Women hedge fund managers outpace male rivals, again – study (Reuters UK)
Women hedge fund managers have outperformed their male rivals, on average, for the second year in a row, according to professional services firm Rothstein Kass which tracks the industry. From January 1, 2013, through the end of November, the small number of hedge funds around the world run by women returned 9.8 percent while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund index was up only 6.13 percent, Rothstein Kass said on Wednesday, citing its own index of female-run hedge funds. Together, hedge funds run by women manage only a tiny fraction of the broader industry’s $2.5 trillion. Among them are Jamie Zimmerman‘s Litespeed Management, Meridee Moore‘s Watershed Asset Management and Valerie Malter’s Matarin Capital Management.
Ra Capital Management Lowers Stake in Derma Sciences Inc (DSCI) (Insider Monkey)
Peter Kolchinsky‘s Ra Capital Management has recently sold a total of 300,000 shares of Derma Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:DSCI). Following the disposal, the fund still holds a significant amount of over 1.69 million shares of the company. According to the filing with the SEC, Ra Capital sold the securities in two transactions, the average price amounting to $11.83 per share. The shares have been sold entirely from the account owned by Blackwell Partners, LLC, the filing also stated. According to the amount of shares disclosed by Derma Sciences Inc in its latest 10-Q report, the stake held by Ra Capital amasses around 9.8% of the common stock, following the disposal of shares.
Large Hong Kong Hedge Funds Have Best Year Since Inception (Bloomberg)
Azentus Capital Management Ltd. and Myriad Asset Management Ltd., two of Hong Kong’s large hedge funds, had the best annual returns since inception, aided by Japan bets and investments outside of the region. The Myriad Opportunities Master Fund, a $2.4 billion multistrategy fund, returned about 20 percent in 2013, said two people with knowledge of the performance. Azentus’s about $840 million Asia-focused global multistrategy fund rose 16.4 percent, said a person familiar with the return. The people asked not to be identified because the information is private.
Singer Prodding Hess Proves Bondholder Boon: Corporate Finance (Businessweek)
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Singer’s demand that Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) find ways to bolster shareholder returns is turning into a windfall for bondholders. While Hess’s $5 billion of notes suffered the industry’s biggest losses a year ago, when Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. said on Jan. 29 that a “substantial divestment program” could help maximize value for equity holders, the bonds have since returned 3.9 percent. The $480 billion of debt issued by energy companies and tracked by Bloomberg has declined 0.77 percent in the same span.
Oakland Raiders exec steps back from hedge fund (CNBC.com)
Paul Leff, who co-founded Perry Capital with Richard Perry in 1988, is stepping back from managing the hedge fund firm’s portfolio full time, according to two people familiar with the situation. David Russekoff, a 12 year Perry veteran, is now the firm’s sole chief investment officer, according to the people. Russekoff had shared the role with Leff, who will remain at the firm but in a diminished role as vice chairman. Perry remains president and chief executive officer. Leff and Michael Neus, the firm’s general counsel, did not respond to requests for comment Monday evening. Perry managed $8.9 billion as of September 2013 with 104 employees in New York and London.
Ex-Goldman VPs Launch Malachite Capital Partners (FINalternatives)
Add Jake Weinig and Joseph Aiken to the list of Goldman Sachs alumni starting their own hedge funds. The former Goldman vice presidents have raised more than $25 million for their Malachite Capital Partners, according to a source with knowledge of the fund. Malachite is a “global market neutral equity volatility fund,” according to Weinig, who told FINalternatives in a phone interview they “are looking essentially to take advantage of differences in supply and demand across global vol markets, capturing vol premium where vols are rich, and buying cheap vols where they’re cheap.
Juniper targeted by activist investor Elliott (CNBC.com)
SAC’s Ghiya Said to Quit Amid Plans to Start Own Hedge-Fund Firm (San Francisco Chronicle)
SAC Capital Advisors LP money manager Vishal Ghiya resigned from his role, telling management last week that he plans to start his own hedge-fund firm, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Ghiya, who worked at SAC’s Sigma unit and traded industries from health care to software services, managed about $500 million including borrowed money, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Ghiya didn’t reply to an e-mail or phone calls seeking comment. Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for SAC at Sard Verbinnen & Co., declined to comment. SAC’s billionaire founder Steven A. Cohen last month paid some of the bonuses for 2013, which he raised last year to stem defections as the U.S. insider-trading investigation of his firm intensified.
Ex-Lone Pine, Goldman Execs.’ Fund Up 16% (FINalternatives)
One of 2012’s biggest Asian hedge fund launches posted “respectable” returns in its first full year. Tybourne Capital Management was up 16.04% last year, The Wall Street Journal reports, better than the average hedge fund both globally and in the Asia-Pacific region, but far behind the broader markets. That led co-founder Eashwar Krishnan to describe the performance as “respectable” in a letter to investors. Krishnan, Lone Pine Capital former Asia chief, and former Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) capital introductions executive Tanvir Ghani, set up Tybourne in Hong Kong in the summer of 2012. The Asia-focused long/short equity strategy returned 5% in the second half of that year.
QFS Asset Management Shuts Currency Hedge Fund (Wall Street Journal)
QFS Asset Management is shutting its sole remaining hedge fund and returning nearly $1 billion to clients, making it the latest casualty of increasingly treacherous foreign-exchange markets. The closure comes after the Greenwich, Conn., firm’s currency program lost 8.7% in 2013 and 8.6% in 2012, the first time in at least 20 years that QFS has lost money in two consecutive years, according to firm documents. At its height in 2005, QFS managed more than $5 billion. QFS will return all money to clients, which include pension funds, sovereign-wealth funds and other institutions.
Hedge fund of the year: Chenavari Investment Managers (Risk.net)
Regulators and policy-makers should be rolling out the red carpet for hedge funds such as Chenavari Investment Managers. While authorities try to avoid stifling economic growth with their new prudential rules, the firm has completed around 20 bank capital relief deals, representing roughly $1 billion of investor capital and, in theory at least, enabling banks to lend more. The fund also has a fast-growing direct lending portfolio, providing credit to borrowers struggling to find bank loans. Instead of a red carpet, though, Chenavari – and other funds that share the strategy – find themselves facing an amber light. Bank regulators are leery of anything claiming to be a risk transfer, and the Financial Stability Board is putting so-called shadow banking under the microscope, which includes non-banks making loans.
LSB Industries of Oklahoma City faces challenge from shareholder (NewsOK.com)
Oklahoma City-based LSB Industries, Inc. (NYSE:LXU) could be gearing up for a proxy fight with a small but determined New York hedge fund that has called for changes at the chemical manufacturer and climate control company. Engine Capital has said it plans to nominate five new directors for the company’s board by Jan. 23 if LSB does not take steps toward reform. In an open letter published Dec. 30, Engine Capital called for LSB to split its climate control and chemical businesses and add new members to the company’s board. LSB Chief Financial Officer Tony Shelby said the board has engaged advisers to decide its response to Engine Capital.
