TPG-Axon Bets Big on a Handful of Investments (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Dinakar Singh‘s TPG-Axon Capital Management posted slight gains in its main hedge fund in the second quarter. But the New York-based hedge fund firm is hardly celebrating, given that its TPG-Axon Partners fund and its offshore counterpart are up a mere 0.75 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively, through the first half of the year. “We obviously did a poor job so far in 2014,” the firm laments to clients in its second-quarter letter, obtained by Alpha.
Hedge Fund Manager & Accomplice Charged With Portfolio Pumping (HedgeCo)
Minneapolis-based hedge fund manager Steven R. Markusen and an accomplice Jay C. Cope have been charged by the SEC with bilking investors in two hedge funds out of more than $1 million under the guise of research expenses and fees. According to the SEC’s complaint, Markusen and Cope also carried out a portfolio pumping scheme by manipulating the price of the thinly-traded stock of CyberOptics Corporation (NASDAQ:CYBE).
Tiger Management Descendants Favor Different Stocks than Their Hedge Fund Peers (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Managers who populate the elite crowd of 50 or so hedge funds with some sort of tie to Julian Robertson Jr.‘s legendary hedge fund firm, Tiger Management Corp., have always been thought to run in a pack. Lately, filings show that managers in this crowd have increasingly moved independently from one another. However, they still seem to favor a different universe of stocks than their non-Tiger competitors.
Handzy: Volatility could return with a vengeance on geopolitical risk (Risk)
A global macro hedge fund manager recently commented that the biggest risk today is stasis. “Volatility creates opportunity,” he told me, “and even if you’re an arbitrage trader, things need to move to create the gap. The slaughter of volatility has made holding hedges very costly. If it stays like this, what is the point of hedge funds?” …In late August, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM)’s head of research Alexander Kantarovich wrote, “With the significant deterioration in the Ukrainian situation, markets may treat this as a Lehman-style shock.”
Hedge funds seek third-party Emir valuations (Risk)
It seems a classic case of ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself’. As the August 12 deadline for reporting derivative valuations under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Emir) loomed large, many small to medium-sized hedge funds opted to delegate this function to their derivatives counterparties, but some firms are now regretting that decision. …Investors are also raising concerns about the conflict of interest inherent in allowing trade counterparties – often banks – to do much of the valuation work.
Alibaba roadshow moves to Boston (CNBC)
Retail hedge funds to raise $49 bln in next 12 months (Reuters)
Investors are expected to pump $49 billion into funds that mimic hedge fund strategies over the next year, to make so-called “liquid alternatives” the fastest growing part of the asset management industry, a survey said. That would mark a 44 percent jump in the amount of money brought in by these funds in the last year, according to a survey released on Monday by Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) of almost 300 hedge fund managers and investors overseeing $6.8 trillion in assets.
Hedge Fund Merchant Advances 16% as Oil Drops With Iron Ore (Bloomberg)
The Merchant Commodity Fund gained 16 percent in the first eight months as bets on declines in crude oil, iron ore and sugar helped to boost returns, according to Chief Investment Officer Doug King. The fund, run by King and Michael Coleman, returned almost 8 percent last month, King said in a phone interview from London on Sept. 5. Merchant’s assets under management, a gauge of performance and inflows, increased 39 percent to $185 million in August from the previous month, King said. The fund returned 15.9 percent in 2013, according to King.
Hedge Funds Rise 1.56% In August (Finalternatives)
Hedge funds enjoyed broad-based gains in August as stocks hit record highs. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index returned 1.56% last month. The benchmark is now up 4.1% on the year, about half the 8% managed by the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, which ended August at an all-time high. Macro funds were the best-performing major strategy with a 2.13% jump (2.74% year-to-date)…
Activist hedge fund, bank have good rapport (BusinessWeek)
Activist investors tend to rub CEOs and chief operating officers the wrong way. …But Blue Harbour Group LP, an activist hedge fund in Greenwich, Conn., seems to be getting a warm welcome from the management of Short Hills-based Investors Bancorp. Blue Harbour Group, which manages more than $3 billion for pension funds, endowments and sovereign wealth funds, has over the past year or so paid $212 million for about 20 million Investors Bancorp shares, amounting to a 5.7 percent stake in the former mutual savings bank, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Providence Equity Partners Sells Passive Stake to Neuberger’s Dyal Unit (WSJ)
Buyout group Providence Equity Partners LLC has sold a roughly 10% equity stake to Neuberger Berman’s Dyal Capital unit, according to people familiar with the matter, as Dyal continues accumulating pieces of alternative-investment firms. …Private-equity firm TPG agreed to sell a small ownership stake to China Life Insurance Co. this summer, and Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, within the last few years has sold off several stakes, including to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, one of Canada’s largest pension plans.
Recommended Reading:
Warren Buffett and Billionaires Are Crazy About These 7 Stocks
QEP Resources Inc (QEP): JANA Partners Cuts Position To Over 7%
Jeffrey Smith, Starboard Value Buy Some More RealD (RLD) Shares
