Bloomberg’s Dominic Chu reports that Ray Dalio’s Pure Alpha hedge fund made $13.8 billion for its investors last year, while John Paulson lost clients almost $10 billion after an unsuccessful wager that the U.S. economy would recover, according to a report by LCH Investments NV. He speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “In The Loop.”
Dalio Earned Clients $13.8 Billion to Lead Hedge Funds as Paulson Slumped (Bloomberg)
Ray Dalio’s Pure Alpha hedge fund made $13.8 billion for its investors last year, while John Paulson lost clients almost $10 billion after an unsuccessful wager that the U.S. economy would recover, according to a report by LCH Investments NV. Pure Alpha, part of Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates LP, has earned $35.8 billion for investors since its inception in 1975, said LCH, a firm overseen by the Edmond de Rothschild Group. Losses for New York-based Paulson & Co. last year cut gains the firm has made for clients since its 1994 founding to $22.6 billion, LCH estimated.
Bridgewater’s Flagship Up 36% In 2011, Ranks Number One In LCH List; Managers Expects Dramatic 2012 (Opalesque)
Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha fund, the world’s biggest hedge fund with around $72bn in AuM, returned 0.9% (gross of fees) in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2011, bringing the performance for the year to 36.4%, according to documentation obtained by Opalesque. The Strategy has annualised 22.2% since December 1991, and the fund has annualised 20% since its May 2005 inception.
Jim Rogers: Play This Rally With Commodities (CNBC)
The Dow and S&P 500 may have hit their highest levels since 2008 on Tuesday, but Jim Rogers , CEO and Chairman of Rogers Holdings, is still staying away from stocks. Instead, he told “The Kudlow Report” he’s playing the rally with commodities. “You see what’s happening to gold … Oil went down today, yes, but oil’s been going through the roof,” he said. “There are other ways to play. They’re printing a lot of money, Larry. When they print money, you have to protect yourself with real assets in the end.”
Foreign Hedge Funds May Access China Money Soon – Paper (Reuters)
China has decided in principle to allow foreign hedge funds to raise capital on the mainland, the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday, a move that can potentially open up opportunities for the capital-starved Asian hedge fund industry.
Report: China To Welcome Foreign Hedge Funds (FINalternatives)
The world’s most populous country—and its second-largest economy—may be the next big market for the world’s hedge funds. China plans to allow foreign hedge funds to set up yuan-denominated products in the People’s Republic and to raise capital there, the South China Morning Post reports. The decision, in principle, only, so far, was relayed to the Shanghai Municipal Office of Finance Service.
Is Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Losing Its Edge? (CNBC)
One of the more interesting observations in the March investor letter from Pimco’s Bill Gross is that the zero-interest rate policy of the Fed might be undermining the business model of one of America’s most successful public companies: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Buffett Rebuffs Gold, But Inflation Says ‘Buy’ (Market Watch)
Buying gold is now accessible for all, but the sage of Omaha has spoken. Warren Buffett says gold is not an investment — it’s a speculation and does not belong in an investor’s portfolio.
Movers & Shakers: Pandit Faces Hedge Fund Questions (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg’s Betty Liu reports on Citigroup’s challenges in the hedge fund business since it bought CEO Vikram Pandit’s Old Lane Partners in July 2007. She speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “In The Loop.”
Cheyne Hedge Fund Eyes “Golden Period” For Merger Arbs (Reuters)
Bold merger arbitrage funds are set to enjoy rich pickings this year amidst a rebound in M&A activity, helped by the reluctance of many investors to trade complex deals after last year’s choppy markets, says hedge fund firm Cheyne Capital. Simon Davies, whose European Event Driven fund, has raised $500 million (314 million pounds) since launch in October 2009, told Reuters that last year’s volatility had made many investors “quite risk averse”, meaning there is room for arbs to profit from more complex deals.
Goldman Manager Investigated For Insider Trading Role: Report (Reuters)
Federal authorities are investigating David Loeb, a managing director of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as part of an insider trading probe focusing on technology stocks and the company’s hedge fund clients, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people close to the matter.
US Insider Trading Probe To Include Pharma Stocks – FT (Reuters)
The U.S. investigation into hedge funds of suspected illegal insider trading has widened to include trading of biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks, the Financial Times said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Hedge Fund Headaches (Reuters Hedge World)
Is your friendly neighborhood hedge fund prepared for March 30? That’s the deadline to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This change in regulation—brought forth by the Dodd-Frank legislation—requires large hedge funds to provide the SEC with details about their risk management, trading, and disciplinary records. According to CNBC, this could mean that the $15 billion Moore Capital Management will transform itself into a smaller type of fund that would focus on its founder’s investments, instead of those from outside investors.
BREAKING NEWS: Northstone Peak Forms New Asia Fund Platform With China’s Harvest (HFM Week)
Northstone Peak Capital, the credit hedge fund launched last year by former chief of Asia securitised products at Deutsche Bank Greg Park, is to partner with Harvest Fund Management, China’s second largest asset manager, to form a new fund platform, HFMWeek can exclusively reveal.
Bluecrest Deal ‘Worth Up To $5bn’ To HSBC Admin (HFM Week)
BlueCrest, the $29bn hedge fund giant, expects to have moved assets worth around $5bn from present administrator GlobeOp to HSBC by the end of 2012, after beginning a relationship with the bank’s admin arm last year, HFMWeek has learned. The fund manager successfully transferred the administration of a $250m hedge fund from GlobeOp to HSBC Securities Services last month, the first completed switch of a significant mandate win revealed by HFMWeek last summer.
Camargue To Return Remaining Assets (HFM Week)
Camargue Capital Management, the London-based hedge fund firm founded by former Soros Fund Management and GLG Partners trader Benn Spiers, is to return remaining assets following the redemption of a significant investor, HFMWeek has learned.
Carl Icahn: Obama’s Re-Election ‘Has Nothing To Do With The Problems The Economy Has’ (Value Walk)
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn spoke with FOX Business Network’s (FBN) Neil Cavuto about his decision to unload $1.2 billion in shares of Motorola (NYSE:MSI), saying the decision didn’t have “anything to do with the market.” When asked how his investment strategy would change if President Obama were reelected he said “his election has nothing to do with the problems the economy has.”
Alan Howard, CEO of Brevan Howard Is Building Largest House in Israel (Value Walk)
Alan Howard, the billionaire founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, is building what could be the largest–and most expensive–home in Israel, Israeli news website Ynetnews reports.
Feds Turn To Healthcare Stocks In Insider Probe (FINalternatives)
Technology stocks have dominated the insider-trading cases brought in the U.S. over the past two years. But they’re set to play second fiddle to a new star industry for illegal tipping.
Former Diamondback Team Preps Tide Point Capital (AR)
Chris Winham, who ran Diamondback Capital Management’s Harbor Watch unit, has left with two analysts and is preparing the launch of a new long/short equity fund sometime in the third quarter, according to people familiar with the situation. The firm, Tide Point Capital, will invest in highly liquid stocks in such cyclical sectors as basic materials, consumer, energy, home building, industrials, and transportation. Tide Point hopes to launch with between $100 million and $150 million and will be based in Greenwich, Conn., according to the sources.
Turiya Fund Leaps to $830M (HFN)
Two years after Hong Kong hedge fund firm Turiya Capital opened for business, its fund has reached $830 million.
Elliott Associates Wants To Stay Out Of Trouble In 2012 (Opalesque)
Despite positive returns in 2011, Elliott Associates, like many hedge funds, says it struggled to remain in positive territories. The firm now paints a lurid picture of economic and financial possibilities, but says it is sticking to its uncorrelated, manual, process-driven approach to face the future.
Why CitiGroup Hid Its Hedge Fund Numbers (Hedge Co. Net)
This coming April issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine reports that four of Citi’s seven biggest hedge funds have underperformed their indexes since they started, according to investors. Five of the seven lost money in 2011. The last time Citigroup told shareholders how its Citi Capital Advisors hedge fund group (CCA) performed was the first quarter of 2008, when the unit lost $509 million.
CFTC Repeals Exemption, Hedge Funds Anticipate Overlap With SEC Rules (Forbes)
Hedge funds that invest in commodities futures, whose operators are regulated by the CFTC as CPOs and advisors are regulated as CTAs, have long availed themselves of the exemption from registration with the CFTC under Rule 4.13(a)(4).
Steve Cohen Hedges With New York Mets Investment (Institutional Investor)
SAC Capital’s Steve Cohen has become the latest member of the alternative-investments community to invest in a professional sports team after last week’s $20 million investment in the struggling New York Mets. For Cohen, however, this is something of a hedge.
Soros Ex: Let’s Play Tapes (Fox News)
Adriana Ferreyr, the bombshell Brazilian ex-girlfriend of billionaire George Soros, says she has her own bomb to drop. In court papers filed yesterday she says she has “recorded conversations” with Soros, as well as with his reps, which support her claim he reneged on a promise to buy her a $1.9 million apartment.
Apple’s Hedge Fund Owners, ‘Monetary Anarchy’, Jon Corzine’s Old Car And More (Reuters Hedge World)
HFMWeek Daily Snapshot – 29 February (HFM Week)
Morning Market Report: 29 February 2012 (Value Walk)
CNBC Transcripts: Warren Buffett (Value Walk)
Wednesday 7atSeven: price compression (Abnormal Returns)
Warren Buffett: Jamie Dimon Writes The Best Annual Letter In Corporate America (Value Walk)
Busy Leap Day: Today’s Full Schedule Of Events (Zero Hedge)
Frontrunning: Leap Year Edition (Zero Hedge)
10 Mid-Week AM Reads (The Big Picture)
Morning Read: Traders Pulling Money From Financials (Barrons)
Morning News: February 29, 2012 (Crossing Wall Street)
Notes On The 2011 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report, Part 3 (On Acquisitions) (Aleph Blog)
Hot Links: Mittens Takes Michigan (The Reformed Broker)
