Pimco hires hedge fund manager in Europe (FT)
Geraldine Sundstrom, one of the most high-profile women in the European hedge fund industry, is set to join Pimco, the world’s biggest bond fund manager. Sundstrom, who left Brevan Howard Asset Management in February following a poor fund performance, will become a portfolio manager for Pimco and a member of the asset allocation team based in London. At Brevan Howard, Ms Sundstrom was based in Geneva and ran its roughly $2bn Emerging Markets Strategies Master Fund, which invested in interest rates, currencies and bonds.
Hedge funds’ allure pulls in $18.6 billion in new cash in April: data (Reuters)
The allure of hedge funds grew in April when investors added $18.6 billion in new money to these portfolios, according to a survey, even as their performance again lagged behind stock and bond markets’ returns. Investors sent nearly twice as much cash into hedge funds in April than in March when they added $10.6 billion, data from industry groups TrimTabs/BarclayHedge show. Multi-strategy hedge funds were the most popular, attracting $6 billion. Fixed income funds took in $5 billion and event-driven funds that bet on mergers, for example, saw $3.2 billion in inflows.
Finisterre adds co-portfolio manager for emerging markets debt hedge fund (PIOnline)
Kevin L. Bespolka joined emerging market specialist hedge fund manager Finisterre Capital as co-portfolio manager of the Finisterre Emerging Market Debt Fund. Mr. Bespolka is partnering with the UCITS fund’s existing portfolio manager, Christopher Watson, in this new position, part of the firm’s continued expansion, said Edward Jenkins, a Finisterre spokesman. Mr. Bespolka will focus on local markets, FX and rates “as a complement to Mr. Watson’s strong background in emerging market sovereign and corporate debt,” according to a company news release.
Jarkesy Suit Challenging SEC Hearing Thrown Out of Court (BusinessWeek)
George Jarkesy Jr., a Houston hedge-fund manager, lost his lawsuit that sought to block a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case in which he was accused of defrauding investors by steering bloated fees to the John Thomas Financial Inc. brokerage. Jarkesy and his investment fund management group Patriot28, formerly known as John Thomas Capital Management LLC, argued that they cannot get a fair hearing before the SEC in an administrative proceeding because the agency has prejudged him as a result of findings in a settlement with John Thomas Financial’s founder, Anastasios (Tommy) Belesis.
Long-Suffering CTAs Finally Post Gains in May (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Commodity trading advisers and other so-called quantitatively driven hedge funds – which use computer-driven systems to make investment decisions – posted very strong gains in May, pushing several of them into positive territory for the first time in recent memory. Most CTAs, trend followers and other computer-driven hedge funds have lost money in all or most of the previous four years. So the May gains are a big deal, especially if these firms can maintain their gains for the year.
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