Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK), Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), BT Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:BT), Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED), BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), Barclays PLC (LON:BARC)
The veteran investor’s private equity fund Quantum Strategic Partners has backed the infrastructure effort. Hyperoptic is extending its fibre optic cables all the way into homes, allowing it to provide internet access at one gigabit per second, more than 10 times faster than the fastest packages on offer from BT Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:BT) and Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ:VMED). BT Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:BT)’s ongoing superfast broadband upgrade takes fibre optic cables only as far as street-side cabinets, with the final hop into homes along traditional copper phone lines that slow internet access. The cash injection from Mr George Soros increases the capital available to Hyperoptic more than six-fold. It will use the money to extend its network outside London, where it has so far covered 20,000 homes in large blocks of more than 200 flats where economies of scale justify investment.
Citi wins hedge fund admin mandate from NWI Management (BobsGuide)
Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) has won a new mandate to provide hedge fund administration and technology processing support services to New York-based investment adviser NWI Management (NWI). The mandate covers private investment funds currently totalling over $3.1 billion in assets. NWI managed a total of over $4.2 billion in assets as of May 1, 2013 for funds and accounts that generally follow discretionary global macro strategies with a focus on emerging markets. “As a premier global financial institution, Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) has been a key business partner for NWI since our inception, and we value their expertise across a wide range of asset classes,” said Hari Hariharan, chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of NWI. This new mandate builds upon that successful relationship.”
Oil Revolt Generates $35 Billion as Icahn-Singer Agitate: Energy (BusinessWeek)
Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) isn’t waiting for Carl Icahn to tell the energy company how to reverse a two-year decline that’s erased $14 billion from its market value. …Farris, 65, is taking the medicine before an activist investor demands it, as Icahn did at Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) and Paul Singer at Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) Those two are among eight energy companies with shareholder revolts whose average gain after activism commenced was quadruple the return on the Russell 3000 Energy Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That added $35 billion to their combined market value.
Goldman’s Mutual Fund of Hedge Funds targets 401(k) and individual portfolios (HedgeCo)
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) announced it was launching the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund. This new mutual will invest directly in hedge funds which up until now have been only available to Accredited Investors. The fact sheet states the goal of the fund is to provide “Exposure to alternative and nontraditional investments with the liquidity and convenience of a mutual fund.” and goes on to state “Once available only to institutional investors, alternative investments are increasingly used by individual investors seeking to diversify their returns and reduce portfolio risk. The Fund combines a wide range of strategies including Equity Long/Short, Dynamic Equity, Event Driven & Credit, Relative Value, Tactical Trading and Opportunistic Fixed Income.”
RI paid millions to hedge-fund managers (GreenwichTime)
Rhode Island paid hedge-fund managers almost $16 million in fees during 2012 to manage the state’s $1 billion hedge-fund portfolio. The figures were released Wednesday by General Treasurer Gina Raimondo in response to requests from the media for information about the funds, which make up about 26 percent of the state’s pension investments. The Providence Journal reports (http://bit.ly/18kcSEl) the data shows the state paid six managers more than $1 million each in the six months leading up to the June 30, 2012 end of the fiscal year. The state began moving money into the funds in November, 2011.
Diamond Said to Weigh Backing Barclays Alumni in Venture (Bloomberg)
Robert Diamond, who stepped down as head of Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) last year amid a rate-rigging scandal, is considering backing a firm started by former executives at the bank’s investment unit that was acquired by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) in 2009, according to a person familiar with the matter. Diamond, in one of his first moves since resigning after Barclays’s 290 million-pound ($436.2 million) fine for manipulating global interest rates, is in talks to provide capital to Incapture LLC, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The one-year-old firm is planning to start investment strategies including a hedge fund supported by technology it’s developed.
