Taconic Launches European Credit Hedge Fund (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
New York-based multistrategy hedge fund firm Taconic Capital Advisors is raising money for a new hedge fund, a longer lock-up vehicle that will invest in illiquid situations in Europe. The new fund, called the Taconic European Credit Dislocation Fund, is intended “to fully capitalize on the less liquid opportunities we have identified in Europe, particularly in Spain, where we have a sourcing edge,” the firm tells clients in its second quarter letter, which was obtained by Alpha.
Hedge funds face true cyber-risks (Risk)
After defence firm BAE admitted that it did not thwart an unprecedented attack on a hedge fund’s high-frequency trading (HFT) system, questions remain as to the real threats posed by unidentified hackers. The falsified attack – apparently invented by a BAE employee who has now left the company (see box) – brings to light the problem that the same cyber-security companies that describe the risks of being hacked also sell clients services to protect them from the threat.
Ackman Says ‘My Bad’ on Herbalife Presentation (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has two words to sum up his Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) presentation last week: “My bad.” Investors may have missed the point because the event was long and overhyped, Ackman said in an interview. Even the private researcher who helped convince Ackman the company is an illegal pyramid scheme now says the details of a two-year investigation into Herbalife’s nutrition clubs were largely ignored. Ackman had promised to show an Enron-style fraud during the event. Instead of dumping the stock, investors sent the shares up 25 percent after the presentation, marking the biggest one-day gain in the history of the company. Ackman’s firm, Pershing Square Capital Management LP, bet $1 billion against the stock in 2012.
RBS Sales Head Jumps To Hedge Fund Element Capital (Finalternatives)
Richard Tang, the head of North America sales at Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS)’s securities arm, is leaving the bank for hedge fund Element Capital Management LLC as the lender retrenches in capital markets, according to two people with knowledge of the move. Tang, who has spent almost two decades at the bank, is one of 16 members of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee that the U.S. government consults with on its debt sales. His departure was confirmed by Sarah Lukashok, a Stamford, Connecticut-based spokeswoman for Britain’s largest state-owned lender.
UCITS Hedge Fund Reach Record Highs (HedgeCo)
The first half of 2014 saw a new milestone reached in the alternative UCITS sector with assets under management growing by 15.6% to EU 184.2 billion, demonstrating continued demand for alternative strategies, according to the Alceda Half Yearly UCITS Review. However, Alternative UCITS strategies performed less well during the first half of 2014, advancing just 0.52%, compared to the 5.95% gains seen in 2013.
