Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC), Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX), Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK)
Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) makes everything from TVs to PlayStation 3, to movies and medical equipment. Now, it’s going to have to “make nice,” as it’s under attack by top hedge fund honcho Dan Loeb, who wants break up the Japanese conglomerate. Loeb’s battle may fall short, though. Japanese companies have typically been resistant to change, particularly from outsiders, and previous attempts to target Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) have been unsuccessful. Loeb, who has fought battles in the past, including a high-profile tussle over Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), wants Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) to restructure and realign itself. This would involve focusing on high-growth areas and spinning out Sony Entertainment. Loeb wants Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) to spin out 15% to 20% of the entertainment division in an IPO, which he would then backstop with $1.5 billion to $2 billion of Third Point’s money.
SEI Selected by Duet Alternative Investments (USA) Ltd. to Provide Operational Outsourcing for Hedge Fund Family (WSJ)
SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) today announced that it has been selected by Duet Alternative Investments (USA) Ltd., a subsidiary of Duet Group, to provide operational outsourcing services for the firm’s emerging macro hedge funds. SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) will provide Duet (USA) with a comprehensive suite of operational outsourcing services in a straight-through-processing environment. Duet (USA) will use SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC)’s online Manager Dashboard reporting platform to help better manage the firm’s funds through flexible, transparent, and aggregated views of its data. The firm will also use SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC)’s Investor Dashboard, an investor-focused reporting platform that facilitates greater communication and transparency with end investors. Duet (USA) cited their comfort with and trust in SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC)’s institutional-quality infrastructure and flexible, collaborative approach as key reasons for selecting SEI to help launch their funds quickly and efficiently.
Appleby scoops award at HFMWeek European Hedge Fund Services Awards 2013 (IsleOfMan)
Appleby, one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services, is pleased to announce that it has been named “Best Offshore Law Firm – Client Service” at the prestigious HFMWeek European Hedge Fund Services Awards 2013, held recently at The Hurlingham Club, London. The HFMWeek European Fund Services Awards serve to recognise the leading hedge fund service providers in Europe that have outperformed their peers through the volatility of the past 12 months. The award categories cover a wide range of sectors including Fund Administration, Advisory, Accountancy and Technology, Legal, Prime Broker, and Distribution platforms.
Japan Funds Lead YTD Returns (Finalternatives)
Japan-focused long/short equity hedge funds have been a good bet so far in 2013, according to Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) research, gaining 16.90% year to date. But all strategies across all regions tracked are in positive territory YTD, according to the Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) Markets Prime Finance Monthly Hedge Fund Trends for May, with the median hedge fund up 4.08% through the end of April. Global long/short equity funds turned in the best performance in the US, gaining 6.29% YTD, followed by distressed funds, up 5.92%; US long/short funds, up 5.01%; event-driven, up 4.85%; and credit funds, up 4.45%.
London hedge fund manager ends poor year with £22m pay day (eFinancialNews)
Commodities hedge fund Clive Capital cut the pay package of its highest-paid employee by almost 50% last year, but this still amounted to an impressive £22m despite a significant fall in assets under management. According to company accounts filed today, the highest-paid director at Clive Capital was entitled to £21.6m for the year to February 28, 2013, down from £40m over the previous 12-month period. …The reduction in the pay this year reflected a difficult 2012 for the London-based hedge fund, which trades across a wide variety of commodities including oil, gas, copper, tin and lead.
UK tycoon ‘loses £850,000’ at poker (HertfordshireMercury)
A hedge-fund tycoon lost more than £850,000 in a poker game at the weekend, it has been reported. Talal Shakerchi was one of six players to pay 500,000 euro (£423,000) for a seat at an unofficial game at the final of the European Poker Tour in Monaco on Saturday night. Mr Shakerchi, who set up his own hedge fund, Meditor, after working at Old Mutual, has reportedly won more than £1 million in live tournaments over the last few years. He began playing the game as a hobby before moving on to play in live events, but luck was not on his side on Saturday.
Bill Browder: I am Russia’s Biggest Enemy over Magnitsky Act (IBTimes)
British hedge fund manager Bill Browder said he was now the Russian state’s single biggest enemy because of the Magnitsky Act, a US law approved last year to punish Russian officials thought to have been responsible for the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Browder told the Oslo Freedom Forum that the act, which targets 18 named Russians subject to visa bans and asset freezes in the US, “really touches them” and that Russian president Vladimir Putin was “going completely out of his mind” over the repercussions.
U.S. stock index futures signaled a slightly higher open on Tuesday, erasing earlier losses after widely followed hedge fund manager David Tepper told CNBC he is “definitely bullish” on stocks. The head of Appaloosa Management often has been credited with sparking the “Tepper Rally” in September 2010, when he told CNBC then that the Federal Reserve would support equity prices. He again stated a position that liquidity would guide the markets, whether in the U.S. or other global markets where central banks are easing conditions. “What’s going to make you bearish?” Tepper said. “I think every place is the place to be in the stock markets of the world.”
The silliness of valuing hedge funds (Reuters)
How do you value a hedge fund? It’s impossible, really. You can see how much it earned in any given year, but past performance is a very bad guide to future results. In any case, all future income is reliant on both the investors and the managers sticking around, which means that the value of a hedge fund to its managers is always going to be higher than the value of a hedge fund to an outside investor with little ability to keep the managers in place. …So Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), for one, is doing the only thing it can. It spun off Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) Capital Advisors at the beginning of March; the firm is now called Napier Park Global Capital. It’s mostly owned by its managers, but Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) has retained a Volcker-compliant 25% stake, so if Napier Park does well on its own, Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) should be able to make something out of the deal.
Icahn Wants A Seat For Himself On Dell’s Board; Activists Unveil Proposed Directors (Forbes)
Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn would add himself to Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) +0.6%‘s board if the buyout proposed by him and Southeastern Asset Management goes through. Icahn and Southeastern say they will begin a proxy fight with Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) if their deal doesn’t go through. They would add a full slate of 12 new directors and late yesterday evening they publicly announced that roll. It includes investor Bernard Lanigan; Rahul Merchant, a New York City official; Icahn Enterprises President Daniel Ninivaggi; and Jonathan Chirstodoro and Gary Meyers, two men previously nominated to boards by Icahn. …Both Icahn (The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) +0.08%, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)) and Southeastern (Olympus, Vulcan Materials) are experienced activists, having joined forces just a year ago to revamp Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK).
GEORGE SOROS: We Need A ‘Pro-European But Anti-Establishment Political Movement’ To Save Europe (BusinessInsider)
George Soros believes someone in the euro zone needs to step up and confront Germany. Maybe even new Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. In a recent speech, billionaire financier George Soros made an assertion aimed at the heart of the euro crisis: Germany should either agree to introduce “Eurobonds” – which would mutualize the public debts of all of the euro zone member states – or step out of the way and leave the euro, so that the remaining member states could move forward with debt mutualization. Soros argued that the euro was in fact tearing apart the European Union. This line of thinking is already gaining popularity in Germany, as evidenced by the recent success of new political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which shares the same view and is running on a platform that involves complete dissolution of the euro in order to save the EU.
Equity schemes for rich seek to become hedge funds (Business-Standard)
Various Portfolio management service (PMS) providers are looking to register their tailor-made equity products under a category of the recently-introduced Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) segment that will enable them become hedge funds. Such a switch will give fund managers more flexibility to manage these products, which, under the PMS model, are usually structured to buy and hold stocks for a longer period. PMS products, which are meant for the rich, cannot accept investments of less than Rs 25 lakh per investor. Once these become hedge fund products, fund managers will have far more room for implementing trading strategies especially through futures and options.
Charles Griffin Launches Investor Accreditation Service (Finalternatives)
Consulting firm Charles Griffin Intelligence wants to help hedge funds ensure their investors are accredited. The recently passed JOBS Act ended an 80-year ban on hedge fund advertising but stipulated that investors must be accredited. And while some ambiguity surrounds the definition of an ‘accredited’ investor, the Securities and Exchange Commission has made it clear it will scrutinize hedge funds’ accreditation processes closely. In response, Charles Griffin has launched an accredited investor verification service.
