Peltz Escalates Campaign To Break Up DuPont with Board Nominees (CNBC)
Activist investor Nelson Peltz, one of DuPont’s largest shareholders, stepped up his fight to break up the industrial conglomerate, as his Trian Fund nominated himself and three other members to the board. Trian Fund Management, which Peltz heads, said on Thursday that investment funds it manages own 24.3 million DuPont shares worth about $1.8 billion. That is a 2.68 percent stake.
Bill Ackman’s Short List of CEOs (The Wall Street Journal)
A lengthy profile of Mr. Ackman on Bloomberg’s website this week includes a photo of the hedge-fund manager at his desk, sleeves rolled up, pen in hand, with a breathtaking view of Central Park in the background. In front of him: his Bloomberg terminal and some papers. Look closer–as Barbarian Capital did in a blog post–and there’s something curious about the papers. There’s a notepad facing away from Mr. Ackman so that the writing faces the camera. And the other papers on the desk of Mr. Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Managment LP, are either turned over or blank.
Meet The Most Powerful Woman In Hedge Funds (CNBC)
The hedge fund industry has two new massive independent money managers to start 2015. Leda Braga formally started Systematica Investments this month after years under prominent European hedge fund firm BlueCrest Capital Management. Geneva-based Braga manages the same amount she ran at BlueCrest, $8.5 billion, easily making her the most powerful female hedge fund manager in the world in charge of her own shop. David Warren also completed his transition out of Brevan Howard Asset Management, another European hedge fund giant. Warren’s newly independent firm, New York-based DW Partners, starts with more than $6 billion in assets.
Brevan Howard’s Assets Said to Shrink by $9 Billion in 3 Months (Bloomberg)
Brevan Howard Asset Management shed a quarter of its assets in three months after the hedge-fund firm posted its first losing year and an affiliated manager took control of two investment pools, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Brevan, one of Europe’s biggest hedge-fund firms, now manages $27 billion, the person said, requesting anonymity because the fund’s returns are private. The Jersey, Channel Islands-based firm managed $36 billion at the end of September, people with knowledge of the situation said at the time.
Former Hedgie Steyer Eyes Senate Run In California (CNBC)
Tom Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund manager who became a major environmental activist and political booster, is considering a run for the U.S. Senate, according to multiple reports. Steyer would run for the seat in California vacated by Democrat Barbara Boxer, who announced this week she would not seek re-election in 2016. Others who could run include California Democrats Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor; Kamala Harris, the attorney general, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.”
Calpers’ Ex-Hedge Fund Chief Robertiello Hired by Chatham (Bloomberg)
Ed Robertiello, the former head of California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s absolute return strategies, joined high-yield investment manager Chatham Asset Management after the largest U.S. pension plan opted to exit hedge funds. Robertiello started Jan. 1 as a partner and director of strategic development, the $1.7 billion Chatham, New Jersey-based firm told clients in a letter today. Robertiello left Calpers in December, three months after it decided to divest the $4 billion it had invested in hedge funds.
McGavick Says Hedge Funds Moving Beyond Pat-You-On-Head Approach (Bloomberg)
Investors such as hedge funds and pensions are becoming more sophisticated as they partner with insurers, XL Group Plc (XL) Chief Executive Officer Mike McGavick said. In the past, capital-markets partners would “pat you on the head and they’d say, ‘You just go kinda do some break-even underwriting for us,’” McGavick said today on a conference call with analysts. “As the year went on, it was very clear that the smart players in those alternative capital spaces started saying, ‘You know, actually underwriting matters too.’’
Hedge Fund Salus Alpha’s Flagship Strategy Up 19.5 pct in 2014 (Reuters)
Hedge fund Salus Alpha’s Directional Markets Strategy, a systematic strategy that trades up to 100 global futures and forwards markets, ended 2014 up 19.5 percent, an investor letter seen by Reuters showed. Commodity trading advisers or CTA, a hedge fund strategy betting on long-running trends in markets, were up about 10 percent last year, data from industry tracker Eurekahedge showed.
