Hedge Fund News: Israel Englander, David Einhorn, Apple Inc. (AAPL)

SEC Charges New York-Based Fund Manager with Conducting Fraudulent Trading Schemes (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New York-based fund manager with conducting a pair of illegal trading schemes to financially benefit his investment fund Octagon Capital Partners LP. The SEC alleges that Steven B. Hart made $831,071 during a four-year period through illicit trading while he also worked as a portfolio manager and employee at a New Jersey-based firm that served as an adviser for several affiliated investment funds. In one scheme, Hart illegally matched 31 pre-market trades to benefit his own fund at the expense of one of his employer’s funds.

Blackstone Eyes $2 Billion For Asia Real-Estate Fund (Finalternatives)
The Blackstone Group aims to raise at least $2 billion for its first real-estate fund focused on Asia. The alternative investments giant’s first foray into the space will focus on Japan, China, Australia and India. “We’re now starting an Asian real-estate fund,” Blackstone President Tony James said last week. “These are unique products, and they’re unique products in an asset class that investors increasingly want. It’s hard assets.” James added, “there is not another Pan-Asian real-estate fund in existence.”

Barclays To Spin Off $2 Billion Trading Desk (Finalternatives)
Next year’s first billion-dollar hedge fund launch is set to emerge from Barclays Capital. The bank will spin-off its Los Angeles-based trading operation at the end of the year, Absolute Return magazine reports. The resulting firm will be known as Cloverfield Capital Management, and will focus on distressed debt. Cloverfield is led by Matthew Barrett, Barclay’s head of distressed debt and special situations investing. The firm will have the ability to invest across all asset classes, according to AR.

NYSE Says JPMorgan Units Will Have a Fire Wall on Copper ETF (Bloomberg)
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) will put a fire wall between its proposed exchange-traded fund backed by copper and its metals trading operations, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The bank will prevent its units from accessing non-public information on the JPM XF Physical Copper Trust, NYSE Arca Inc. said in amendments, dated Nov. 30, to its proposal for the ETF filed with the SEC. NYSE Arca is the electronic platform of NYSE Euronext. Copper consumers including Encore Wire Corp., AmRod Corp., Southwire Co. and hedge fund RK Capital LLC oppose the proposed ETF, saying it may make it more difficult for consumers to get the metal as it removes supplies from the market.