Paul Tudor Jones Wants To Nudge Corporate America To Do Better (The Wall Street Journal)
Billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has become increasingly frustrated with global corporations’ ”emphasis on profits, on short-term quarterly earnings and share prices, at the exclusion of all else.” Mr. Jones, the founder of the $13-billion hedge fund Tudor Investment Corp., voiced these sentiments last month on the stage of TED, the annual West Coast technology, entertainment and design conference. Now comes word of what he’s planning to do about it.
Dalio, Bernanke and Summers Walk Into a Bar… (CNBC)
A hedge fund manager, a central banker and a treasury secretary walk into a bar… It may sound like the start to a wonky monetary policy joke, but billionaire investor Ray Dalio essentially proposed that it actually happen, given his differing views on economic growth with former Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. “Perhaps we can have that discussion in person over a beer sometime,” Dalio wrote of the proposed meeting in a private note to clients of his Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund manager.
BlueCrest Said to Have Built 11-Person Equity Team in Hong Kong (Bloomberg)
Billionaire Michael Platt’s BlueCrest Capital Management has expanded its Hong Kong equity team to 11 fund managers and analysts, said a person with knowledge of the matter. The latest addition was Karyo Oh, a fund manager who started this week, said people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Ed Orlebar, a spokesman for the firm, declined to comment.
BNY Mellon Earnings Rise 16% on Higher Fees, Lower Costs (Bloomberg)
Bank of New York Mellon Corp., under pressure from activist investors to improve results, reported a 16 percent increase in first-quarter profit as the stock market rally lifted assets and fees for overseeing them, and expenses declined. The boost from the six-year stock market rally has been a rare bright spot for BNY Mellon, which has had to contend with persistently low interest rates, litigation and pressure from hedge funds Marcato Capital Management and Trian Fund Management. The two investors have targeted the bank after it lagged behind competitors in key measures of profitability.
Activist Investor Jesse Cohn Isn’t Bluffing Anymore (Bloomberg)
The next time Jesse Cohn makes a buyout offer for a technology company, it won’t be dismissed as a bluff. Cohn, who runs U.S. activist investments at hedge fund Elliott Management, is infamous throughout technology board rooms for offering to acquire a company to force an auction — a tactic that has proved lucrative. Now, he’s starting an Elliott Management private-equity strategy that will give those offers an added heft, people with knowledge of the matter said.
DuPont’s Underperformance Could Spur Activist Investor (The New York Times)
DuPont’s weak quarterly sales and reduced annual profit forecast is expected to provide fresh ammunition to the activist investor Nelson Peltz in his campaign to split up the chemical maker. Mr. Peltz’s hedge fund, Trian Fund Management, is DuPont’s fifth-largest shareholder with a 2.7 percent stake. It started a proxy battle in January for four board seats, including one for Mr. Peltz.
Hedge Fund That Made 18% on Dollar Strength Now Bets on Drop (Bloomberg)
Charlie Chan, a former Credit Suisse Group AG proprietary trader who now runs his own hedge fund, reduced bets the dollar will strengthen and added trades that would profit from a decline. Chan said he trimmed his fund’s long dollar position versus the yen last week after the U.S. currency’s rally stalled following gains of more than 10 percent in each of the past three years. He’s now betting the greenback will weaken against Asian currencies including Singapore’s dollar, South Korea’s won and India’s rupee, the founder of Singapore-based Charlie Chan Capital Partners said.
Dymon Hedge Fund in Catch-Up Mode After SNB Move (The Wall Street Journal)
Singapore-based Dymon Asia Capital Ltd. ended the first quarter with a sharp decline in its largest hedge fund, a bruising performance for one of Asia’s biggest managers but also a quick turnaround from heavy losses suffered earlier in the year. The Dymon Asia Macro Fund is down 5.5% after fees through March, according to a letter sent to investors this week and seen by The Wall Street Journal.
