Peltz-led activist hedge fund pares State Street stake (eFinancialNews)
Trian Fund Management, which disclosed a 3.3% stake worth nearly $560m in State Street in October 2011 when the giant US custody bank’s shares were valued at about $34 apiece, is understood to have reduced the holding near the end of last year. While the activist New York hedge fund, led by co-founder Nelson Peltz, pocketed a profit on the sale, the move came at a per-share price far below the near $99 level the high-profile corporate agitator stated State Street would be worth in 2014 if the trust bank followed their “action plan”.
Hedge Funds Care has confirmed its full list of partner organizations for the 2012-2013 grants cycle. During that period, Hedge Funds Care Midwest will be supporting no fewer than 17 groups working to address the effects of child abuse. The nine continuing grants and eight new grants total $620,000, generously donated by hedge fund industry participants. Hedge Funds Care grants are awarded to charitable organizations in the following areas that address child abuse: education, prevention, intervention, research, advocacy, and training.
Hedge Fund Consultants (LiveTradingNews)
Hedge Fund Consultants The Heffernan Group of Companies use a top down approach developed by Dr. Heffernan Ph.D. to develop value protected, growth driven portfolios with in the guidelines of the clients risk tolerance and regulatory requirements. We provide managerial services, strategy, timing and portfolio-level research and advisory services to institutions globally. Our clients are some of the most sophisticated allocators to hedge funds, and include pensions, government-related funds, foundations, endowments, and insurance companies.
Hong Kong hedge fund Double Haven doubles assets to $415m due to surge of money in credit investments (Opalesque)
Hong Kong-based credit specialist hedge fund Double Haven Capital saw its assets jump to $415m as money continues to flow into credit investments despite earlier fears that high yield and emerging market debt may be heading towards a bubble. In a report, AsianInvestor said Double Haven only last month launched a $200m long only credit strategy for a global reinsurance firm. It was added that the credit specialist is also planning to launch a new illiquid strategy fund that will focus on private lending and distressed position in the next few months.
FSA Finalizes Fines, Ban of Swiss Hedge Fund Manager (Finalternatives)
The U.K. Financial Services Authority is standing by its punishment of hedge fund manager Stefan Chaligné and two brokers who worked for him. The regulator on Friday confirmed the fines and bans it levied against the three men last year. In September, a British court upheld those moves. The FSA accused Chaligné, a Swiss national, of ordering the brokers, Cheikch Tidiane Diallo and Patrick Sejean, to buy up big blocks of seven stocks at the end of 2007 to drive up their price and the performance of his Iviron hedge fund for the year. Chaligné said any market manipulation was inadvertent and that he should not be subject to an industry ban.
Despite scrutiny, SAC’s Cohen continues business as usual (StamfordAdvocate)
At last month’s Hurricane Sandy benefit concert, Steven A. Cohen sat near the Madison Square Garden stage, grooving to performances by Bon Jovi and Billy Joel. Last week, the Greenwich resident flew a private jet to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, rubbing shoulders with world leaders and Fortune 500 chieftains. And on Monday, he showed up at the Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Fla., for one of the year’s biggest hedge fund conferences and, possibly, a round of golf.
Hess exits storage, refining; fund may seek board seats (BayouBuzz)
Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES) on Monday announced plans to sell its oil storage terminal network and exit the oil refining business, after activist hedge fund Elliott Associates said it was considering nominating directors to the Hess board. Hess’ decision to become predominantly an exploration and production company is similar to the strategy employed by others such as ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil , which spun off their refining operations in recent years. “Hess is now facing some activist shareholder interest. In order to deflect or preempt pressure from Elliot, Hess announced it will be becoming a pure E&P company,” said Pavel Molchanov , an oil analyst for Raymond James.
The Economist Is Calling Dan Loeb The ‘Happiest Hedge Funder’ At Davos (BusinessInsider)
The World Economic Forum at Davos isn’t necessarily a winner-loser kind of conference… but competition is human nature. Perhaps that’s why The Economist couldn’t resist calling out a win for activist hedge fund manager Dan Loeb: Happiest hedge-funder. Dan Loeb, of Third Point, who in the past year has shaken up Yahoo! and defended Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), was over the moon at he and his hedge fund brethren being described as a “stabilizing force” in the world economy by Mark Carney, the new Governor of the Bank of England.
Soros: Hedge Funds Can’t Top Markets (Finalternatives)
One of the world’s most famous hedge fund managers is piling on the industry some two years after he retired. Speaking to Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, George Soros cast doubt on hedge funds’ future ability to do better than the broader markets. “Since hedge funds are now a dominant force in the market, they can’t, as a group, outperform the market,” Soros said. The 82-year old added that managers’ and investors’ risk aversion will only make things worse.
A hedge fund dogfight, live, mesmerises wall street (NDTV)
For a half-hour Friday afternoon, the eyes of Wall Street were not on the usual fixations, like the fiscal talks in Washington, or Apple’s earnings or a potential takeover of Dell. Instead, they were turned to the cable channel CNBC, watching verbal fisticuffs that could rival anything on reality TV, a spat between two hedge fund magnates with a decade-long grudge against each other. Nominally, the two titans, Carl Icahn and William Ackman, called into CNBC to discuss their contrasting views on Herbalife, a nutritional supplements company. Instead, they slung invective back and forth in a fight that riveted traders and Twitter alike.
Armajaro Asset Management Trader Steele Dies at Age of 35 (SFGate)
Ben Steele, who joined hedge fund Armajaro Asset Management LLP last year to start a pool trading shares of financial companies, has died. He was 35. He died on Jan. 25 of a suspected heart attack, according to Andrew Mitchell, a spokesman for the London-based firm. Armajaro, which oversees about $2 billion, started the Global Financials fund last year to expand beyond its roots in trading commodities. The firm hired Steele and Peter Walters from asset manager TT International Ltd. to run the pool.
Russia To Try Hedge Fund Lawyer Posthumously (Finalternatives)
While Russian prosecutors have not tried very hard to win a conviction in the case of the death of Sergei Magnitsky, they are moving forward with a posthumous trial for the hedge fund lawyer. The trial of Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison in November 2009 at the age of 37, and of his client, Hermitage Capital Management’s William Browder, began today in Moscow. The two are accused of tax fraud. It is unclear whether the trial, condemned as “Kafkaesque” by Amnesty International, will be open to the public. Magnitsky’s mother is boycotting the proceedings and has urged the lawyers appointed to represent her dead son to refuse to serve.
Hedge fund researcher wins OP-Pohjola award (InvestmentEurope)
Finnish financial group OP-Pohjola’s Group Research Foundation Doctoral Thesis competition has awarded its prize of €10,000 to Petri Jylhä, for his work “Essays on the Economics of Hedge Funds”. The doctoral dissertation consists of four essays that examine hedge funds from various perspectives: – The first essay investigates hedge fund operations in international financial markets.
Man United First Franchise Valued at $3bn (ThisDayLive)
The English Premier League’s Manchester United F.C. has become the first franchise of any sport valued at $3 billion worldwide, according to a report by Mike Ozanian of Forbes on Monday. Shares of [United], which were offered to the public last August at $14, did poorly at first but have soared the past few days. Last seen at just under $17, Manchester United’s stock has outperformed the S&P 500 since its IPO and made the controlling Glazer family and legendary investor George Soros…wealthier, reports Next.
Ex-lover’s $50M lawsuit against Soros moves forward (WashingtonTimes)
The saucy melodrama between billionaire financier George Soros and his decades-younger ex-girlfriend is expected to continue for another season. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge shot down the tycoon’s attempt to dismiss a $50 million lawsuit by his ex, Brazilian soap-opera actress Adriana Ferreyr. The New York Daily News reported in March that Mr. Soros even went so far as bribing the actress’s cousin with $250,000 in efforts to get her to persuade Ms. Ferreyr to drop the claim against him.
Herbalife—The One Question That Matters (CNBC)
It seems people just can’t get enough of Herbalife and the controversy surrounding this stock. On Friday the company was at the center of a spirited exchange between top hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and billionaire investor Carl Icahn. The two Wall Street titans locked horns over the future prospects of the company. Ackman is short the stock, a bet the stock will go lower; he’s been very public in his belief that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme — an allegation the company strongly denies.
