US Hedge Fund Hayman Capital Bets on Argentine Bonds Despite Default Risk (IBTimes)
Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass believes investors can still profit by lending to Argentina, Latin America’s third-largest economy. Bass does not think Argentina’s $475bn (£291bn, €351bn) economy will burden creditors with losses an eighth time. Bass, who purchased Argentine bonds at 55 cents on the dollar in 2013, has no plans to sell them. He profited by betting against US mortgages in 2007. However, global investors say there is an 86% chance that Argentina will quit paying in the next five years.
Activist Investor Takes Aim at Helen of Troy (NYTimes)
Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ:HELE) may not be as famous as its classical namesake. But the consumer company, whose brands include the housewares maker OXO International, may be the subject of a fight all the same. Sachem Head Capital Management, a $1 billion activist hedge fund led by a protégé of William A. Ackman, sent a public letter to Helen of Troy’s board on Tuesday, demanding that the company explore strategic alternatives including a sale of some of its assets.
Conifer and Vastardis Merge To Form Global Hedge Fund Administration Firm (HedgeCo)
Hedge fund administrators Conifer Group, LLC, and Vastardis Capital Services Holdings LP. have signed a definitive merger agreement combining the two companies to form Conifer Financial Services, LLC. At inception, Conifer Financial Services will have combined assets under administration of more than $70 billion and offer trade execution services to over 200 clients worldwide, the firms said in a joint statement. Jack McDonald, currently CEO of Conifer Group, will become President and CEO. William Vastardis, Founder and President of Vastardis, will be named Chairman.
Arden offers second fund where Main Street can try hedge funds (Reuters)
Arden Asset Management, which has been offering retail clients at Fidelity a way to sample hedge funds for more than a year, is branching out with a second mutual fund that will give other brokerage customers similar access to top hedge fund mangers. Arden, which manages $6.1 billion for pensions and large institutional clients, launched its Arden Alternative Strategies II fund this week, a little over a year after rolling out a similar fund with mutual fund giant Fidelity. For as little as $1,000, investors will be able to gain access to hedge fund industry powerhouse firms D.E. Shaw Investment Management, York Capital Management, CQS (US) and eight other fund firms, regulatory documents show. Arden plans to cap fees at 1.99 percent.
Investors Meet Canada’s 2013 Award-Winning Hedge Fund Managers (NewsWire)
On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 18, 2014, a diverse group of investors will gather at the prestigious Albany Club to hear from six winners of the 2013 Canadian Hedge Fund Awards. The managers will explain their investment strategies, their perspective on the market opportunities for 2014 and beyond and discuss the critical questions that need to be addressed before making an investment in a hedge fund. The 2013 Canadian Hedge Fund Awards were the sixth annual awards but this is the first time winners have come together in a special event for investors.
Is Your Hedge Fund A Trader Or Investor? It Matters (Law360)
Hedge fund managers should be aware of two recent U.S. Tax Court memorandum decisions that shed further light on when a taxpayer, such as a hedge fund, is considered to be a “trader” or “investor” for tax purposes — a designation that may affect the deductibility of fund expenses. While these cases are more in a long line of decisions involving individuals who trade for their own account, they highlight the factors that courts focus on when making the trader versus investor determination. In Endicott v….
Marc Faber: Hoping for 40 percent correction (CNBC)
Schulte Roth Adds Hedge Fund Lawyer In London (Finalternatives)
Top hedge fund law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel has added a top hedge fund lawyer to its London office. New York-based Schulte Roth said it had snared Steven Whittaker from Simmons & Simmons. Whittaker will serve as a partner in Schulte Roth’s investment management group, which added 50 new clients in London over the past year. “I am very excited to join Schulte Roth & Zabel, which advises some of the most celebrated names in the European hedge fund industry,” Whittaker said. “I look forward to contributing to the firm’s growth.”
Tocqueville Bullion Reserve Fund Launches With $27M (Finalternatives)
Tocqueville Bullion Reserve, a hedge fund that will invest 100% of its net assets in gold bullion, launched in January with $27 million. The fund, billed as “the first institutional-grade vehicle to offer real ownership of physical gold,” plans to store its purchases in insured, private, non-bank vaults in Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.S.—locations chosen for their “close proximity to the most liquid global bullion markets.” Tocqueville Asset Management senior executive John Hathaway is a managing director of the new fund, along with Simon Mikhailovich and Michael Sollot, co-founders of Eidesis Capital, a special situations-focused asset management firm. Prior to Eidesis, the two served as portfolio managers at Falcon Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of USF&G Corp.
Roubini: ‘Many Emerging Markets Are in Real Trouble’ (MoneyNews)
The turmoil of emerging markets during the past couple weeks points to the deep economic problems many of those nations face, says Nouriel Roubini, an economist at New York University. “Many emerging markets are in real trouble,” he writes in an article for Project Syndicate. “The list includes India, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa (the ‘Fragile Five’), because all have twin fiscal and current-account deficits, falling growth rates, above-target inflation and political uncertainty from upcoming legislative and/or presidential elections this year.”
Ackman’s Pershing Square posts 3.8 pct gain in January (MSN)
Billionaire investor William Ackman’s fund surged 3.8 percent in January, handily beating the stock market’s decline and taking some of the sting away from last year, when losing trades involving J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) dragged on his fund’s performance. Ackman’s $12 billion Pershing Square Capital Management told clients that its Pershing Square LP fund gained 3.8 percent, after fees, last month according to a performance update sent to investors earlier on Tuesday and seen by Reuters.
Watch This CEO Make Jay-Z Go Wild On Stage As He Sings Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ (BusinessInsider)
David Weinreb, CEO of The Howard Hughes Corporation, was pulled on stage at Jay-Z and Beyonce’s Super Bowl after-party to sing. Weinreb, 48, performed Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” and it was incredible. Even Jay-Z started jumping up and down when he was hitting his notes. …A year ago, the Howard Hughes Corporation was called one of the “best kept secrets on Wall Street,” by hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Ackman, who runs Pershing Square, is the chairman of Howard Hughes’ board and his hedge fund owns a big stake.
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