Is George Soros Calling a Top in Gold? (The Wall Street Journal)
George Soros is getting out of gold. The billionaire investor jumped back into trading this year with a big bet on the precious metal, buying up a 19-million share stake in the world’s largest gold producer, Barrick Gold Corp. But in the second quarter, Soros Fund Management sold the majority of his shares in the gold miner and his full stake in mining company Silver Wheaton, according to regulatory filings. The first-quarter bet on gold looked particularly prescient, as the precious metal has rallied 26% this year. The rise in gold’s price has given an even bigger boost to gold miners, with Barrick shares surging more than 190% this year. Now, Mr. Soros’ change of heart may cause concern for those still bullish on the safe-haven metal.
Tudor Said to Cut 15% of Workforce After Withdrawals, Losses (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones dismissed about 15 percent of the workforce at his Tudor Investment Corp. after losses and investor withdrawals at the $11 billion hedge fund, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Tudor earlier Tuesday informed the affected employees, which include positions ranging from money managers to support staff, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the firm is private. Tudor employed 409 people, about half in investing roles, according to a March regulatory filing.
Hedge-Fund Manager Cohen Settles With US Commodities Agency (The New York Times)
WASHINGTON — Billionaire hedge-fund manager Steven A. Cohen, who was earlier accused of failing to prevent insider trading at his firm, has agreed in a settlement with the government not to engage in any activities overseen by federal commodities regulators until at least Dec. 31, 2017. The settlement announced Tuesday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission follows on the action brought against Cohen by the Securities and Exchange Commission over insider trading at his firm, formerly called SAC Capital Advisors. In an agreement with the SEC in January, Cohen was barred for two years from managing other people’s money. He wasn’t fined under the agreement, and neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations.
Brevan Howard’s Main Fund Shed $3 bln In Assets In H1 -Source (Reuters)
Investors pulled more than $3 billion from Brevan Howard‘s main hedge fund in the first half of the year, a source told Reuters on Tuesday. The outflows, which came during a torrid six months for many firms, took the fund’s assets down to $15.7 billion, the source said – a near halving of the fund’s total assets three years ago at $28 billion. News of the slide in assets was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. The main fund, which bets on a range of assets including rates and currencies, lost 1.99 percent in 2015 to record its second-straight year of losses and was down 1 percent in the year to end-July, sources told Reuters last week.
Soros’s Clock Stuck on 2008 (BloombergGadfly)
Yes, it’s true that at the end of the second quarter George Soros was sitting on a huge equity-options position that would profit if the market goes down. It’s an intriguing position, though let’s not get too carried away describing it. For one thing, it wasn’t the portfolio’s “biggest holding” in the second quarter, just as it wasn’t its “biggest holding” in 2013, despite what news reports said. The reason for the confusion is the way equity derivatives are reported in 13F filings required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. At the end of the quarter, Soros Fund Management owned puts to sell about 4 million shares of the biggest exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500.
Activist Fund ValueAct Takes About 2 Percent Stake in Morgan Stanley (Reuters)
Jeff Ubben-run activist hedge fund ValueAct Capital Management LP took a 1.98 percent stake in Morgan Stanley (MS.N), regulatory filings showed on Monday. ValueAct Holdings LP, a fund of ValueAct Capital Management, said it took a stake of 38 million shares in Morgan Stanley. ValueAct Capital Management played a key role in shaking up Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) management in 2013. Morgan Stanley, which has struggled to improve its bond trading business for years, showed signs of executing a turnaround when it delivered better-than-expected second-quarter bond trading revenue. Shares of Morgan Stanley have fallen about 8.3 percent this year.
Bain Capital Hedge Fund Chief Ted Pappendick Said to Leave Post (Bloomberg)
Ted Pappendick is leaving as head of Bain Capital’s hedge fund unit and will be replaced by a veteran money manager who had worked at Adage Capital and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Joshua Ross, who left Adage this year, will take over the post next month, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Pappendick will remain as chairman until he retires in mid-2017, capping a two-decade career at Bain, said one of the people. Bain has been making changes to the executive ranks to integrate various business units and continue its global expansion. In April, Bain put John Connaughton and Jonathan Lavine in charge of managing the firm day-to-day. It also changed the name of its hedge fund unit from Brookside Capital to Bain Capital Public Equity to reflect its expanding global operations.
