Greece courts Paulson in attempt to revive state asset sale plan (Ekathimerini)
Greece’s Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund is courting U.S. hedge funds as it seeks to lure investment in everything from ports to islands to finance the country’s bailout. Officials at the privatization fund, charged with raising 11 billion euros ($15 billion) through state asset sales by 2016, met with billionaire hedge-fund manager John Paulson in New York earlier this week, according to the directors. Funds from Paulson & Co. to Third Point LLC, which profited from wagers that European officials would rescue the indebted nation as government bond yields peaked last year, have expressed interest in the assets, he said.
Open Protocol sign-ups expected to double by end of 2014 (MyInvestorCircle)
Albourne Partners is expecting the number of hedge fund managers reporting under the Open Protocol Enabling Risk Aggregation (‘Open Protocol’), its risk reporting initiative, to double by Assets under Management (AuM) to around $1.5 trillion by the end of 2014. At present, more than 350 funds with approximately $700 billion in AuM are submitting Open Protocol reports. Open Protocol, which went live in November 2011, struggled to gain traction until relatively recently with a number of hedge funds complaining it added to their already extensive workload.
Hedge fund launches fall to three-year low (AssetServicingTimes)
New hedge fund launches declined to the lowest level in nearly three years in Q3 2013, while the number of hedge fund liquidations rose to the highest level since Q4 2012, according to the HFR Market Microstructure Industry Report. The trends in launches and liquidations occurred in Q3 as US regulators proceeded toward approval of the Volcker Rule. The Volker Rule prohibits companies affiliated with banking entities from taking short positions with certain securities and derivatives. New fund launches totalled 231 for Q3, declining from 288 in the prior quarter and 275 in Q3 2012, representing the lowest quarterly launch total since the Q4 2010 when 220 funds were launched.
US hedge funds threaten EU boycott (Risk)
Scores of US hedge funds may stop actively marketing their funds to European investors once the transition period for EU’s alternative investment fund managers directive (AIFMD) expires on July 22, 2014. The move is a response to AIFMD’s transparency rules, which require non-EU hedge funds actively offering investment products in the region to disclose sensitive information. The reporting requirements are extensive and cover everything from the fund’s leverage and liquidity profile to its asset class and counterparty exposures. Hedge funds also have to disclose information on their compensation practices and side-letter agreements to investors.
JOBS Act: Surfing Hedge Fund Video Goes Viral In Financial Circles (HedgeCo)
In November of this year $100 million hedge fund investor Topturn Capital aligned itself with professional Australian surfer Joe Curren. Today, the hedge fund reports that over 6,000 people watched the marketing pitch in four days, easily surpassing any other traditional hedge fund “marketing deck’s” reach. “We feel that how we represent our company will change the industry norm,” Greg Stewart, Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Top Turn Capital, said. “People look at numbers all day everyday. We just brought in The Trojan Horse (JoeCurren) for our investment strategy by introducing a surfer into the equation.”
Fraudulent Fund Faces SEC In “Make A Lot Of Money” Scheme, 6 Charged (HedgeCo)
Another “get rich scheme” is under fire by the SEC today after a Swiss-based “hedge fund,” Malom Group AG, and six individuals in Las Vegas and Zurich raised $11 million from U.S. investors by using a series of lies and forged documents to steer them into seemingly successful foreign trading programs that were nothing more than vehicles to steal money. The company is named with an acronym for “Make A Lot Of Money.” The SEC announced fraud charges when it was exposed that the company had advance fee schemes guaranteeing astronomical returns to investors in purported prime bank transactions and overseas debt instruments.
Marc Faber: Market to drop 20% in 2014 (CNBC)
Williams Advances After Icahn Protege Seeks Seat on Board (BusinessWeek)
Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB), the U.S. pipeline operator that’s underperformed its peers this year, climbed after becoming the latest energy company to be targeted by activist investors. Williams rose as much as 5.7 percent today after Corvex Management LP, founded by Carl Icahn protege Keith Meister, and Soroban Master Fund LP said in a filing yesterday that they had amassed a collective 8.82 percent interest. The hedge funds, now the largest shareholder of Williams, are pressing for changes. Energy companies from Transocean LTD (NYSE:RIG) to Talisman Energy Inc. (USA) (NYSE:TLM) have been challenged by activist shareholders this year who believe they have failed to realize the value of reserves. Meister and Soroban’s Eric Mandelblatt, the former co-chief executive officer of TPG-Axon Capital Management LP, are seeking board seats at Williams.
Amazon? ‘I’m not so convinced’: Hedge fund manager (CNBC)
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) never seems to be able to generate profits, yet the investing public continues to be amazingly tolerant, said Paul Isaac, founder of the $900 million hedge fund Arbiter Partners. “People are looking for growth, and they see revenue growth. They buy into the idea of eventual profitability. But I’m not so convinced,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday. Amazon falls into a category of “growth model 4.0” companies that “theoretically are going to grow into great profitability,” Isaac argued, saying, in the meantime, they’re “funded through a combination of negative working capital dynamics [and] stock-based compensation.”
Orange County Employees starts search for hedge fund managers (PIOnline)
Orange County Employees Retirement System, Santa Ana, Calif., launched an RFI for macro uncorrelated hedge fund managers for the $11 billion pension fund. OCERS officials will compare fee information for a $100 million commitment. Officials are issuing the RFI to evaluate hedge funds that could provide diversification through macro uncorrelated or idiosyncratic return strategies. The RFI is part of a three-pronged approach that includes market scans by its general consultant, NEPC, and its hedge fund consultant, Aksia. OCERS will also undertake two separate but coordinated database searches by the consultants. Each consultant will provide a shortlist of potential candidates for OCERS’ investment staff.
Vanity Fair Exposes Mystery Car Crash of Dan Loeb in Cuba (JewishVoiceNY)
Vanity Fair has done it again – written another expose. The subject for this occurrence is billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb. In the current December issue of Vanity Fair, writer William D. Cohan writes that the 51-year-old Third Point LLC founder Loeb was detained in Cuba after “hitting a local kid with his car” during a long weekend trip, according to both Page Six and Vanity Fair. The article investigates the mysterious 2002 car crash of Loeb’s while he was on a Cuba trip with friends. Cohan writes in the article: “Things unexpectedly took a dark turn . . . “Cuban authorities had refused to allow him to leave.” Asked what had happened, Loeb told me . . . that he had been involved in a car accident, stuck around for a couple more weeks, had a legal hearing, and -everything turned out fine.”
Analyst Labels EA ‘Dangerous’ Investment (Gameranx)
Analyst David Trainer has come out under investment blog Diligence Institute to talk about EA’s dire financial prospects. Trainer goes so far as to call its stocks a dangerous investment. Before you ask about his prospects, Trainer is a hedge fund manager and CEO of New Constructs, an independent research firm that specializes in getting key insights from financial footnotes and annual reports. He also talks about being a gamer himself. Trainer observes EA’s stocks tumble early last week after DICE’s announcement that they were halting future projects to fix Battlefield 4.
Funds buy shipping loans from capital-conscious banks (Reuters)
After a five-year slump in shipping, investors are betting on better times by taking over shipowners’ debts from European banks keen to offload troubled loans to bolster their balance sheets. Forecasts of a pick-up in world trade in goods, after the worst slide in decades helped drive some major shipping firms to the wall, are driving interest from hedge funds and others, while pressure on European banks to satisfy new capital regulations next year has created a pool of willing sellers. With the World Trade Organization forecasting growth of 2.5 percent for 2013 and 4.5 percent next year in merchandise exports – 90 percent of which go by sea – some investors have also been buying ships. But, for many, buying the paper debts of shipping firms offers a more flexible, liquid asset.
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