Editor’s Note: Related tickers: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Viking Capital’s O. Andreas Halvorsen has told clients he is “actively exploring” how to play the wide-ranging impact of the slowing Chinese economy on the companies his New York hedge fund firm covers. “We find it increasingly likely that China’s growth will continue to decelerate and believe this will have consequences beyond those that have already manifested themselves in markets, such as lower metals prices, higher and more volatile Chinese funding rates, a weaker Australian dollar given its dependency on exports to China and power stock prices for certain luxury goods companies,” Halvorsen wrote in his second-quarter investment letter sent to clients July 10 and obtained by Institutional Investor’s Alpha.
JPMorgan beats Street as profit surges 31% to $6.5-billion (TheGlobeAndMail)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reported a 31-per-cent rise in quarterly profit on Friday as trading revenue rebounded and the biggest U.S. bank by assets set aside less money to cover bad loans. Net income rose to $6.50-billion, or $1.60 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30 from $4.96-billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier. The year-earlier quarter included the vast majority of the losses of more than $6.2-billion on derivatives positions that were so large that hedge funds had referred to the trader handling them as the “London Whale”. Provision for credit losses fell 78 per cent to $47-million.
For Icahn, $10.7 Million Profit From Dell Is Not Enough (FoxBusiness)
Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake are looking increasingly likely to get shareholder approval to take Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) private in a $24.4 billion deal. But agitator Carl Icahn still sees room to gamble. The activist investor, who is Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)’s second-largest shareholder after Michael Dell, is now trying to sway investors to vote down the buyout deal by raising his competing offer for the No. 3 PC maker. If Michael Dell wins, Icahn will go home with a profit of $10.7 million for his troubles, Reuters calculations show. If Icahn wins, he will have a troubled company on his hands to turn around. But if neither happens, the billionaire investor could potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hedge Funds Won’t Rush to Advertise Even After Ban Lifted (AdAge)
For those hoping a new rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would lead to a flood of advertising from hedge funds and private equity firms, think again. While the regulator voted Wednesday to lift an 80-year-old ban on public advertisements by firms seeking private investments, new marketing efforts will be subdued thanks to strict compliance requirements. “You’re not going to see a rush,” said Jay Baris, a partner at law firm Morrison Foerster. “Firms are testing the waters.”
Italy’s Hedge Invest Global Fund among five best funds in the world (InvestmentEurope)
Hedge Invest is the only Italian AM firm to be shortlisted at the InvestHedge Awards for its HI Global Fund in the Global Equity category. HI Global Fund, which is managed by Elisabetta Manuli (pictured), invests in hedge fund shares, focussing mainly on equity strategies, such as long/short and event driven, as well as on macro and relative value strategies. In the first half of 2013 the fund gained 7.01%, up 12.72% in the last 12 months, while performance since the launch is +71.46%² with volatility equal to 5.16%.
Highbridge President To KKR (Finalternatives)
A top Highbridge Capital Management executive is set to join Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Todd Builione, president of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) hedge fund unit, will help to build the private-equity giant’s hedge fund business. Builione’s exit is not related to Highbridge CEO Glenn Dubin’s decision to step down and hand the reins to former Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) executive Scott Kapnick. While Builione had been seen as a potential successor to Dubin, he has been in talks with KKR for months, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Hedge fund friendly Luxembourg to get new prime minister following spy scandal (Opalesque)
Alternatives friendly Luxembourg will be getting a new prime minister. Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Union’s longest-serving head of government said in a statement early today that he will resign after being implicated in a spy scandal rocking the country. A report issued on July 5th indicated that the leader was implicated in a report dealing with irregularities in the State Intelligence Service. Juncker previously served in a group of European finance ministers, and Luxembourg has a history of being friendly to investment firms looking to set up shop.
PE Fund Dyal Capital Nabs Stake In $2.3B Investment Firm (Law360)
Private equity fund Dyal Capital Partners LP has acquired a minority stake in New York-based Waterfall Asset Management, an investment firm managing approximately $2.3 billion in assets, the companies announced Wednesday. The transaction is one of several such investments Dyal has made since its launch little more than a year ago. Terms of the deal, including the size of Dyal’s minority stake and the purchase price, were not disclosed. Dyal, which is managed by Neuberger Berman Group LLC, acquired its stake in Waterfall from M.D. Sass-Macquarie…
Tiger Asia Accused of Insider Trading in Hong Kong Tribunal (SFGate)
Tiger Asia Management LLC, which admitted in the U.S. to illegally using inside information to trade Chinese bank stocks, was accused of the same offense in a Hong Kong tribunal. The New York-based hedge fund firm, its founder Bill Hwang and its officers Raymond Park and William Tomita traded on advance information from bankers arranging placements of China Construction Bank Corp. and Bank of China Ltd. shares in 2008 and 2009, according to a notice today by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.
RAB Capital hit again by worries over the Fed (Standard)
Worries over the US Federal Reserve easing back on money printing left RAB Capital, the hedge fund hammered by an ill-fated bet on Northern Rock, nursing fresh losses last month. RAB’s Special Situations fund, which is heavily exposed to commodities, slid 11.3% in June and is down 19.8% over the quarter, according to its latest update. The manager of the fund, Philip Richards, stepped down as chief executive of RAB Capital in 2008 after founding the company with Michael Alen-Buckley in 1999. They managed several billions at the high-water mark of the business but now have a few hundred million under management.
Soros son raises nearly $2 million for super PAC (USAToday)
A super PAC co-founded by George Soros’ son has raised $1.8 million during the first six months of this year, the group announced Thursday. Its objective: to reduce the outsized role money plays in politics. The fundraising haul by Friends of Democracy puts the super PAC on track to achieve its goal of collecting $5 million to back congressional candidates in 2014 who support overhauling the nation’s campaign-finance system, said Jonathan Soros, who runs a private-investment firm. He co-founded the group last year.
George Soros and Tamiko Bolton’s marriage will spare no expense, and you won’t need a gift (NYDailyNews)
Billionaire investor George Soros is going full-steam ahead with a September wedding to his much younger girlfriend, Tamiko Bolton. Soros, 82, and Bolton, 41, have had 1,000 invitations printed for their upcoming bash, a source tells Confidenti@l. The duo met in 2008 and became engaged in August 2012, when Soros presented her with a giant Graff diamond at his Southampton mansion. Soros is sparing no expense for his upcoming third wife. But the money is being spent in a targeted way: Bolton is only using local vendors in and around New York City, where the wedding will be held.
Investors Shoveled A Whopping $18.5 Billion Into Hedge Funds In May (BusinessInsider)
While the monthly numbers can be volatile, it’s nevertheless worth noting that investors opened the floodgates on their investment cash and directed the flow to hedge funds. TrimTabs and BarclayHedge note that hedge funds got a whopping $18.5 billion of net investment infllows in May. …BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research reported today that hedge funds took in a net $18.5 billion (1.0% of assets) in May, more than a forty-fold increase from April’s $430 million inflow. The results are based on data from 3,368 funds.
CalSTRS names BlackRock to run $50 million in global macro hedge fund (PIOnline)
CalSTRS, West Sacramento, invested $50 million in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Fixed Income Global Alpha, a global macro hedge fund, confirmed Steven Tong, director of innovation and risk for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is the fourth hedge fund manager hired to manage one-quarter of the $166 billion pension fund’s $200 million global macro hedge fund portfolio.
Party boys’ battle for Haiti: Bid war reaches $45K for celeb-led charity tour of island (NYPost)
Party-crazed, sex-tape-making billionaire Stewart Rahr got in a bidding war Wednesday night with hedge-fund playboy Marc Leder. The two were spotted at Unik Ernest’s Edeyo Gives Hope Ball bidding on a charitable trip to Haiti guided by Ernest and “24” star Kiefer Sutherland. When the bids reached $45,000, it was decided Rahr and Leder could both go paying $45,000. Both moguls are known as much for hard partying as their bulging bank accounts.
