Hedge fund boss makes $1bn debut on Rich List (TheTimes)
The Moscow-born head of Pamplona Capital Management has shot into The Sunday Times Rich List of the wealthiest hedge fund managers with a fortune estimated at just over £1 billion. Alexander Knaster, who used to work on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, is chairman and chief executive of Pamplona, a hedge fund and private equity group that operates from offices in Park Lane. He has close links to the Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, who has backed Pamplona, and previously ran Russia’s Alfa Bank, where Mr Fridman is chairman.
Insight into March Hedge Fund Performance (LiveTradingNews)
The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index finished up 1.21% in March. A new monthly commentary offers insight into hedge fund performance through the month of March. Some key findings from the report include: Hedge funds, as measured by the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index, finished March up 1.21%, with 9 out of 10 strategies in positive territory; In total, the industry saw estimated outflows of approximately $1.78 billion in March, bringing overall assets under management for the industry to approximately $1.82 trillion;
Marc Faber: gold’s plunge is an ‘excellent buying opportunity’ (MoneyWeek)
The huge drop in the gold price is great news, says Marc Faber, one of gold’s best-known fans. “I love the markets. I love the fact that gold is finally breaking down. That will offer an excellent buying opportunity”, said Faber in an interview with US financial news channel Bloomberg. At the time of the interview gold was at $1,480 an ounce and falling. Faber admitted it could go as low as $1,300. But even so “the bull market in gold is not completed”, says Faber.
Blackstone Ends Pursuit of Dell (WSJ)
The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) -2.25% has ended its pursuit of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) -0.14% less than a month after the private-equity firm said it would try to top a leveraged buyout by the computer maker’s founder and a rival investment firm. Blackstone had been putting together a bid for Dell to trump the $24.4 billion offer from founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners. The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX)’s offer would have kept part of the company in the hands of public shareholders.
Gold slide flashes warning signs for global economy (Reuters)
The plunge in the gold price in the past week may have raised a big red flag over the global economy. Some top investors say the gold sell-off, and the broader declines in oil and metals prices, reflect the failure of the Federal Reserve and other central banks to create robust demand even as they inject massive amounts of money into the world financial system. …Some see the move in gold as a possible flashpoint for a broader economic and markets shock comparable to the collapse of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management in 1998 and even the financial crisis a decade later. Both events were preceded by sharp drops in gold.
SEC Charges Chicago-Based Investment Adviser with Defrauding CalPERS and Other Clients (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the CEO of Chicago-based investment advisory firm Simran Capital Management with lying to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and other current and potential clients about the amount of money managed by the firm. Institutional investors such as CalPERS often use assets under management (AUM) as a metric to screen prospective investment advisers soliciting their business. An SEC investigation revealed that while pitching Simran’s services, Umesh Tandon falsely certified to CalPERS that his firm satisfied its minimum AUM requirements.
Oklahoma Police Pension doles out $7.5 million to Southpoint Capital (PIOnline)
Oklahoma Police Pension & Retirement System, Oklahoma City, invested $7.5 million in a global long/short equity hedge fund managed by Southpoint Capital Advisors, confirmed Steven Snyder, executive director and chief investment officer. It is the $2 billion pension fund’s seventh direct investment in a hedge fund; the investments are being funded through the redemption of an Attalus Capital hedge fund-of-funds portfolio.
Stoolie turns up heat on Steve (NYPost)
More bad news has landed at the doorstep of billionaire hedge-fund honcho Steven Cohen. Cohen, who just had his ex-wife’s racketeering lawsuit against him revived, learned yesterday that a former employee of his $14 billion SAC Capital Advisors has become quite the government stoolie. Jon Horvath, an analyst with SAC’s Sigma Capital unit until his arrest last year on insider-trading charges, pleaded guilty last September. The government was given until March 31 to say whether he should be sentenced.
