, after he refused to allow her to film the deposition. She struck Soros in the head, knocking off the headphones he was using to amplify the sound during the deposition, according to a news account. She also knocked the glasses off of Soros’ lawyer Martin Singer, slapped Soros aide Jose Santos across the face, and kicked him in the shins.
European fund managers form $3 bln hedge fund venture (Reuters)
Paris-based investment firm La Francaise and Anglo-Italian hedge fund manager TAGES Capital are combining assets to form a European fund of hedge funds joint venture. Under the terms of the agreement, La Francaise is taking a 40 percent stake in London hedge fund manager TAGES Capital and will hand over control of its $1 billion in assets to form a $3 billion multi-manager business, the companies said on Tuesday. Funds of funds invest client money in portfolios of hand-picked investment vehicles, rather than taking bets in individual securities.
John Paulson’s Funds Post Gains in January (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
John Paulson picked up in January where he left off in December. The founder of New York–based Paulson & Co. extended his strong 2013 gains last month, when five of his six main funds made money. The funds posted gains of roughly between 1.5 percent and 3.5 percent each, while the sixth fund was slightly positive. His gold fund, however, led the way, surging 18 percent. The price of gold has surged of late as investors have bailed out of stocks in the emerging markets, figuring gold was a much safer haven…
What I Learned From Ray Dalio (MorningStar)
I try to learn from the best. Ray Dalio is one of them. He founded Bridgewater Associates, one of the biggest hedge funds in the world. Many retail investors have not heard of him, probably because his funds are open only to big institutions. It’s a terrible mistake to limit yourself to listening only to the musings of mutual fund managers. Doing so means that you will ignore many of the best investors. Dalio’s perspective is invaluable. He’s willing to entertain seemingly loony ideas. For example, in 2001 he had his firm develop a depression gauge. In 2003, Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Lucas declared that the “central problem of depression prevention has been solved, for all practical purposes, and has in fact been solved for many decades…
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