Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)
Billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Bacon is placing a big bet on mid-market lending by backing a new firm that is seeking to raise a $750 million debt fund aiming at the lower end of the middle market, two sources told sister magazine Buyouts. Bacon, the founder of Moore Capital Management LP, a New York-based hedge fund, has committed to provide an estimated $200 million cornerstone pledge to MC Credit, a firm that has been reconstituted to reflect its new source of capital, said a person familiar with the fundraising effort. MC Credit launched in May as the successor to Cyan Partners, a lower mid-market lender founded in 2008 by Ashok Nayyar, who had been co-head of global leveraged finance at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from 2006 to 2008 and before that a managing director in the leveraged finance group at Citigroup from 1997 to 2006.
Credit Suisse replaces Morgan Stanley as No. 2 Asia prime broker (Reuters)
The Asian prime brokerage unit of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) has replaced Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) as the second largest firm servicing the region’s $148 billion hedge funds industry, a survey showed. The annual survey by industry tracker AsiaHedge, released this week, found that Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) remains Asia’s top prime broker with 179 clients and total assets under management of $24.6 billion. Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) overtook Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by adding 14 new clients and $2.4 billion in assets over the last year, a first for any prime broker in Asia, the survey showed.
UK-based hedge fund holds off US dominance to crack big league of top hedgie performers (CityAM)
A BOUTIQUE London-based hedge fund has smashed into the top three best performing funds in the world this year, breaking the dominance of US hedge fund managers, according to a poll. Chenavari Investment Managers, which is based near Hyde Park, polled third in a rundown of the year’s 100 best performing hedge funds compiled by Barron’s after its Chenavari Toro Capital IA soared to a three-year compound return of 46.54 per cent a year. Just 18 of the 100 hedge funds on the list are based outside of the US. The average return of the 100 is 17.42 per cent.
Sensato Doubts Japan Stock Valuation After Hedge Fund’s 15% Gain (BusinessWeek)
Sensato Capital Management LLC, the Man Group Plc-backed manager of $1.3 billion assets, said Japanese stock valuations are no longer attractive after its Asia hedge fund returned 15 percent this year through April. The Sensato Asia-Pacific Master Fund returned almost 7 percent in April, the second-strongest monthly performance since it opened to investors in June 2010, according to a newsletter to investors. Bets on rising Japanese stocks were a big contributor, the San Francisco-based manager added. The Nikkei 225 (NKY) Stock Average surged almost 12 percent last month to the highest level since 2008 after the Bank of Japan said it will double the monetary base in its biggest round of quantitative easing.
Dish’s Ergen eyes LightSquared spectrum (Reuters)
Charlie Ergen, the chairman of U.S. satellite company DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), has offered to buy bankrupt broadband company LightSquared Inc’s wireless airwaves, a source close to Ergen told Reuters. Ergen’s offer for LightSquared spectrum is valued at $2 billion, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the bid. LightSquared, which declared bankruptcy in May 2012, was bankrolled by one of the hedge fund industry’s most powerful figures, Philip Falcone.
Hedge Fund Can’t Force Arbitration In MBS Dispute (Finalternatives)
If Turnberry Capital Management wants its $13 million back from SunTrust Banks, it will have to seek it in the courts. A federal judge in New York sided with SunTrust on Friday, blocking the hedge fund’s arbitration claim against the bank. Turnberry, which went under in 2008, is seeking $13 million it lost on mortgage-backed securities issued by SunTrust the year before. Turnberry wanted the case heard by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel. But U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that the hedge fund doesn’t qualify as a SunTrust customer under FINRA rules.
Kings Won’t Be Sold To Hedge Fund Manager (Finalternatives)
Within days of the death of his plan to move the Sacramento Kings to his hometown, hedge fund manager Christopher Hansen‘s dream of buying the team went the same way. The Kings’ current majority owners have agreed to sell their stake in the basketball team to a group led by technology investor Vivek Ranadive. The new owners will pay less than Hansen had offered, but will keep the team in California’s capital. “We just need to sign some papers and finalize everything,” Ranadive told the Sacramento Bee.
Are Women Better Investors then Men? (InvestorPlace)
There has been a “battle of the sexes” going on in the investing world for years, and I’m not about to turn it into a war by taking sides. With hedge funds, it’s all about performance, and I can say that as a woman who has run hedge funds, I’m proud of the job I’ve done and the performance we’ve turned in. This is why I found a Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) Daily Ticker article called, “Female Hedge Fund Managers Ruled the Markets in 2012? very interesting. Apparently a study found that female managers outperformed males last year, as well as the global hedge fund index for the last five years. The article stated that women were better at this type of investment for two reasons: Women are more equipped to handle market volatility, and they also run smaller hedge funds, which allows them to better navigate the market.
Jim Rogers Still Likes Silver and Gold (LiveTradingNews)
Jim Rogers Still Likes Silver and Gold Silver prices have slumped to their lowest level since September 2010 and Gold prices are down 18% YTD leading many market observers to declare that the super-rally in commodities is finished. Jim Rogers, the investor and Chairman of Rogers Holdings, says the commodities Bull Market continues. He calls the latest slump in prices a correction. “I still do not see massive new supply coming into the market which will keep prices down,” he said Monday.
Carl Icahn Is Going to Lose a Lot of Money on This One (Fool)
In a recent filing with the SEC, Carl Icahn revealed that he has increased his stake in speech-to-text software maker Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) to nearly 11%. He did this after Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) reported disappointing earnings and deeply disappointing Q3 guidance, and the stock plunged to new levels of cheapness. But is Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) stock cheap for a reason? Fool contributor Rich Smith thinks Icahn is making a big mistake in buying into this company — maybe even as big as his mistake when he bought into Blockbuster. Listen in, and find out why.
Jim Rogers, Bernanke to Leave Fed to Avoid Hangover From His Policies (LiveTradingNews)
Jim Rogers, Bernanke to Leave Fed to Avoid Hangover From His Policies The Federal Reserve is pumping up the economy and financial markets with its massive easing tactics, and central bank Chairman Ben Bernanke might not seek another term because he does not want to deal with the “hangover” aftermath of his policies, says investor Jim Rogers, Chairman of Rogers Holdings. “Right now we have a very artificial situation. You have the central bank in America printing staggering amounts of money,” he said in a TV interview Sunday.
Herbalife’s Stock Is Ripping (BusinessInsider)
Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) are ripping today with the nutrition supplement seller’s stock last trading up more than 8% at $48 per share. We haven’t seen any news on the stock, yet. Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is one of the most controversial stocks and it has generated a great deal of dicussion on both the long and short side. Back in December, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who runs $12 billion Pershing Square Capital Management, publicly announced that he’s shorting more than 20 million shares of the stock. Ackman believes the company is a “pyramid scheme” and has a price target of $0.
Laffont’s Coatue Management Launches Long-Only Fund (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Philippe Laffont, the founder of New York-based hedge fund firm Coatue Management, is the latest so-called Tiger Cub to launch a long-only fund. Laffont’s firm recently raised $45.5 million for the Coatue Long Only Partners fund in its first sale, which closed May 1, according to a regulatory filing. Tiger Cubs were employed by Julian Robertson Jr. at his Tiger Management Corp. hedge fund firm. This is the second new fund Laffont has launched this year. On February 1 he raised $270 million in the Coatue Hybrid Fund I and an offshore feeder fund. Laffont, who managed $6 billion at year-end, ranked No. 17 on the most recent Institutional Investor’s Alpha Rich List after earning $280 million in 2012. He earned $110 million in 2011, his first year on the annual ranking of the highest-earning hedge fund managers. Last year his long-short hedge fund rose 17 percent.
