Shanghai to limit QDLP program to $3-5bn according to sources (Opalesque)
The Shanghai government launched an initiative called “Qualified Domestic Limited Partner” or QDLP this summer. This pilot program, according to law firm Kaye Scholer LLP, is to allow foreign asset managers to set up wholly owned subsidiaries in China to raise RMB (renminbi) funds through private placement for investment in international capital markets. This program is still pending approval. Clark Song, Managing Director of the recently-launched Shanghai Hedge Fund Association, today reports that sources had said the Financial Services Office of Shanghai (FSO) had applied around $3-5 billion for the QDLP program.
Tesla Co-Founder Elon Musk Pays $17 Million for a Bel Air Home (WSJ)
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) +0.30% co-founder Elon Musk has bought the Bel Air estate he’s been renting for the past three years for $17 million. The 20,248-square-foot home has six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, five fireplaces, a wine cellar that holds 1,000 bottles of wine and a two-story library. The property overlooks Bel-Air Country Club and includes a lighted tennis court, five garages, a pool and spa, gym and guest quarters. The home, which was owned by Mitch Julis, co-founder of hedge fund Canyon Capital Advisors, was put on the market in 2008 for $27 million. Mr. Musk, who also co-founded PayPal and founded SpaceX, started renting the property in 2009. The home was built in 1990.
Hedge Fund Mergers & Acquisitions: Arthur J. Gallagher Buys The Eriksen Group (HedgeCo)
International hedge fund brokerage and risk management company Arthur J. Gallagher has acquired central US retirement consulting firm Eriksen Group. Eriksen is a retirement consulting firm that provides ongoing and project-based retirement consulting services to their clients throughout the Central United States. Their consulting services include plan design, fiduciary governance, plan benchmarking, investment policy statement development, fee benchmarking, provider selection and management, and investment monitoring.
Madoff: Doomed Hedge Fund Magnate Speaks Out (HedgeCo)
The master of manipulation, Bernie Madoff, second only to Charles Ponzi himself, sent out a Christmas memo claiming that “Insider trading… has been present in the market forever, but rarely been prosecuted.” “Markets have always focused on the speed with which information becomes available…. The more secret this information. The more valuable this information is to those that can obtain it. Therein lies the problem. It is naive to think that there will be no leakage of this information.” Madoff said in a letter to CNBC.
Home, sweet hedge (NYPost)
For many Americans, the housing market is just starting to recover, but it’s been the hottest strategy for hedge funds all year long. Hedge funds that invest in mortgage-backed securities gained 13.9 percent through November to make them the industry’s best-performing strategy, according to the Absolute Return index. These top players did even better: * Deepak Narula’s $1.4 billion Metacapital Management could be the top-performing hedge fund firm of the year. It gained 38 percent through November. Narula’s fund, which he launched in 2001 after leaving Lehman Brothers, largely invests in mortgage securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and other agencies. Metacapital took off this year after the Obama administration made it easier for underwater homeowners to refinance those mortgages.
