Montgomery County Employees picks Aberdeen, Albourne America (PIOnline)
Montgomery County Employees’ Retirement System, Rockville, Md., hired Aberdeen Asset Management to run $125 million in active global equity and Albourne America as hedge fund consultant, and committed $29 million to private equity in the three months ended March 31, according to a quarterly report on Wednesday. Hedge fund consultant Albourne was hired “to assist staff with further implementation of the opportunistic program,” the report stated. Linda Herman, executive director, was not available for further details about the selection of Aberdeen for global equity.
Australia vows improved hedge fund disclosure, seeks recognized definition (Opalesque)
Australia’s market regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), said it would allow submissions from industry players to better define “hedge funds.” The order was given on concerns that the current definition affected a number of funds that do not exhibit the same risks to investors as ‘true’ hedge funds, ASIC said in a statement. Currently, Australia has no universally recognized definition of a hedge fund. ASIC already sought two consultations on the definition in the context of seeking input on appropriate investor disclosure by hedge funds.
Sides staring each other down as deadline nears in SAC insider-trading case (WashingtonPost)
All sides are playing hardball as the deadline to bring criminal charges against Steven A. Cohen nears, with only two months left for the government to snag the hedge-fund industry guru in what it describes as the most lucrative insider-trading scheme it has pursued. The clock started ticking in July 2008, when one of Cohen’s portfolio managers allegedly got secret tips about the results of a clinical trial involving an Alzheimer’s drug, enabling the hedge fund and others to make more than $276 million.
Spidey to Swing Away from Sony? (DenOfGeek)
In a tantalizing bit of geek movie news, The Financial Times and Reuters report that Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) investors are seriously considering selling large swaths of their media entertainment empire. With reports that Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) CEO Kazuo Hirai is bringing a proposal by Daniel Loeb, founder of the Third Point hedge fund and the largest shareholder on Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s board, up for serious discussion, the future of Spider-Man, James Bond and other icons in the Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) stable are coming under a cloud. In Loeb’s proposal, submitted last week, the Japanese company would revitalize its sagging electronic branch by putting 15 to 20 percent of its film and music divisions up for public offering, thereby creating a wholly new entertainment firm.
Occitan To Close Amidst Losses (Finalternatives)
Occitan Capital Partners is closing its doors after less than three years in business. The London-based hedge fund has returned most investor capital and will close within a few months, Financial News reports. Firm founders Herve Gallo and Thomas de Garidel-Thoron elected to pull the plug earlier this year, after losing money in both 2011 and 2012, including a 14% drop in the latter. John Candillier, Occitan’s CEO, left the firm in January. “We underestimated the impact of policymakers and governments to damp the crisis, not only on equity prices but also on the regime of volatility,” Gallo and Garidel-Thoron wrote in October. “Our timing has been very off, making these positions painful.”
