David Tepper Tells CNBC His Market Concern is Alleviated (BusinessWeek)
Billionaire hedge-fund manager David Tepper, who said last month that he was nervous about financial markets because the economy wasn’t growing at a sufficient pace, said his concerns have been alleviated. The founder of $20 billion hedge-fund firm Appaloosa Management LP made the comments today in an interview on CNBC, according to its website. Tepper, 56, told an audience at a Las Vegas conference on May 14 that the market is “is kind of dangerous in a way” and that investors shouldn’t be too optimistic about rising markets and that they should hold cash.
Sebi bars hedge fund in L&T Finance insider trading case (MoneyControl)
Unearthing a major insider trading case in shares of L&T Finance , Sebi today barred a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund from Indian securities markets, while the role of other entities including some employees of investment banking major Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) are also under scanner. This hedge fund, Factorial Master Fund, traded in derivative contracts of L&T Finance with Offshore Derivative Contracts (commonly known as P-Notes) through five different FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) — namely Macquarie Bank, Goldman Sachs Singapore, Merrill Lynch CM Espana, Nomura Singapore and Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Ltd — in an “aberrant and suspicious” manner.
John Paulson’s Hedge Funds Said to Rise in May on Stock Rally (Bloomberg)
Most of billionaire John Paulson’s hedge funds rose in May as stocks rallied and bets on mergers and credit paid off, according to a person briefed on the returns. The Paulson Partners Enhanced fund, a merger arbitrage strategy that uses leverage to amplify gains, rose 1.9 percent last month and 4.8 percent year to date, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The Credit Opportunities Fund gained 1 percent in May and 7.4 percent this year. The New York-based firm, which oversees $21.4 billion, suffered losses in its event-driven strategy, the only one of its main strategies to post losses, as positions in gold miners decreased, the person said. The Paulson Advantage Plus fund, which employs leverage, dropped 3.7 percent in May and is down 2 percent this year.
More Hedge Funds Take Up the Activist Playbook (BusinessWeek)
The struggles of the hedge-fund industry have been no secret, and they continue to underperform the stock market while charging investors high fees for the privilege. With the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gaining in all but four of the last 24 months, it’s been difficult to evaluate whether hedge funds offer superior returns in bear markets as their (possibly dwindling) supporters claim. There’s just been a drumbeat of pathetic results. One area that’s been somewhat of an exception is activist hedge funds—those that buy a stake in a company and then agitate for changes like acquisitions, board shakeups, or returning cash to shareholders…
Warren Buffett’s charity lunch auction bid tops $1 million and may rise (Gnom)
Warren Buffett’s annual auction to benefit a San Francisco charity has drawn a bid of more than $1 million, surpassing last year’s top offering, with a day of bidding remaining for a chance to eat lunch with the billionaire investor. The $1,000,300 high bid is for the 15th annual auction to benefit the Glide Foundation, which provides food and services to the poor and homeless. The high bid often surges in the last hour or two before the auction on eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) closes. The auction ends Friday at 10:30 p.m. EDT (2:30 a.m. Saturday GMT).
This has been a bad hedge fund “trend” (CNBC)
One of the largest hedge funds in the world, BlueCrest Capital Management’s BlueTrend, is trying to put its worst year ever behind it with positive returns, but it still faces challenges convincing investors to stay. BlueTrend is up 3.34 percent net of fees this year through May, according to a person familiar with the returns. The fund swung to a gain after rising 6.32 percent last month by correctly predicting bond and stock price movements. That’s already far better than the fund’s poor performance in 2013 when it lost 11.5 percent—its first negative calendar year since launching a decade ago.
Tepper tells CNBC market concerns ‘alleviated’ (CNBC)
Hedge fund mogul Cohen hired legal titan Boies (Reuters)
Hedge fund mogul Steven A. Cohen hired high-profile lawyer David Boies last year to defend him in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proceeding that arose from a long-running insider trading probe, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Boies was retained by Cohen in 2013 to help handle matters with the regulator, which last year initiated an administrative proceeding against the SAC Capital Advisors founder for failing to supervise two employees and prevent insider trading, the person said. In the proceeding, the SEC seeks to bar Cohen from overseeing investor funds.
Swiss Asset Manager GAM To Buy New Jersey-Based Singleterry Mansley Hedge-Fund Firm (WSJ)
Swiss money manager GAM Holding AG GAM.EB +1.51% said Thursday it agreed to acquire a New Jersey hedge-fund firm, confirming a day-earlier report in The Wall Street Journal that indicated negotiations were close to completion. Zurich-based GAM, with about $129 billion under management, said in a news release that Singleterry Mansley Asset Management Co. LLC would officially join the firm as soon as this month. Singleterry Mansley, based in Summit, N.J., runs the Beachwood Total Return fund, a credit and fixed income-focused strategy fund with $397 million of assets. The five-year-old Beachwood fund has posted strong performance, and hasn’t had a down year, investor documents indicate.
A Billionaire Just Locked on to Barnes & Noble (CountingPips)
I leveraged my success as one of the country’s top analysts to launch this publication, Wall Street Daily. I did it directly into the teeth of the Financial Crisis, knowing that the potential for outsized returns existed in any market. That is, as long as you’re willing to dig for them. Our growing nation of readers, now over a million strong, is proof that it’s working. Today is the latest example. In my usual sweep of billionaires’ portfolios, I discovered that David Abrams just bought shares of beleaguered retailer, Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS). Abrams is the self-made billionaire hedge fund manager of Abrams Capital Management, which has $8 billion under management.
Pershing Launches Alternative Investment Center (HedgeCo)
Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company, today launched its Alternative Investment Center, the latest addition to an expanding suite of alternative investment solutions, at its INSITE™ 2014 conference in Hollywood, Florida. Pershing’s Alternative Investment Center, which can be accessed through NetX360, the firm’s technology platform, provides advisors access to the educational resources, research and tools required to provide solutions for their clients seeking alternative investment strategies. Pershing also announced today new alternative investment asset class additions to FundVest 200, the firm’s research-driven list of no-transaction fee mutual funds, including domestic and international real estate, credit/event-driven, managed futures, absolute return and multi-strategy funds.
Accused Hedge Fund Fraudster Homm Freed (Finalternatives)
Florian Homm has been shot and spent five years on the run. But the Absolute Capital Management founder’s latest escape may be his greatest. Facing criminal fraud charges in the U.S., Homm was arrested in Italy last year on allegations that could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life. His prospects looked grim in January, when he lost his second-to-last bid to avoid extradition. But when Italy’s highest court rejected his appeal, the clock started ticking for the U.S., which then had 45 days to secure the extradition. The court ruled Tuesday that Homm had been held in jail longer than allowed and set him free.
UK retailer Game Digital aims for $600 mln share listing (Reuters)
Video games retailer, Game Digital (IPO-GAME.L) is to be valued at up to 360 million pounds ($603.13 million) in its London share flotation, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The video games chain, which has 560 stores across the UK and Spain has set its price range for its initial public offering at 200-212 pence a share, the sources said. The price range gives Game Digital, which has been owned by U.S. hedge fund Elliott Advisors since it bought the UK and Spain businesses out of administration in 2012, an equity value of 340-360 million pounds. Books are already covered ahead of its pricing on Friday, the sources said.
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