Editor’s Note: Related tickers: American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG)
Daniel Loeb’s Third Point Offshore Fund extended its gains in April, posting a 1.4 percent increase for the month. As a result, the $6.3 billion fund is up by 10.5 percent for the first four months of the year, compared with a gain of 12.7 percent for the S&P 500. Altogether, Third Point was managing $12.9 billion as of the end of April. The New York hedge fund firm is an eclectic investor, looking for value opportunities in most asset classes throughout the world. In fact, a snapshot of winners, losers and current top positions underscores its wide-ranging approach. …Rounding out the firm’s top five winners for April were its bets on Greek government bonds, American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) and Japan Tobacco. Only Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) were singled out as major winners in April among the stocks that constituted Third Point’s largest positions.
Man Group’s new CEO faces surge in client outflows (ChicagoTribune)
Man Group is set to post an increase in client outflows on Friday, showing that new chief executive Many Roman still has much work to do to turn around the hedge fund manager’s fortunes. The former FTSE-100 firm, whose shares are down by almost two-thirds since the start of 2011, could post its highest level of net outflows since the credit crisis and above levels seen under ex-CEO Peter Clarke when it updates investors on first-quarter trading. Broker RBC Capital Markets, for instance, forecasts $3.8 billion of net outflows in the first quarter, with withdrawals across every product line, and says it doesn’t expect net inflows until the final quarter of next year. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), meanwhile, expects $4 billion of withdrawals.
TPG-Axon won’t find quick fixes for SandRidge (Reuters)
Hedge fund TPG-Axon Capital has won nearly half the seats on SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD)‘s board but faces an uphill battle to reverse the oil and gas company’s slumping stock price. SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD) shares have tumbled 20 percent this year to around $5 on disappointing forecasts for its wells in Oklahoma and Kansas, as well as investor uncertainty over its strategic direction. While natural gas prices have risen from last year’s 10-year lows, they remain depressed, adding pressure to SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD) and peers like Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) and Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) to cut costs and improve well efficiency. SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE:SD) faces additional uncertainties over the future of Chief Executive Officer Tom Ward, who TPG-Axon has accused of making strategic mistakes and self-dealing at the expense of shareholders. Under a deal reached in March, the board has to let go of Ward by June 30 or give TPG-Axon a controlling number of seats.
Asian hedge fund Senrigan rides African rollercoaster (Opalesque)
When China’s newly installed president Xi Jinping visited the Democratic Republic of Congo in March, nobody analyzed the official statements from the trip more carefully than Nick Taylor, founder of one of the largest hedge funds in Asia. He was particularly heartened by a statement pledging joint co-operation between the two countries. Mr Taylor was looking for evidence of a cordial relationship because Senrigan, his hedge fund, had invested heavily in mining company Sundance Resources, betting that…
Ex-JPMorgan traders launch Asia firm with backing of $64bln Canada fund (Reuters)
Dhimant Shah, 41, the former head of proprietary trading at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in Singapore, told Reuters that the plan is to launch two funds investing in credit markets. The funds will also bet on foreign exchange, equity indices and interest rates. U.S. regulators have effectively ended the traditional practice of banks trading their own money through prop desks, prompting hordes of traders to strike out on their own. What makes the JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Singapore spin-out unique is the support it is getting from Canada’s Mackenzie Investments, the $64 billion money manager. …Shah did not disclose the initial investments in the funds but people with direct knowledge of the plan said Mackenzie’s backing includes a $100 million start-up capital for a long only fixed income fund, and $20 million for a long/short hedge fund that will combine credit and macro strategies.
Hedge Fund Manager Admits to Fraud (HispanicBusiness)
A Charlotte hedge fund manager has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud for hiding investment losses that cost his victims at least $8.9 million, according to court documents. Stephen Ewing Maiden agreed to plead guilty to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, according to an agreement signed in February by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio. A final plea hearing has not been scheduled. Maiden’s attorney, Richard Glaser Jr., declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina also declined to comment.
