Carl Icahn and Ackman’s Bourbon Man Named to Hall of Fame Together (WSJ)
Good thing Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman made up. Otherwise this would have made for an awkward ceremony. Mario Gabelli’s Gamco Management Hall of Fame (yes, such a hall exists) named to its 2014 class Mr. Icahn and Matthew Shattock, the CEO of bourbon maker Beam Suntory Inc (NYSE:BEAM) and a man who made a small fortune for Mr. Ackman. The “rigorous criteria” for the Hall include “creating shareholder wealth” and “earning a superior rate of return over the long term,” according to a release.
The Cheap Pimco Fund That Has Gross Reaching for His Wallet (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Bill Gross can’t resist this rarity: A slice of the corporate debt market that still looks cheap. Gross has been adding to his personal holdings this year in Pacific Investment Management Co.’s $1.5 billion Dynamic Income fund as demand picks up for an asset class that was left for dead in 2013, Bloomberg data show. The closed-end credit fund is now up 16.6 percent in 2014 as the discount between its share price and the assets the fund owns has disappeared. Most other such funds are still inexpensive by this measure because they haven’t yet generated enough demand to close the gap between their share prices and the value of the assets they own…
FSOC Warned Systemic Label For Asset Managers Could Hurt Investors (FA-Mag)
The Financial Systemic Oversight Council could end the advantages large asset managers offer — specialization and lower costs — if it designates them as systemically important, the chief executive officer of one of the nation’s largest hedge funds, Citadel Holding’s Ken Griffin cautioned Monday. Speaking at an FSOC roundtable on asset managers, Griffin warned these benefits would be lost because the non-bank Systemically Important Financial Institutions designation would probably lead institutional investors to pull assets out and bring the funds totally under their own control.
361 Capital To Launch Single-Manager Liquid Alts Funds (Finalternatives)
Denver-based fund of hedge funds 361 Capital is teaming with Janus Capital vet Blaine Rollins to launch the first in a series of single-manager liquid-alternative mutual funds. The 361 Global Macro Opportunity Fund—which should begin operations by July 1—will invest in a wide range of asset classes that provide exposure principally to U.S. and foreign equity securities, fixed income securities, commodities and currencies. The first launch will be followed by those of other ’40 Act vehicles sub-advised by hedge fund managers and managers of alternative mutual funds…
Letter: You can’t trust Scott Brown (ConcordMonitor)
Scott Brown’s lobbying efforts to kill the bipartisan Shaheen-Portman Energy bill in the U.S. Senate this week proves beyond any doubt that he has no idea what is important to New Hampshire families. The man is calculating and will play politics when it suits his interests, no matter the cost to the New Hampshire families and businesses. Just last week, while speaking at a hedge fund conference in Las Vegas, Brown criticized the dysfunction in Washington just days after lobbying to bring about more gridlock. This is one of many examples as to why Granite State voters cannot trust Brown.
Why Hedge Funds Love Charter Schools (HuffingtonPost)
Obscure laws can have a very big impact on social policy, including obscure changes in the United States federal tax code. The 2001 Consolidated Appropriations Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, included provisions from the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000. The law provided tax incentives for seven years to businesses that locate and hire residents in economically depressed urban and rural areas. The tax credits were reauthorized for 2008-2009, 2010-2011, and 2012-2013.
Billionaire hedge funder doubles down on climate fight (CNBC)
