Ex-Kingdon Exec Readies Samena-Backed Asia Hedge Fund (Reuters)
Wuzhu Asia Partners, founded by former director of Asia research at New York-based multi-billion dollar hedge fund Kingdon Capital Kyu Ho, is set to launch a pan-Asia long/short equity hedge fund on March 1. Wuzhu, named after an ancient Chinese coin, is backed by Hong Kong-based hedge fund seeder Samena Asia Managers, Ho, the firm’s chief investment officer, told Reuters.
Azentus, Myriad Power Best New Asia Hedge Fund Flows Since 2007 (Reuters)
New Asian hedge funds collected $4.43 billion in 2011, powered by major launches such as former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Morgan Sze’s Azentus and former Asia head of Highbridge Capital Carl Huttenlocher’s Myriad. The asset flow was highest since 2007, when new Asian hedge funds gathered a record $7.8 billion, and 15 percent more than 2010, according to a survey by industry tracker AsiaHedge, part of Britain-based HedgeFund Intelligence.
Hedge Funds Have Toes, Not Feet In The Stock Market Waters (WSJ)
It’s been a solid start to the year for riskier investments of just about all kinds: stocks, emerging markets, commodities. But volumes have been uninspiring. That’s especially the case for stocks. And broadly, investors still appear reluctant to back up the truck.
For Hedge Funds in Asia, Big is Beautiful (WSJ)
Fifty eight new funds were launched in Asia in 2011 raising US$4.43 billion, the highest figure since the financial crisis, according to a survey by industry publication AsiaHedge. In 2007, Asian hedge funds attracted $7.8 billion. Most of the new funds were set up in Hong Kong, followed by Singapore.
Jim Rogers: Attack on Jim Rogers: Attack on Iran, Pure “Madness” — Likes Gold & Silver as Hedge (GLD, SLV, USO) (ETF Daily News)
Jim Rogers fears an attack on Iran will happen, calling a military confrontation with the world’s fifth-largest oil producer, “madness.” The 69-year-old chairman of Rogers Holdings also favors commodities over paper assets as investment for the remainder of the decade, especially gold during tensions in the Middle East.
Kinnucan To Remain In Jail, Manhattan Judge Rules (Reuters)
Research analyst John Kinnucan, who was charged last week in an insider-trading probe, must remain in prison, a Manhattan federal judge ordered, just hours after a judge in Oregon ordered his release. Kinnucan of Portland, Oregon, was arrested last week and his indictment was made public on Tuesday by federal prosecutors in New York. He was indicted on two counts of securities fraud and two conspiracy counts.
Ex-Wife Of SAC’s Cohen Claims He Hid Millions (Thomson Reuters)
In a bid to revive a long-running courtroom battle seeking money from billionaire hedge fund trader Steven Cohen, a lawyer for his ex-wife told a federal appeals court that the SAC Capital Advisors founder hid $5.5 million from her during their 1990 divorce proceedings. The lawsuit drew attention because Patricia Cohen alleged that SAC Capital was involved in fraud, including insider trading, a hot-button issue as federal prosecutors have pressed charges against dozens of traders and executives. Steven Cohen has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
SAC’s Cohen Buys Small Stake In Mets Baseball Team (Reuters)
When hedge fund industry titan Steven A. Cohen next roots for his hometown New York Mets baseball team he will have skin in the game as one of the team’s newly minted minority owners. The billionaire trader, known for delivering strong and steady returns at his $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors, has bought a small stake in the team for $20 million, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Movers & Shakers: Titans at the Table (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg’s Betty Liu previews “Titans at the Table”, a dinner conversation with four of the biggest players in the hedge fund world, airing tonight at 9pm ET on Bloomberg Television. She speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “In The Loop.”
Barton Biggs Sees Opportunity in Italian Stocks (Bloomberg)
Barton Biggs, managing partner and co-founder of Traxis Partners LP, discusses investment strategy and hedge fund issues. He speaks with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop.”
Value Investor Glenn Greenberg’s Top Stocks (Market Watch)
In 2010, Chieftain split up, with Greenberg changing the name of his hedge fund to Brave Warrior Advisors. His philosophy is that a highly concentrated portfolio is a defense against ignorance. The thinking is that the more companies a fund manager owns a stake in, the more he has to keep track of and the more likely it is he will make a mistake. Case in point, according to Brave Warrior’s 13F filed on February 14, the fund has positions in just 15 companies, with a total value of $1.23 billion.
Soros Sees Merkel Shoving Europe Into Harsh ‘Deflationary Spiral’: Books (Bloomberg)
George Soros is usually thought of as the man whose hedge fund broke the Bank of England with a $10 billion bet that the pound would lose its peg to other European currencies. These days, the billionaire investor is seeking to save a currency union, not bury it. In “Financial Turmoil in Europe and the United States,” he laments that the euro has become an “existential crisis” for Europe and places much of the blame on one person: Angela Merkel.
Cooperman Shuns Treasuries; Favors Stocks (Transcript) (Bloomberg)
Leon Cooperman, chief executive officer of Omega Advisors Inc., talks about investment strategy and President Barack Obama’s policies.
Graphics: Hedge Fund Rankings And Holdings – Q4 2011 (Reuters Hedge World)
Borrowed from Reuters Insider, below are graphics that depict which hedge funds finished the fourth quarter of 2011 with the most assets and which stocks the top 30 hedge funds are buying and selling.
Jim Rogers: Greece Deal Is A Sham (Reuters Hedge World)
Jim Rogers says that the 130-billion-euro Greek bailout plan is an artificial feel-good factor ahead of French, U.S. and German elections. “Look at this Greece deal; it’s not solving the problem,” Rogers told Reuters Insider’s Axel Threlfall. “It’s just pushing things … kicking the can down the road. But pretty soon, Axel, we’ll be out of road. We can’t kick it much further.”
Gibraltar Expects Hedge Fund Boost Following Legislation Update (HFM Week)
Gibraltar’s financial legislation is to be amended in a move that could boost the country’s hedge funds by up to a fifth, its finance minister announced Wednesday. Speaking at a London-based event, Gilbert Licudi, minister for Gibraltar’s new government, which came into power in December, revealed that there is to be an amendment to rules concerning financial administrators.
Connecticut Hedge Fund Industry Fights Back To Obama’s Proposed Hedge Fund Tax Hike (HFM Week)
The Connecticut hedge fund industry has fought back to US President Barack Obama’s proposed tax hike on alternative investment funds, according to reports. Lobbyists in this hedge fund community argue that any transformations in the tax code would deter Americans from investing in these vehicles, which ultimately would have a negative impact on the growth of the US economy.
Hedge Funds Take Another Look at Greek Debt (Deal Book)
Maybe not for hedge funds looking to make money in Greek bonds. Ever since last summer, when it became clear that private sector bond investors would need to take a loss to ease Greece’s debt burden, some hedge funds have been betting large sums of money on different outcomes. And for the most part, the funds have lost their collective shirt as the value of the investments sank.
Value Partners Ready To Roll Out New UCITS Platform (Hedge Fund Intelligence)
Value Partners, one of Asia’s biggest alternative investment groups with total assets of some $7 billion, is looking to launch its maiden self-branded UCITS equity fund in the first half of the year.
Bonus, Redemption Bases For SEC Deal With Ex-Bear Hedge Fund Managers (FINalternatives)
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday explained how it arrived at the disgorgements to be paid by two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. The regulator earlier this month announced that it had reached a deal with Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, who oversaw two Bear hedge funds that collapsed in 2007, costing investors $1.6 billion. Under that agreement, Cioffi will pay $700,000 in disgorgement and a $100,000 fine, and Tannin $200,000 in disgorgement and a $50,000 fine.
New Study Looks at Start-Up Funds (HFN)
The law firm that helped create the first hedge fund, A.W. Jones & Co., has come out with its first-ever survey on newly-started hedge funds.
Hong Kong Regulator Wins Tiger Asia Appeal (FINalternatives)
New York hedge fund Tiger Asia Management will have to continue its fight with Hong Kong regulators after its court victory last year was overturned on appeal. The city’s Court of Appeal ruled that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission can sue to have Tiger Asia and its principals barred from trading, and to have the hedge fund’s assets frozen. The three-judge panel’s decision overturns a July ruling that the regulator can’t have Tiger banned without a tribunal or criminal court finding.
Hedge Fund Sues Indonesian Bank For $70 Million (FINalternatives)
A hedge fund is demanding a US$70 million payment from an Indonesian bank bailed out by that country’s government.
Survey: Most 2011 HF Startups Were Equities Strategies (FINalternatives)
Seward & Kissel, which bills itself the law firm that “helped create the first hedge fund” (A.W. Jones & Co. in 1949), has just completed a survey of new U.S. hedge funds.
Petters-Linked Hedge Exec. Barred (FINalternatives)
A top hedge fund executive who pleaded guilty to aiding Thomas Petters’ $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme has been barred from the securities industry.
Wietschner, Goldman Hedge Fund Advisory Chief, Retires (FINalternatives)
A top Goldman Sachs hedge fund executive is retiring from the firm. C. Howard Wietschner helped set up Goldman’s hedge fund advisory group in 2007. But after 18 years with the firm, the 44-year-old has decided to call it quits, the bank told employees in an internal memo.
A Record 216 Hedge Funds Own Apple: The World’s Biggest Hedge Fund Hotel Gets Even Bigger (Zero Hedge)
It is just getting plain silly: with a record 216 hedge funds holding Apple at the end of 2011, why does anyone pay the 2 and 20 any more? Just buy Apple. As a reminder, at the end of Q3 209 hedge funds owned Apple, at the end of Q2 it was 181, at the end of Q1 it was 173 and so on. The paterns is clear. What is also clear is that as Apple goes, so goes the entire hedge fund space.
CFTC Rescinds Hedge Fund Exemptions (Opalesque)
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has significantly changed how hedge funds will be able to participate in commodities. Earlier this month the Commission rescinded several exemptions provided to private funds that operate commodity pools. By removing these exemptions, funds that operate commodity pools will now be required to register with the CFTC as Commodity Pool Operators (CPOs) and may be required to take certification examinations. The rules also include foreign investment advisers that have US clients.
Former Yankees Manager Wins Hedge Fund Award For His Anti-Child Abuse Campaign (Hedge Co. Net)
Former Yankees Manager, Joe Torre is being awarded the 2012 Hedge Funds Care Founder’s Award for his work with the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation.
J.P. Morgan Strengthens Hedge Fund Arm (Hedge Co. Net)
J.P. Morgan’s hedge fund investment arm, J.P. Morgan’s Asset Management is enhancing its pooled Commingled Pension Trust Fund Stable Asset Income Fund (SAIF), to ensure that the fund remains open and available to new investors.
Chanos: China Could Fail The World Economy (Frank Voisin)
Here are two videos featuring Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates discussing the economic fragility in China (come to the site to view these)…
Morning Read: Gold Steals Barrick’s Thunder (Barrons)
Stuff We Missed: Wednesday, February 22 (CNBC)
Hot Links (The Reformed Broker)
Morning News: February 23, 2012 (Crossing Wall Street)
Daily US Opening News And Market Re-Cap: February 23 (Zero Hedge)
Thursday 7atSeven: margin reversion (AR)
Hedge Fund Strategies Heating Up, Goldman’s Greek Debt Disappearing Act, Leon Cooperman on Where to Invest and More (Reuters Hedge World)
HFMWeek Daily Snapshot – 23 February (HFM Week)
