Another hedge fund manager weighs in on Herbalife (BizJournals)
Another day, another hedge fund manager weighs in on nutritional products company Herbalife Ltd. This time several media outlets are reporting that David Einhorn‘s Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLRE) closed short on the company last year, but holds no position on the company now. Einhorn raised questioned questions about Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) in May, long before hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called the company’s business model a pyramid scheme and the company announced it was opening a manufacturing hub in Winston-Salem.
BH Macro has overcome the second biggest drawdown in its history to end the year in positive territory. Giving a candid review of the listed hedge fund’s performance, Alan Howard, Brevan Howard’s founder, revealed that on the back of simultaneous losses across its strategies BH Macro has seen one of the heaviest drawdowns since its inception in 2007. ‘The macro picture remained highly stressed throughout 2012, with concerns about peripheral Europe in the first half and the US fiscal cliff in the second half creating significant potential event risks,’ Howard said.
Diapason launches hedge fund strategy playing energy arbitrage opportunities in liquid futures (HedgeFundsReview)
An innovative strategy exploiting arbitrage opportunities in the energy market is being opened for investment by Diapason Commodities Management, an independent commodity asset management company with more than $7 billion of assets in commodities. Diapason Relative Value Petroleum Industry Fund, due to start live trading in the first week of February, trades spreads between commodity future contracts using a proprietary model of the refining industry to determine the equilibrium relationship between crude oil and refined product prices.
Einhorn’s poor fourth quarter hits annual returns (MarketWatch)
Hedge fund Greenlight Capital fell 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2012, but held on to an annual gain of 7.9%, according to a letter to investors from fund manager David Einhorn. In the letter, which was obtained by MarketWatch, Einhorn wrote that the investing climate last year was one in which the fund should have been able to do better. “The disappointing fourth quarter result reduced our year from good to pedestrian,” Einhorn wrote. “While it is hard to view our performance last year as a catastrophe, it nonetheless falls short of our goals.”
Business school offers new course (TheIthacan)
The Business School is offering a new course in the investment track that provides students with the opportunity to invest money in hedge funds. The new course, which began this semester, will teach students how to operate a hedge fund by compiling market research and investing in real stocks. The students have $100,000 to invest as they see fit, thanks to a donation from an anonymous alumnus. Any profits or losses will only affect the fund, protecting the students from having to reimburse Ithaca College, Mary Ellen Zuckerman, dean of the School of Business, said.Activist shareholder Jana Partners LLC said Wednesday it is taking its case for splitting up Agrium to the fertilizer company’s Canadian investors, just ahead of an Agrium move to solidify its support among sell-side analysts. Jana, a New York-based hedge fund, wants Agrium to split its farm retail division from its wholesale operations and make other changes to improve returns to shareholders. Agrium Inc. (NYSE:AGU), headquartered in Calgary, has steadfastly refused to consider spinning off its retail arm while seeking to placate disgruntled shareholders by raising its dividend last year and completing a share buyback.
KKR Buys 24.9% Stake in Nephila Capital (PEHub)
Private equity company KKR & Co LP said on Wednesday it acquired a 24.9 percent stake in Nephila Capital Ltd, an investment management firm that focuses on natural catastrophe and weather risk. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. KKR obtained shares from Nephila’s management as well as from hedge fund manager Man Group Plc, which retained an 18.75 percent stake in the firm. The move comes as KKR, best known for its corporate buyouts, pushes further into asset management. Last June, KKR acquired Prisma Capital Partners, an investment firm focused on hedge funds.
