Ray Dalio Is Speaking At The DealBook Conference (BusinessInsider)
Ray Dalio, who runs hedge fund behemoth Bridgewater Associates, is speaking at the DealBook Conference in midtown Manhattan right now. Dalio, who is one of the most successful hedge fund managers ever, said that he would not invest in Bitcoins right now. He added that he would have to understand it better. He said there’s a “a lot of merit” behind it. “That’s a whole conversation,” Dalio said.
Hedge fund Rhodium debuts with bet on corporate bonds (Reuters)
Hedge fund start-up Rhodium Capital, run by former Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) star trader Iftikhar Ali, has begun life betting on a strong performance from corporate bonds over coming months. Bond prices were hit over the summer by fears the U.S. Federal Reserve would scale back its bond-buying economic stimulus programme and also by political wrangling over lifting the U.S. government’s debt ceiling. That pushed up yields – which move inversely to prices – on both government and corporate bonds and widened the spread between the two, a sign of investor nervousness.
A Hot Year for Stocks, but Not for Hedge Funds (ABCNews)
Returns for most middle-class savers have been strong this year. The S&P 500 index, a benchmark for many mutual funds, is at a new high after more gains in recent days. The Dow Jones Index has set new highs 35 times this year, rising 21 points yesterday and 21 percent since Jan. 1. But many of the wealthiest investors are lagging behind those who have their money in humble low-fee index funds. For the past five years in a row the vast majority of hedge funds have failed to match the S&P. This year is no exception. “The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index has underperformed the S&P 500 in eight of the first 10 months of 2013,” reports USA Today.
Suit Charges 3 Credit Ratings Agencies With Fraud in Bear Stearns Case (NYTimes)
The collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds in 2007 was among the earliest signs of the impending financial crisis. More than six years later, lawyers continue to fight over the cause of their demise. On Monday morning, liquidators seeking to recover money for investors in the funds filed a fraud lawsuit against three major credit rating agencies. The action, filed in a New York State court, accuses Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service of assigning artificially high credit ratings to the mortgage bonds in the funds. When those bonds collapsed, the funds failed, resulting in more than $1 billion in investor losses.
HedgeCo Networks Continues its National Growth with Three Additions to the Corporate Management Team (PRNewsWire)
HedgeCo Networks, and the pioneering hedge fund data base (HedgeCo.net) are continuing to experience accelerated growth and expansion in naming Anthony Minissale as Corporate Director of Operations, David Schroeder as Chief Marketing Officer, and David Cabrera as Lead Developer. HedgeCo Networks, with offices in New York and West Palm Beach, Florida, has amassed a network that includes over 34,000 active users, data on 7,500 hedge funds and new “Liquid Alternatives” technology (HedgeCoVest) offering the ability to invest across multiple hedge fund strategies through separately managed transparent accounts in the investor’s personal control.
Hedge Funds Are Muscling Into Munis (WSJ)
Hedge funds are making a large bet on municipal debt, bringing aggressive tactics to a $3.7 trillion market long known as humdrum. The strategies include demanding high interest rates in return for financing local governments, buying the debt of struggling municipalities on the cheap, and trying to profit on rising volatility as many mom-and-pop investors who have dominated the municipal-bond market for decades flee amid deepening fiscal problems in many U.S. cities and states.
Balyasny comes to Europe in search for hedge fund talent (eFinancialNews)
Colin Lancaster, senior managing director at the firm, told Financial News: “Strategically, we believe it a good time to increase certain of our European asset exposures and there’s more to be done there.” Chris Langman, a New York-based portfolio manager at Balyasny, is relocating to the new London office. Lancaster said that Balyasny has been looking at office space and portfolio managers, but it is taking a patient approach to growing in the region. He said: “Because of a dearth of new entrants into the market, it seems to be a good time to find new talent.”
