Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)
Citadel LLC, the $15 billion hedge- fund firm founded by Kenneth Griffin, cut six Hong Kong-based people from its team focused on Asian equities, about a year- and-a-half after expanding the group. Fund managers Raymond Shu and Agus Tandiono are among those who left the company, said Katie Spring, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based Citadel. She declined to comment further. Citadel is returning to its past practice of overseeing Asian equity investments from Europe and the U.S., which a review found to be more efficient, said a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The firm will retain its Hong Kong office, home to a team that seeks to profit from macroeconomic themes and a securities business, said the person. Citadel will continue to invest in stocks in the region.
Why Tilson Flip-Flopped On Netflix And Loves Citi’s New CEO (Forbes)
Tilson: Yes. Well, especially with the management change. I think the new CEO is excellent. If you want to look at where I think American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:AIG) can go, I think look at Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), because I see very analogous situations. Enormously large, global financial companies, both of which basically went bankrupt, but on the verge of bankruptcy were bailed out by the government, both of which were massively complex businesses with lots of toxic loans and derivatives and so forth. …I can tell you what Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) is worth, plus or minus 10% with high degree of confidence. With the same degree of confidence, I couldn’t tell you plus or minus 50% on Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), because it’s a very open-ended situation. I think in ten years, I think it has the possibility of being an enormously valuable media company that could have a market cap like Amazon’s or something of $100 billion.
Kyle Bass turns critical eye toward China (HedgeFundIntelligence)
Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital Management is well known as a Japan bear, but it is the risk of a full-scale recession in China that is pushing him to aggressively take down risk across his portfolio, according to a June investor letter obtained by Absolute Return China troubles could result in “very bad news for asset prices around the world,” he wrote. “The scale and pace of credit expansion in China over the last 5 years is truly staggering. The compounded annual growth of bank assets as measured by the China Banking Regulatory Commission has been 30.8%,” Bass wrote. “To give some perspective, a 30.8% compounded annual growth of credit in the U.S. equivalent over 5 years would be an expansion of $33 trillion. This rate of credit growth is three times the total credit system growth experienced…
Mistrial In Hedge Fund Fraud Case (Finalternatives)
A federal jury has failed to reach a verdict in the fraud case against a former hedge fund manager. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in New York declared a mistrial after jurors spent four days deliberating Michael Balboa’s fate. “If you can’t reach a verdict unanimously, that’s a decision we have to recognize,” the judge said. Balboa, who worked at London-based Millennium Global Investments, was accused of misleading investors about the hedge fund’s investment in illiquid bonds. Prosecutors said he and two brokers inflated the bond’s value, and then hid those valuations from Millennium’s auditor while trumpeting them to clients.
Neymar-Investing Hedge Fund Doyen Said Backed by Kazakh Family (SFGate)
A property developer and luxury hotel chain owner are among a small group of investment partners in Doyen Capital LLP, which has made bets on the career of soccer stars Neymar and Radamel Falcao, two people who have worked with the hedge fund said. The families of Tevfik Arif, founder of Bayrock Group LLC, and Fettah Tamince, chief executive officer of Rixos Hotels, are investing in soccer, energy trading and other areas through Doyen, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the subject. The fund’s managers include Arif’s son, according to one of the people.
