The Stock Tastes of a Few Investment Titans (Barrons)
Hedge-fund legend John Paulson has come up with a second act. And this time, it’s on the long side. Famous for making billions of dollars by shorting the mortgage market ahead of the financial crisis through investments in credit-default swaps, Paulson has also made bad bets, including a big bet on gold in recent years. But according to the Financial Times, Paulson has regained some of his legendary fame in the bull market by going long a collection of financial services stocks, including banks, insurance companies and, less well publicized, asset managers and private-equity firms
Co-op hedge fund shareholder famous for Argentina battle (Reuters)
U.S. hedge fund Aurelius Capital Management, which will take a stake in Co-op Bank under a rescue plan for the British mutual lender, is also protagonist in a lengthy and bitter court battle over Argentina’s debt default. The New York-based investment firm is among a group of activist investors who will swap bondholdings for equity in Co-op Bank, which has long promoted a commitment to ethical business practices to attract customers. Aurelius, which will be Co-op Bank’s largest hedge fund shareholder under the plan detailed on Monday, has a record of litigation to resolve its disputes.
Iosco report exaggerates hedge fund leverage, critics claim (Risk)
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco) has come under fire for a new survey that suggests UK hedge funds are, on average, 37 times geared – a figure based on a methodology that overstates derivatives exposure, critics say. The survey, published on October 21, uses the concept of gross leverage ratio, which is calculated by dividing gross notional exposure by net assets under management. Gross notional exposure is defined as the absolute sum of all long and short positions, including gross notional exposure for derivatives.
Goldman Sachs to BofA Are Said to Trade With SAC After Plea Deal (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) are among Wall Street firms still catering to SAC Capital Advisors LP after the hedge fund agreed to plead guilty to insider trading charges. The banks, which also include Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), continue to provide trading and prime-brokerage services to SAC, said people briefed on the matter, who requested anonymity when discussing specific clients. The hedge-fund firm, run by billionaire Steven A. Cohen, agreed yesterday to pay $1.8 billion — a record penalty for insider trading — to settle allegations it illicitly reaped hundreds of millions of dollars since 1999.
Why Warren Buffett won’t buy Twitter (MarketWatch)
It’s widely assumed that Warren Buffett doesn’t invest in technology stocks, but in recent years, this belief has contrasted with reality. After accounting for 0% of his equity portfolio at the end of 2010, the tech sector now makes up one sixth of Buffett’s stock holdings. At Insider Monkey, we believe that hedge funds and other prominent investors’ best stock picks exhibit market-beating potential, so it’s worth paying attention to these developments.
Hedge Funds Add 1.2% In Oct. (Finalternatives)
Hedge funds posted across-the-board, if underwhelming, gains in October, according to an industry benchmark. Hedge Fund Research’s HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index rose 1.2% last month and is up 5.54% on the year. By contrast, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added about 4.75% in October and is up over 20% on the year. Each of the 16 strategy and substrategy indices in the HFRX suite were in the black last month, led by master-limited partnerships, which returned 2.31% (20.77% year-to-date).
