Discretionary Macro Funds Continue to Struggle in May (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
This year is shaping up to be a tough one for many of the best-known global macro hedge fund managers, who continue to struggle amid a turbulent and trendless environment for the financial markets. In a first look at May results, most discretionary macro funds — those that depend on humans to pull the trigger on investment decisions — extended their losses for the year through the middle of the month. Andrew Law’s New York–based Caxton Associates posted a loss of 1.55 percent for the month, through May 20, in its Caxton Global Investment fund, extending its loss for the year to 6.56 percent. Alan Howard’s BH Macro fund, which…
Former hedge fund analyst pleads guilty in insider trading case (Reuters)
Former hedge fund analyst Matthew Teeple pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a criminal conspiracy charge in connection with the 2008 takeover of a technology company. The former Artis Capital Management analyst told U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis in Manhattan that he received tips from David Riley, a former chief information officer at Foundry Networks Inc, including one about the company’s pending $3 billion takeover in 2008 by Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD).
Morgan Stanley Sues Convicted Former Broker To Recoup $3.6 Million In Legal Fees (FA-Mag)
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) sued to recover more than $3.6 million it paid to defend a former broker who was imprisoned for his role in a kickback scheme. The firm said in its complaint against ex-broker Darin DeMizio that he should repay legal costs because “he intentionally defrauded Morgan Stanley and concealed his fraud” while working at the New York-based brokerage. DeMizio was convicted in 2009 of scheming to pay $1.7 million in kickbacks to his father and brother for virtually no work, according to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court…
Fair Oaks Capital inks starter space in Carnegie Hall Tower (TheRealDeal)
Anthony Edson and William Sheoris, two of the founders of hedge fund Stone Tower Capital, have inked a 5,000-square-foot space on the 27th floor of the Carnegie Hall Tower for their new venture, Fair Oaks Capital. The new hedge fund will set up shop above the duo’s original Stone Tower space at 505 West 37th Street, which snagged a 4,500-square-foot space in the tower’s base back in 2003. That spread eventually expanded to 30,000 square feet before the company was acquired by Apollo in 2012 and relocated to 9 West 57th Street.
‘Brain Hacking’: Serene Traders Make Killing as Wall Street Harnesses Meditation (MoneyNews)
When stock and bond markets took a dive in late January, hedge-fund manager David Ford kept his cool. Ford watched emerging markets melt down and read warnings that the U.S. economy could crater too. As prices dropped, he overcame the impulse to flee with the rest of the herd and, instead, bought more corporate bonds, Bloomberg Pursuits will report in its Summer 2014 issue. After two decades as a trader, Ford credits his serenity to experience — and to the 20 minutes he spends in his pajamas each morning repeating a meaningless mantra bestowed on him by a teacher of Transcendental Meditation two years ago.
Urban AG Accused Of Making Kickback Payments To A Hedge Fund (HedgeCo)
A microcap company and its CEO are being looked at by the SEC for orchestrating a pair of illicit kickback schemes and an insider trading scheme involving the company’s stock. The SEC is alleging that Massachusetts based Urban AG Corp. and its president and CEO Billy V. Ray Jr. of Cumming, Ga., schemed to make an undisclosed kickback payment to a hedge fund manager in exchange for the fund’s purchase of restricted shares of stock in the company. In a separate kickback scheme, Ray made an inducement payment to a stock promoter who would purchase shares of Urban on the open market ahead of planned press releases to help him manipulate the stock.
Caution on crude? (CNBC)
