Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM)
The Not-So-Remarkable Rise in Eddie Lampert’s Fortune (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Did anyone notice the remarkable rise in Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD)? The share price has climbed nearly 50 percent since late August, to the high $50s. Edward Lampert has plenty to celebrate. The has-been retailer — which also owns another faded brand, Kmart — now accounts for just about half of the equity assets in Lampert’s Bar Harbour, Florida hedge fund, ESL Investments. Part of what fueled the stock’s recent move was a Wall Street report that made the rounds this week. The report presents the perennial case that Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) is a great real estate play that Lampert is soon planning to monetize; old news but with surpisingly high valuations attached to the real estate.
Is Carl Icahn In The Midst Of A Bill Ackman Moment With Apple? (Forbes)
Perhaps I am a cynic by nature? Perhaps I have been watching events on Wall Street transpire for too long? Or perhaps I realize that the market gods are a fickle bunch that turn their back on even the best of investors at the most public of times? Whatever this feeling I have regarding Carl Icahn and his love for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) -3.19%, I know that it is coming from a place where alarms naturally tend to sound whenever someone is so public, enthusiastic and popular in their opinion regarding a company that is so readily admired and adored.
EADS Should Distribute Dassault Aviation Stake, TCI Says (Bloomberg)
European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. (EAD) was urged by the Children’s Investment Fund to distribute its stake in Dassault Aviation SA (AM) to shareholders as the hedge fund increases pressure to boost returns. EADS Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders should distribute the 46 percent stake in the French maker of fighter-jet and corporate business planes in the form of a dividend rather than having to sell at an “unattractive price,” according to a letter the London-based fund, known as TCI, sent to the Toulouse, France-based manufacturer.
Single-Family Offices Are Negotiating Down Hedge Fund Fees (Forbes)
There are more single-family offices than ever before and, on average, each one is controlling larger pools of assets than in the past. Hedge funds continue to be a core investment option for many of them even though they’re increasingly being scrutinized. Based on recent surveys of the executive directors at single-family offices, it’s clear that while they’re certainly not abandoning investing in hedge funds, they’re changing how they making selection decisions as well as how they’re working with them ongoing.
Hedge funds-of-funds managers in midst of metamorphosis (PIOnline)
Hedge funds-of-funds managers — those that survived tortuous outflows since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, that is — are swiftly remodeling their businesses. Their investment management processes haven’t changed dramatically, but the vehicles in which they offer their strategies and how they are distributed are rapidly changing.
Cramer: Avoid these stocks, it’s ‘like trading on quicksand’ (CNBC)
