Citadel Adds 4.4% In September (Finalternatives)
Ken Griffin‘s $24 billion Citadel gained 4.4% in September, easily outstripping the average hedge fund which fell 0.2% last month. The gains by Citadel’s main Kensington and Wellington funds put the firm’s 2014 returns up 15%, reports Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter. Citadel’s Global Equities fund added 3.4% in September and is up 17% this year while tts Global Fixed Income fund returned 5.2% last month and is up 8% year to date.
San Francisco Hedge Fund Proposal Raises Conflict of Interest Questions (IBTimes)
This week, officials in San Francisco may vote on a proposal that could shift billions of dollars of the city’s pension portfolio from plain vanilla investments such as stocks and bonds into hedge funds that charge substantially higher management fees. As they mull that move, municipal pension overseers are drawing on the counsel of a company called Angeles Investment Advisors, one of a crop of consulting firms that has emerged across the country in recent years to aid municipalities in navigating the murky waters of managing money.
Low-key Canso makes a big splash in Postmedia bond deal (TheGlobeAndMail)
A low-key Canadian hedge fund with a nose for distressed bonds snuck up on the Postmedia deal, becoming a central player after the company realized one of its major bondholders was right in its backyard. That would be Toronto-based Canso Investment Counsel, a firm with about $10-billion of assets that is so low profile it did not even get a mention in the press release that unveiled the Postmedia purchase of 175 newspapers from Quebecor Inc. for $316-million. All that release said is one bondholder who already owned a huge chunk of debt would take down the entire $140-million of additional bonds that the transaction required.
A Hedge Fund Put Out A Massive Presentation About Why A Wireless Company Is Going To $0 (BusinessInsider)
Hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital says shares of data communications company Globalstar, Inc. (NYSEMKT:GSAT) are worth $0. In a lengthy research report, accompanied by a long slideshow presentation, Kerrisdale argues that Globalstar’s $4 billion valuation overstates the company’s value by, well, $4 billion. In its report, Kerrisdale writes that Globalstar is, “the fourth-largest player in the slow-growing mobile satellite services market, GSAT uses its constellation of low- Earth-orbit satellites to offer basic mobile voice and data services in remote areas of the planet…
On the environment, do as they say, not as they do (DetroitNews)
Tom Steyer, the hedge fund billionaire-turned-environmentalist, just launched a multi-million dollar attack-ad blitz that takes political dishonesty to a whole new level. Not that honesty has ever been Steyer’s strong suit. While managing his hedge fund Farallon Capital, Steyer made a killing off the same fossil fuel industry he is now smearing as greedy and sinister. Steyer isn’t the first green crusader to secretly owe his wealth or way of life to fossil fuels. And given the stakes of our nation’s energy debate, Americans should stop taking these environmentalist hypocrites seriously.
4 Stocks, 4 trades: GoPro, Apple & more (CNBC)
For Some Big Macro Funds, September Offered Some Hope (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Call it a tale of two macro worlds. In September the average macro hedge fund tracked by Lyxor Asset Management lost nearly 1 percent. As a result, these funds were down 2.8 percent in the third quarter and are now up just 0.7 percent for the year. “The third quarter was a challenging period for macro managers,” says the just-released third-quarter commentary from Lyxor’s Managed Account Platform research team.
Einhorn Gift Of $50 Million To Fund Cornell Program (FA-Mag)
Cornell University has unveiled a $150 million community engagement initiative that will be funded in part by a $50 million gift from a trust established by hedge fund manager David Einhorn. The initiative is aimed at getting Cornell students to “become active citizens and to tackle critical challenges by participating in hands-on, practical learning experiences in communities at home and around the world,” the university said today in a statement.
Billionaire Jim Simons Owns Westport Innovations Inc.; Should You Buy, Too? (Fool)
You’ve probably never heard of him. But everyone in the know on Wall Street has heard of Jim Simons. Simons is the founder of the Medallion Fund. Since its inception in 1989, he has consistently posted double-digit returns for his clients. Today, it’s widely considered to be the most successful hedge fund of all time. That’s why you should always watch what stocks Simons is buying. And right now, he’s making some interesting bets in the energy sector.
Hedge Fund Assets Nearing All-Time Pre-Recession Highs (247WallSt)
BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research announced Tuesday in a report that the hedge fund industry took in $18.4 billion in August. This marks the highest inflow in three months and signaled a strong rebound from redemptions of $750 million in July. Meanwhile, hedge funds underperformed against the S&P 500 while they kept growing assets. The monthly Hedge Fund Flow Report from TrimTabs and BarclayHedge noted that the Barclay Hedge Fund Index gained 1.2% in August. This underperformed the S&P 500 which gained a 3.8% for the month. Over the past 12 months the Barclay Hedge Fund Index returned 10.3% compared to the S&P 500 which gained 25.2%.
The Hedge Fund Winner Who Went to Juilliard: Bruce Kovner’s Arts Philanthropy (InsidePhilanthropy)
Bruce Kovner founded and ran one of the most successful hedge funds in the country, Caxton Associates, from 1983 until his recent retirement. Now, he’s worth $5 billion and has more time on his hands for philanthropy. Which is why we’ve been paying attention to this guy lately. The son of a trade unionist, Kovner went to Harvard, holds conservative views, and was once dubbed “George Soros’ Right Wing Twin.” Here’s a little trivia for you: Kovner’s firm Caxton is named after the first printer of books in the English language.
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