Man Group shares soar on earnings, dividend hike, share buyback (Reuters)
Hedge fund firm Man Group announced a share buyback and bumped up its dividend on Thursday, sending its stock price soaring, after it drew more new investment in the last quarter of 2013 that help it beat full-year profit forecasts. The results cap a year of upheaval at one of the world’s biggest hedge fund managers that saw it cut staff, replace a host of managers including the chief executive, and merge some strategies to boost the fund and company performance and stop clients taking their money elsewhere.
Hedge Fund Founder Speaks At Harvard Business School (HedgeCo)
George Schultze, Founder and Managing Member of hedge fund Schultze Asset Management, LLC., was a lead speaker in Harvard Business School’s Creating Value Through Corporate Restructuring course taught by Professor Stuart Gilson yesterday. During the three sessions, he discussed both potential risks and opportunities for distressed securities investors in mature industries as demonstrated by the Harvard Business Review case (“Arch Wireless, Inc.”), which Mr. Schultze helped to develop based on his experiences investing in that company.
A Former Hedge Fund Manager Is Selling His Florida Beach House For $13 Million (BusinessInsider)
Alberto Franco, emerging market expert and former hedge fund manager at Quantek Frontier, is selling his modern South Florida beach front home, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the listing, the 8,960 square foot residence offers an oversized dock with private boat slip – all for just a hair under a cool $13 million. The house is listed with Franco’s real estate agent wife, Rossana Franco of Carrington Real Estate Services.
BlueCrest Internal Fund May Pose Pay Conflict, Albourne Says (BusinessWeek)
BlueCrest Capital Management LLP, Michael Platt’s $32 billion hedge-fund firm, has a potential conflict of interest over a fund that it runs for the benefit of its partners, according to a report by one of the world’s largest advisers to institutional investors. Albourne Partners Ltd., whose clients include pension plans, endowments and family offices, issued a report this month that said it recently became aware that BlueCrest has a $1.5 billion internal fund called BSMA Ltd., according to two people with knowledge of the report, who asked not to be identified. BlueCrest said the fund has existed for years to retain talent and the firm has procedures in place to protect against conflicts of interest.
Funds underperform, but hedge fund kings rake in $24.3 billion (NYPost)
Hedge-fund titans are still the kings of Wall Street. Last year, the top 25 hedge-fund earners pulled down $24.3 billion, up about 50 percent from 2012, according to a report Wednesday. The mouth-watering moolah poured in while most hedge funds in 2013 underperformed the broader markets. But that didn’t stop six men from earning more than $1 billion, according to the report in Forbes. The group includes Steve Cohen, founder of the besieged SAC Capital.
Vicis Capital To Pay $7.5M In Petters Clawback Settlement (Law360)
Hedge fund Vicis Capital Master Fund Ltd. will return $7.5 million it received on an investment in Thomas Petters’ $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme, resolving a bankruptcy clawback suit through a settlement approved Tuesday by a Minnesota federal judge. U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery signed off on the deal, which resolves a clawback suit brought against Vicis by Douglas A. Kelley, who serves as a receiver for Petters’ personal creditors and Chapter 11 trustee for bankrupt Petters Co. Inc.
The SEC Should Really Start a Hedge Fund (BloombergView)
It’s hard to pick stocks that will go up, so most people can’t do it consistently. It’s about equally hard — probably a bit harder — to pick stocks that will go down, so most people can’t do that consistently either. But if somehow you knew in advance what banks were going to be investigated for bank-y malfeasance, or which biotech companies were cooking their books, then you could sell their stocks and avoid losses, with consistent repeatable outperformance. Who might know that sort of thing in advance?
Recommended Reading:
Ghost Tree Capital’s Equity Portfolio Focused On Healthcare Stocks
David Gallo’s Valinor Management Boosts Stake in dELiA*s Inc (DLIA)
Senator Investment Group Reports New Position In Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD)
