Break up Du Pont: Trian Fund (GantDaily)
In a letter sent to DuPont’s Board of Directors, Trian Fund Management LP urged that DuPont be split up in order to be more competitive. The hedge fund established by billionaire Nelson Peltz, lauded the recent efforts of the company to shed non-core businesses, but said more needs to be done. This is but another sample of an activist investor stirring things up in order to bring change to help in driving up the value of the shares owned…
Adidas shares jump on report of hedge fund activism (Reuters)
Shares in sportswear maker adidas AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:ADDYY) jumped on Wednesday on a report that a group of hedge funds is seeking to buy a stake to pressure management to make sweeping changes, although one of the funds dismissed this. Germany’s manager magazin said hedge funds including Knight Vinke, Third Point and TCI were considering buying stake in the world’s second-largest sportswear company, driving a 4 percent jump in its shares.
Emerging hedge fund managers lead industry gains (Opalesque)
Emerging hedge fund managers have led industry performance over the past year, as equity markets have extended gains, investor risk tolerance has escalated and total hedge fund capital has increased to a record level. Emerging hedge fund managers with a track record of less than two years have posted an average gain of +11.3 percent in the trailing 12 months ending 2Q14, topping the gain of +9.1 percent for the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite, as reported in the latest HFR® Market Microstructure Industry Report, released today by HFR, the established global leader in the indexation, analysis and research of the global hedge fund industry.
Saba Fund Drops as Weinstein Heads for Third Losing Year (BusinessWeek)
Hedge-fund manager Boaz Weinstein posted declines for a seventh straight month in August as his firm heads for a third year of losses. His Saba Capital Management LP fell 1.6 percent last month in its credit fund, according to an investor letter obtained by Bloomberg News. The fund climbed 0.6 percent this month through Sept. 12, curbing its annual decline to 4.5 percent, according to a separate client update. Weinstein, the former co-head of Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB)’s credit business, started Saba in 2009 to exploit swings in market prices.
Capita Buys Hedge Fund Services Specialist Throgmorton (Finalternatives)
Capita Asset Services has acquired hedge fund service provider Throgmorton for an undisclosed amount. Throgmorton is one of the leading specialist accountancy and back office service providers to the financial services industry, with a particular focus on the alternative asset management sector. Its clients include more than 300 hedge fund managers, private equity firms and corporate finance boutiques both in the UK and the U.S. It was established in 1999 to provide outsourced company secretarial services and now also offers accounting, tax, HR, payroll and health & safety services.
Nightly Business Report: Public pensions & hedge funds (YouTube)
SEC Sanctions 19 Hedge Fund Advisers, Private Equity Firms (HedgeCo)
The SEC has issued sanctions in an enforcement initiative uncovering certain hedge fund advisers and private equity firms that have illegally participated in an offering of a stock after short selling it during a restricted period. The SEC last year announced the initiative to enhance enforcement of Rule 105 of Regulation M, which is designed to preserve the independent pricing mechanisms of the securities markets and prevent stock price manipulation. Rule 105 typically prohibits firms or individuals from short selling a stock within five business days of participating in an offering for that same stock.
Investcorp Acquires Approximately $250 Million In Real Estate (HedgeCo)
Investcorp, the $11 billion hedge fund manager, is expanding its U.S.-based real estate arm. Through separate transactions, Investcorp has acquired a portfolio of office and industrial properties in Durham, NC, Seattle, WA and Jacksonville, FL for approximately $250 million. Combined, the properties acquired consist of nearly 2.2 million square feet and have an average occupancy rate of 87 percent. …This acquisition follows Investcorp’s 2012 acquisition of three properties in the Raleigh market, which was recently named by Forbes as the fastest growing city in the U.S.
Bad News for Hedge Funds Good for BlackRock Stock (Barrons)
The hedge fund industry is experiencing a Marie Antoinette moment. After years of stories about the massive houses, art collections, exotic autos, tax breaks, and fantastic life styles of hedge fund managers, some of the people who pay for those luxuries are saying, No more. The fund managers may not lose their heads, à la Marie Antoinette, but their gilded pay packages may suffer a sordid end. BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, should benefit from the nascent revolt against high management fees and poor performance that characterizes much of the hedge fund industry.
Goldman Asia Hedge Fund Hits $1 Billion (Finalternatives)
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)’ in-house Asia hedge fund has garnered US$1 billion in assets and closed to investors less than a year after its debut. Oryza Capital told clients in June that it would stop accepting after capital commitments reached its capacity. The fund may reopen to investment in the future, Bloomberg News reports. Oryza debuted in September of last year with US$80 million, helmed by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners’ Asia co-heads, Hideki Kinuhata and Ryan Thall. The fund is an opportunistic long/short strategy, investing across the region, including in Australia and Japan.
Tiger Global leads $60 million investment in Quikr (FirstPost)
Indian online classifieds portal Quikr has secured $60 million from backers led by U.S. investor Tiger Global Management LLC to boost product development and expand its mobile business, the company said on Wednesday. Indian online businesses, especially e-retailers, have been a favourite for global investors who are betting on the segment’s growth in a country which already has the world’s third-largest population of Internet users, even though less than a fifth of its 1.3 billion people have access to the web. Tiger Global – part hedge fund, part private equity – is one of a growing number of Wall Street financiers eyeing technology start-ups who have yet to list on the market.
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