At Davos, Debate on Whether Banks Have Learned Their Lessons (NYTimes)
Paul Singer, the founder of the hedge fund Elliott Management, said on Wednesday that he remained skeptical that the financial markets were safer despite the changes enacted in the banking industry and by regulators after the financial crisis. As part of a debate on the postcrisis financial system at the World Economic Forum, Mr. Singer said that banks remained highly leveraged and that the buying of debt by central banks had distorted the prices of stocks and bonds. He also said he disagreed with claims that banks “unquestionably understand” the potential risks on their balance sheets.
Einhorn Discloses Stakes in BP and Anadarko (NYTimes)
The hedge fund manager David Einhorn has made a pair of bets on the oil sector. Mr. Einhorn’s firm, Greenlight Capital, said in a quarterly letter to investors on Tuesday that it had taken stakes in BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) of Britain and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC), which is based in Houston. Greenlight Capital did not disclose the value of the stakes but said they were “medium-sized.” In afternoon trading in New York, BP’s American depositary shares rose more than 1 percent, to about $49, while shares of Anadarko Petroleum were up more than 2 percent, at about $83.
Altin Unveils Hedge Fund Roster (Finalternatives)
Listed fund of hedge funds Altin is taking its transparency pledge very seriously. The Swiss firm has disclosed its entire portfolio, identifying every fund it invests with and how much of its money each manages. The US$230 million FoF invests in 46 funds, having added 10 to the portfolio in the fourth quarter of last year. With leverage, it has 126.72% exposure. The Altin roster is littered with prominent names, among them Cerberus Capital Management, Claren Road Asset Management, Coatue Management, Fortress Investment Group, Hayman Capital Partners, Jana Partners, Marathon Asset Management, Millennium Management, Odey Asset Management, Tudor Investment Corp., Two Sigma Investments, Verrazzano Capital and York Capital Management.
V2 Capital Announces $200 Million Investment in Hedge Fund (HedgeCo)
V2 Capital, an SEC-registered investment advisor, received a $200 million dollar allocation from a Fortune 500 insurance company to the V2 Hedged Equity Strategy, the firm announced today. The investment was allocated during the fourth quarter of 2013 and is now fully deployed in the Strategy. Victor Viner, Founder, President and Chief Investment Officer of V2 Capital said, “The latest allocation validates our belief that the V2 Hedged Equity Strategy should be a core equity holding for institutional investors. The Strategy is designed to produce attractive risk-adjusted returns throughout a market cycle.
Why Bill Fleckenstein Is (Almost) Ready to Short Stocks (BusinessWeek)
Take this as a caution if you’re an investor who thinks the Nasdaq Composite Index, up 34 percent in the 12 months ended on Jan. 21, has room to run. Hedge-fund manager Bill Fleckenstein is raising money to short tech shares. Fleckenstein, 60, based in Seattle, has called a few crashes, Bloomberg Markets reports in its February 2014 issue. He shorted Japanese stocks starting in 1988, meaning he sold borrowed shares to buy them back later at a lower price. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average plunged 39 percent in 1990. He also made money for clients as stocks slid in 2008. And he’s made mistakes, shorting technology stocks in 1999, which was too soon. The Nasdaq climbed 86 percent that year and didn’t peak until March 2000. Fleckenstein declines to say how much his investors lost.
Pine Grove Launches Registered Vehicle To Provide Institutional Quality Offering For Investors (SacBee)
Pine Grove Asset Management LLC (PGAM) today announced the launch of the Pine Grove Alternative Institutional Fund (Alt Instl Fund), its first registered closed-end fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Alt Instl Fund adds to the well-established fund-of-funds offerings at PGAM, which was founded in 1994 and is one of the oldest, independent firms in the hedge fund industry. The Alt Instl Fund will provide accredited investors with streamlined access to relative value and event driven hedge fund strategies with a core focus on credit investing.
Like international; neutral on emerging markets: Pro (CNBC)
Michael Steinhardt, Wall Street’s Greatest Trader, Is Back — And He’s Reinventing Investing Again (Forbes)
During the three decades that Wall Street grew up, morphing from a gentlemen’s investment club into a global financial colossus, Michael Steinhardt emerged as the world’s greatest trader. From 1967 to 1995 his pioneering hedge fund returned an average of 24.5% annually to its investors, even after Steinhardt took 20% of the profits. Put a different way, $10,000 invested with Steinhardt in 1967 would have been worth $4.8 million on the day he shuttered his fund. (The same investment in the S&P would have been worth $190,000.) It was a performance that landed him on The Forbes 400 in 1993, with a net worth estimated at more than $300 million.
Hedge fund analyst runs record 77 miles in 12 hours (CNBC)
By day, Chris Solarz analyzes hedge funds for big pensions, endowments and other clients of investment consulting firm Cliffwater. By night—and early mornings and weekends—Solarz is a serial world record setter in tests of extreme endurance. The 35-year-old’s latest feat was to set the Guinness World Record for the greatest distance run in 12 hours on a treadmill by logging an astounding 77.07 miles. Solarz did it on Jan. 18 in Edgewater, New Jersey at the Fitness Factory Health Club from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. The rules were simple: Run at any speed and take as many breaks as desired, but the clock never stops.
Lone Pine Raises $2B For New Hedge Fund (Finalternatives)
Stephen Mandel‘s Lone Pine Capital has launched its first new hedge fund in a decade with $2 billion, a person with knowledge of the fund told FINalternatives. Regulatory filings show Lone Pine raised $694 million for the onshore version of the Lone Tamarack Fund, which launched in January. The offshore version will account for the rest, said the source. The new fund is a long/short equities strategy focused on stocks with at least $50 million in average daily trading volume. The fund expects to hold 40 to 50 names at any given time and will have roughly 80% overlap with the Lone Pine’s two existing long/short funds—Lone Cypress and Lone Kauri.
Jim Rogers: Gold Headed for Short Covering Rally (LiveTradingNews)
Jim Rogers: Gold Headed for Short Covering Rally A short covering rally is in store for Gold after its 28% decline in Y 2013, says investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings. The precious Yellow metal has gained 4% so far this month, with the Feb COMEX contract trading around 1,239.50 Wednesday. Investors sold Gold last year as anticipation that the US Federal Reserve would taper its QE program quelled worries about inflation. “There are huge shorts that have developed in precious metals,” Mr. Rogers explains in his commentary.
Nouriel Roubini: Fed’s bubble creations will create financial collapse in 2 years (EconomicCollapseNews)
The United States economy isn’t really recovering and it’s too weak to stand on its own two feet. The Federal Reserve understands this, which is why it’s still continuing with its quantitative easing initiative of $85 billion per month – soon to be $75 billion. It realizes that as soon as it ceases its injections, the market will tank because it depends too much on stimulus. New York University economist Nouriel Roubini told an audience at a Time Inc. breakfast event Friday that the central bank’s monetary actions are leading to the creation of bubbles, including housing, junk bonds and eventually bitcoins. This, he says, will incite a financial crisis within the next two to three years.
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Lone Pine Capital Discloses New 6.4% Stake in SBA Communications Corporation (SBAC)
