Hedge funds should return 10%+ to remain attractive to investors (Opalesque)
Hedge funds should return at least 10%+ annually because earning less would make it hard to sell to new investors, said Iwan Vink, founder and managing director of WinCap Investment Management. Vink told participants of the latest Opalesque 2014 Netherlands Roundtable, “As long as (a) fund is returning less than 10%, it’s a bit of a hard sell to new investors… A lot of potential investors have many asset classes they are very happy with, especially after the five years of bull run in the stock market. Some of those investors don’t even care if they are going to lose 10% or 15% on those assets.”
Hall Commodities Hedge Fund Shutting After Poor Performance (Bloomberg)
Hall Commodities LLP, a London-based $100 million hedge-fund firm run by Tony Hall and Arno Pilz, told clients it’s shutting at the end of the month citing poor performance. Its main fund lost 1.6 percent last month and 11 percent this year, Hall said in an Oct. 9 letter. The firm, which was incorporated in December 2012, lost 10.1 percent since inception. “After a good start to the strategy, recent months of trading have proven very difficult with performance suffering,” Hall said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. He declined to comment on the closure.
Biggest German Public Pension Likes Buyout, Hedge Funds (BusinessWeek)
Germany’s biggest public pension fund plans to invest more in private equity and hedge funds and reduce its bond holdings as low interest rates curb returns. “We started committing the first funds to private equity in 2007 and we are now beginning to reap the first rewards,” said Andre Heimrich, chief investment officer of Bayerische Versorgungskammer, in an interview in Munich. “There is still room for expansion and we could imagine doubling our share of private-equity investments.” BVK currently has about 4 percent of its assets committed to buyout funds.
Paul Singer drops Madeleine Albright’s firm amid Argentina conflict (NYPost)
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer have parted ways. Albright, who has parlayed her extensive diplomatic ties into both a consulting firm and a hedge fund that invests in emerging markets, was hired by Singer to help in his rancorous debt dispute with Argentina, as reported exclusively by The Post. Albright, it was hoped, would be able to bring Argentina officials to the bargaining table. The assignment backfired when Argentina President Cristina Kirchner publicly attacked Albright’s firm for meddling in the country’s affairs.
Georgia Salpa to get hitched next May – just before model turns 30 (IrishMirror)
Sorry boys! Gorgeous Georgia Salpa is set to tie the knot next May before her 30th birthday. The 29-year-old glamour model will take the plunge in Ireland next spring to long-term partner Joe Penna. A source said: “She’s really excited about it – she has no doubt that Joe’s the guy for her.” Joe, a hedge fund manager from London, proposed to Georgia with a huge sparkler last December after three years of dating.
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