Will Carl Icahn pick a fight with Apple? (MarketWatch)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Chief Executive Tim Cook probably used his deliberate, quiet charm to try to persuade activist investor Carl Icahn to change his mind. When the two met in New York on Monday, as was widely reported, Icahn wanted to get the notion on the table that investors want more returns from Apple AAPL +0.31% and its still-growing cash pile than they are getting. In April, Apple pledged to return $100 billion to investors by the end of 2015, increasing both its dividend and its share repurchase program. It now pays a $3.05 dividend per share.
One Of The Top Hedge Fund Holders Of J.C. Penney Stock Dumped Its Stake (BusinessInsider)
In a regulatory filing hedge fund Perry Capital, once the third largest holder of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) stock, revealed that it dumped about half its stake in the company. The fund, with about $4.8 billion assets under management, cut its stake from 8.62% of the company down to 3.28%, according to the filing. Perry had been one of the top three hedge fund holders of J.C. Penney stock along with Soros Management and Glevniew Capital.
Sussman named to Hedge Fund Hall of Fame (KJOnline)
The key to managing a successful hedge fund is simple in theory: Produce a healthy return for investors. Getting there, though, is massively complex; otherwise, everyone would excel. S. Donald Sussman, a longtime hedge fund investor through his Greenwich-Conn.-based firm Paloma Partners, has distinguished himself as an elite investor not just for being successful. He also was one of the early pioneers of the industry “seeding model,” said Amanda Cantrell, managing editor of Institutional Investor’s Alpha, a trade publication that covers the global hedge fund industry. Essentially, Cantrell said, he recognized the value of investing in people and their ideas.
Gibraltar Seen as Europe-Beater for Finance Professionals: Taxes (BusinessWeek)
Gibraltar, the 300-year-old U.K. territory near the southern tip of Spain, is attracting hedge funds by offering low tax rates and regulation that enables managers to market investments across the European Union. The number of funds in Gibraltar more than quadrupled to at least 200 in 2012 from four years earlier, according to the Financial Services Commission, which supervises the industry. Many of them are run by traders who previously worked in London and Zurich at investment banks such as BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNP), UBS AG (ADR) (NYSE:UBS) and Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS).
Peak6 reopens to Australian investors (FinancialStandard)
Investment from Australian institutions has helped US hedge fund manager Peak6 achieve one of the fastest growing launches in recent times. The group’s Achievement fund launched in September 2012 and has already grown to US$1.55 billion in funds under management. The rapid growth comes in spite of a three month period where it closed to new investors, a precautionary method managers use to prevent overheating.
‘Sweet spot’ for banks: Hedge-fund manager (CNBC)
Rise of the Really Alts (OnWallStreet)
It’s a rare day when a hedge fund manager admits he’s never heard of an asset type. But that’s just what Ray Schuville, a managing director and private client advisor at U.S. Trust, heard from a client earlier this year. The manager was looking for a way to lower the risk of the large personal stake he had in his own fund. He had been using short-dated Treasuries and cash for that purpose, but was looking for something that could generate income and be “really non-correlating” with his hedge fund, Schuville says.
SAC Energy Portfolio Manager Nick Tiller Retires After 12 Years (BusinessWeek)
Nick Tiller, an energy portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisors LP, is retiring from the $14 billion hedge-fund firm run by Steven A. Cohen. Tiller, who worked at SAC for almost 12 years and was one of only a few portfolio managers to oversee $1 billion or more, plans to focus on Sustainable America, a charity he founded, according to an e-mail sent today to colleagues. He also said he plans to spend more time with his family.
Hedge Fund Compensation Survey Open to Industry Professionals (Virtual-Strategy)
Benchmark Compensation has opened its seventh annual Hedge Fund Compensation Survey. Each year, the Hedge Fund Compensation Survey provides a benchmark for compensation practices by collecting data directly from the professionals who work in the industry. The purpose of the annual Hedge Fund Compensation Survey is to create an accurate and affordable report that allows hedge fund professionals and firms to compare their compensation to others in the industry, and identify important pay trends as they emerge. Each year the compensation survey provides great insight into an industry that is not well-known for sharing information.
As hedge funds lag, Osterweis fund looks for balance (Reuters)
Matthew Berler once shorted stocks for a living. Now, he invests for the long term. During the last three years, Berler, the chief executive of San Francisco based Osterweis Capital, has steered the $220 million Osterweis Strategic Investment Fund to an annualized 14.6 percent return through September 24. The fund is beating 98 percent of the 772 funds in its Morningstar category of moderate allocation funds. Yet the fund, which holds long positions in both stocks and bonds, came about in part because of rising costs in the hedge fund industry.
Mission-based hedge fund firm opening (PIOnline)
Bruce S. MacDonald is forming Crayna Capital, a mission-based hedge fund-of-funds manager and investment consulting firm. Crayna opens Tuesday and will introduce a commingled mission-based hedge fund in the first quarter of 2014, Mr. MacDonald said. In addition to the commingled fund, Crayna plans to offer customized strategies, serving as either a manager or consultant depending on the client, based on client social and governance objectives and environmental constraints, Mr. MacDonald said.
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