Hedge Fund News: Paul Singer, Steve Cohen, Bill Ackman

Hedge Fund Elliott: Government Policies Paved Way For Risky Bets (Reuters)
Hedge fund titan Paul Singer blamed government policies for encouraging traders to make concentrated bets in “overpriced” securities and markets and said it is “nutty” to hold bonds at their current high levels. Singer, who founded the $25 billion Elliott Management Corp, has long railed against government and central bank policies, blaming years of low interest rates for pushing markets to unjustified highs and pushing the work of structural reforms down the road.

Cohen’s Point72 Starts Website to Hire College Graduates (Bloomberg)
Steven A. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management said it started a website to assist the billionaire’s family office in attracting investment talent, which includes a new push to recruit people right out of college. “We’ve launched a campus recruiting program for undergraduates unique among hedge funds,” Point72 spokesman Mark Herr wrote in an e-mail about the new website. “We are committed to building from within, to promoting homegrown talent. Point72.com will assist our talent recruitment.”

Bill Ackman Takes A Break-For Now (CNBC)
Bill Ackman appears set to take it relatively easy for a few months after a slew of activist investments produced knockout performance in 2014. Ackman’s hedge fund firm, Pershing Square Capital Management, has far less than 10 percent of its $18.2 billion in free cash—under the amount usually needed to mount a fresh campaign, according to a dinner presentation for investors Jan. 29. The specific amount is about $500 million, according to The New York Post.

Einhorn’s Greenlight Lost 2.5% in January as Stocks Dropped (Bloomberg)
Greenlight Capital, the $11.8 billion investment firm led by billionaire David Einhorn, fell 2.5 percent in its main hedge fund in January, according to an e-mail sent to investors that was obtained by Bloomberg News. The fund declined as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 3.1 percent last month, the biggest drop for the period in a year, amid concerns that slower overseas growth, the plunge in crude oil and a stronger dollar could hurt the American economy.