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)
Morgan Creek offers fund for retail clients to taste hedge funds (Reuters)
Morgan Creek Capital Management, which invests with hundreds of hedge funds, is now giving retail clients access to these normally exclusive portfolios through a mutual fund. Morgan Creek, based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the latest investment firm to jump into the so-called hedged mutual fund business, with a portfolio called the Morgan Creek Tactical Allocation fund, the firm said on Monday. Two months ago The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), one of the world’s biggest hedge fund investors, rolled out a similar portfolio and teamed up with Fidelity Investments, which will be offering it to some of its clients.
Foreign hedge funds readying for QDLP (AsianInvestor)
The first foreign hedge fund managers that will receive quotas to raise money from Chinese investors are likely to start doing so by the end of January and possibly as early as this year, say sources. The six firms in question are Canyon Partners, Citadel Group, Man Group, Oaktree Capital, Och-Ziff and Winton Capital, each of which will be able to raise up to $50 million under Shanghai’s qualified domestic limited partner (QDLP) scheme, according to media reports.
Michael Douglas – Michael Douglas living in New York (ContactMusic)
Michael Douglas has been staying with George Soros following his separation from Catherine Zeta-Jones in August. The Oscar-winning actor has reportedly fled from the Manhattan apartment he shared with his wife to live with the 80-year-old business magnate in Westchester County, New York, after he was spotted carrying several bags out of his home last week. Douglas’ getaway may not be the break-up remedy he had hoped for as Soros’ lavish wedding to Tamiko Bolton, 41, next week could serve as a reminder of his own marriage troubles.
Goldman-to-Soros Backed Essent Files for $287.5 Million IPO (BusinessWeek)
Essent Group Ltd., the mortgage insurer backed by investors including Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and George Soros, filed to raise $287.5 million in an initial public offering as investors pour capital into companies that guaranty home loans. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Barclays Plc are managing the offering, Bermuda-based Essent said today in a regulatory filing. The offering size is a placeholder amount used to calculate registration fees and may change.
JIM ROGERS: ‘Bernanke Is Going To Go Down In History As An Absolute Disaster’ (BusinessInsider)
Jim Rogers has long been critical of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and his quantitative easing program. With the chairman ready to step down and debate about his replacement heating up, Rogers still has some scathing words for him. The author of Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road and in the Markets sat down with Business Insider to talk about Bernanke’s record, the direction of U.S. monetary policy, and the role of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. economy.
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