How to Track Hedge Funds (WSJ)
In the Weekend Investor cover story, we looked at cheaper and easier ways investors can capture most of the performance of hedge funds. We argued that while individual hedge-fund managers might make big, idiosyncratic bets that pay off or fail, hedge funds as a group don’t look all that different from a basic portfolio of exchange-traded funds. …Chances are, you will. Even though hedge funds have a low-beta, growth-stock tilt right now, there’s evidence that they change their market exposure over time. A working paper released in October by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Waterloo; San Diego State University, and the University of Cambridge finds that hedge funds take on more market risk when markets rise but lower their market risk when they fall.
Azerbaijan starts property spree in London (FT)
The government of Azerbaijan has bought a trophy building in the heart of London’s hedge fund district as the oil-rich state warms up for a £1bn spending spree on luxury properties across Europe. The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (Sofaz), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, confirmed on Monday that it had acquired a £180m office block on St James’s Street as the maiden purchase in its bid to build a European real estate portfolio. The deal is the latest example a foreign government becoming a landlord in one of London’s most expensive postcodes. The high-end property markets of the City, the West End and Mayfair, have attracted billions of pounds of investment in 2012 from Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Odey Fund Up 33% (Finalternatives)
There aren’t many hedge funds that have enjoyed 2012 as much as Odey Asset Management. The London-based hedge fund’s UK Absolute Return Fund is up 33.3% through November, when it added a further 1.4%. The fund manages US$582 million. According to ValueWalk, Odey’s best bets last month were its long stock portfolio. By contrast, its short bets cut into its returns for the month.
Rhode Island pension fund CIO to leave for private sector (Reuters)
The chief investment officer of Rhode Island’s state pension fund, Kenneth Goodreau, will become CIO of TIG Advisors on January 1, the private New York-based investment manager said. The move is the latest in a string of departures by top U.S. pension fund executives for the private sector where salaries tend to be significantly higher than in state governments. Goodreau helped the $8 billion state fund invest with hedge funds during his six-year tenure. He is the founder of hedge fund Knollwood Capital Management.
David Tepper Probably Just Made Some People In Hedge Funds And Private Equity Pretty Angry (BusinessInsider)
David Tepper just finished a rare appearance on Squawk Box this morning, covering everything from the Fed to the situation in Europe. The billionaire founder of hedge fund Appaloosa Management also got into politics, as people are wont to do during these fiscal cliff days, and lucky for us, the folks at Squawk got him right to the point. They asked Tepper what he would do as President of the United States right now.
