Ackman’s Pershing Square surges in April, beating many rivals (Reuters)
Activist investor William Ackman‘s Pershing Square Capital Management roared ahead in April with the help of a proposed acquisition, leaving his flagship fund up roughly 19 percent for the year, three sources said on Thursday. The $13.6 billion hedge fund’s Pershing Square Holdings fund gained 7.6 percent last month and is now up 20 percent while his flagship Pershing Square LP fund is up 18.7 percent for the year, net of fees.
Billionaire Daniel Loeb looks like he’s going to be spending even more time in Japan. Third Point LLC, the hedge fund he founded, revealed a stake in IHI Corp. saying the investors are undervaluing the land and buildings owned by Japan’s biggest plane-engine maker. The announcement followed an investment disclosed in November in SoftBank Corp. and another in Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) made public in May last year.
Singer Blasts Yellen, Argentina In Latest Letter (FINalternatives)
As usual, Elliott Management’s Paul Singer found plenty to criticize in his quarterly letter to investors. Singer wrote to tell his clients that his Elliott Associates returned just 2.5% in the first quarter. And while he dealt with the fund’s investments in an addendum—Elliott sold off its stake in Delphi Automotive PLC (NYSE:DLPH) — the body of the missive was focused on the flaws of others. Singer mocked Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen as “Yellen the Magnificent,” warning that the Fed “is achieving total political power in a political vacuum, without the accountability of being elected.”
Blue Harbour Group is Bullish on Babcock & Wilcox Co (BWC) and Reports a 6.0% Stake (Insider Monkey)
Clifton S. Robbins‘s Blue Harbour Group is bullish on Babcock & Wilcox Co (NYSE:BWC), reporting an activist 6.0% stake in its latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Comission. In this way, Blue Harbour currently owns over 6.62 million shares, upping its stake from around 1.1 million shares reported by the fund in its latest 13F. The fund has bought approximately 3.29 million shares for an average price of $33.45 apiece.
JPMorgan’s Poker-Playing Head VIX Trader Jeremy Wien Leaving To Join Och-Ziff (Business Insider Australia)
JPMorgan vice president/head of VIX trading Jeremy Wien is leaving the bank to join hedge fund giant Och-Ziff, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider. At his new job at Och-Ziff, Wien writes that he will be trading the fund’s equity index derivatives book. Wien, 29, joined JPMorgan Chase in March 2012. Prior to that, he worked at hedge fund PEAK6 Investments LP, his LinkedIn profile shows.
Too big to jail? BNP, Credit Suisse face potential indictment (CNBC.com)
Shale Revolution Lures Trading Houses to Energy Assets (Bloomberg)
Merchants from Vitol Group, the largest independent oil trader, to a company backed by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones are amassing physical energy assets in the U.S. at an unprecedented rate as shale output revives stagnant fuels markets. Castleton Commodities International LLC, financed in part by hedge fund managers Tudor Jones and Glenn Dubin, acquired Texas gas wells in February. Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. is buying JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s physical commodities business. Vitol and Trafigura AG are helping build oil pipelines, and Freepoint Commodities LLC is investing in offshore production. Of the $1 billion Trafigura has invested in the U.S., the majority was spent in the past five years, the company said.
Hedge Funds Replace Banks as Europe Property Lenders (Businessweek)
Investors in commercial mortgage bonds have grown so tired of waiting for Europe’s market to recover after the financial crisis that they are now lending directly to property developers. Cheyne Capital Management (UK) LLP and Insight Investment Management Ltd. are among investors making loans. Firms started by former JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) banker Bill Winters and hedge fund manager Alistair Lumsden are raising money to lend, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Ex-SAC manager plans to start Pan-Asian fund… ex-Soros hedge fund hires ex-Goldman exec as CFO… (HedgeWeek)
Bloomberg reports that Andrew Bazarian, a former manager at SAC Capital Advisors LP, plans to start his own Pan-Asian hedge fund betting on rising and falling stocks, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Bazarian left SAC’s Hong Kong office in early March, according to licensing data posted on the website of the city’s Securities and Futures Commission. He was one of four responsible officers in the firm’s Hong Kong office at the time of his departure, according to the data. The Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge-fund firm headed by billionaire Steven A. Cohen reached a record USD1.8 billion settlement over a US government probe of insider trading.
Och-Ziff reports lower profit but beats expectations (Reuters)
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM) reported a lower quarterly profit, but the hedge fund still beat analysts’ expectations as billions of dollars in new money flowed into its portfolios and helped offset lower earnings by its funds. First-quarter distributable earnings, excluding costs related to its November 2007 initial public offering, totaled $127.8 million, down from $136.9 million a year ago, Och-Ziff reported on Friday. The company earned 25 cents a share, less than last year’s 29 cents a share, but far more than the 16 cents Wall Street analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
