Marcato Reveals an Activist Stake in Life Time Fitness (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
At the end of the first quarter, Richard McGuire III’s Marcato Capital Management teased investors that among its new positions were two undisclosed stocks that the firm hinted are likely to result in activist campaigns. On Wednesday afternoon investors learned the identity of one of the two stocks. Marcato disclosed it owns 7.2 percent of Life Time Fitness, the high-end — read, expensive — health club and gym chain. Shares of the stock immediately surged more than 12 percent in the final hour of trading after Marcato disclosed the holding and rose another 2 percent or so Thursday morning.
Massa Martana to host Umbria Rock Festival (FT)
To most millionaires, a rock festival arriving on the doorstep of their Umbrian holiday villa would be the stuff of summer nightmares. Not so, though, for Yashwant Bajaj, a former managing director of Lehman Brothers and founder of Singapore-based hedge fund Juggernaut Capital Management. He is the festival organiser. Bajaj, 51, is taking a sabbatical while overseeing preparations for the event at Massa Martana, an ancient walled town in the Martani hills. The August festival will take place on open farmland behind the eighth-century Santa Maria Church, close to Bajaj’s luxury villa. Among the acts confirmed are Paul Weller, Kaiser Chiefs and indie band James. Bajaj hopes to sell 10,000 tickets for the inaugural event, costing up to €300 for a three-day pass.
The Amazon of India is not Flipkart—it’s Amazon (QZ)
One of the worst-kept secrets in India’s e-commerce industry was finally outed yesterday as Flipkart, a broad-based e-commerce firm in India, said it was buying fashion e-tailer Myntra in an all-stock deal reportedly valued at about $330 million. Given that media had published nearly every detail involved for the last few weeks—the New York hedge fund manager backing the deal, the law firms involved and the price and other details—the announcement itself didn’t surprise anyone. Yet I was taken aback at the number of pundits who spoke of the deal as a watershed moment in Indian e-commerce, how India is at some apparent consolidation phase in e-tail, how this portends better things to come, an inspiration to entrepreneurs for great exits, a great combination to fight Amazon in India and so on. The spin doctors are working overtime.
Uber now seeking $12 billion valuation, says report (BizJournals)
Uber Inc. is now reported to be seeking $500 million in an investment that would value the company at more than $12 billion. The Wall Street Journal reports the company is talking with possible investors including hedge funds, mutual fund BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK), and private-equity firms General Atlantic and Technology Crossover Ventures. The ride-sharing company is working to complete the deal within the next few weeks, the report said. Uber last week was reported to be seeking a funding round that would value it above $10 billion.
Former Boardmembers Charged With Insider Trading Ahead Of Sale To The Carlyle Group (HedgeCo)
The SEC has charged a former director of a Long Island-based company and others in his family circle with insider trading ahead of the company’s sale to a private equity firm. The SEC alleges that board member Glenn Cohen learned that NBTY, Inc. (NYSE:NTY) was negotiating a sale to $100 billion global hedge fund manager The Carlyle Group and tipped his three brothers and a brother’s girlfriend with the confidential information. Craig Cohen, Marc Cohen, Steven Cohen, and Laurie Topal all traded on the inside information that Glenn Cohen provided and reaped illicit profits totaling $175,000.
CalSTRS’ First Seed Is Activist Legion Partners (Finalternatives)
One of the largest public pension funds in the U.S. has made a statement with its first seed investment. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System will invest $200 million in two-year-old Legion Partners Asset Management. The $184 billion pension also took a 30% stake in the activist hedge fund, Bloomberg News reports. Hedge fund activists have faced increasing scrutiny recently. But CalSTRS is no stranger to the field, having some $4.6 billion invested with such hedge funds.
Weiss bought Ocwen Financial (CNBC)
Paulson Hedge Fund Keeps Hold on Gold (SmallCapNetwork)
Gold prices have been fluctuating, in small amounts in the past few weeks but that did not bother billionaire hedge fund owner John Paulson. Paulson & Co., the largest investor in SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD), kept its stake in the gold-backed exchange-traded fund. Amid dipping prices, SPDR showed a modest increase as the holdings in the fund rose by 1.79 tonnes to 782.25 tonnes last Thursday. Reuters said the increase was a notable rebound from its annual loss in 2013, considered the biggest loss in the last 32 y ears.
Marc Faber thinks a 20% collapse in market is coming (EconomicCollapseNews)
Marc Faber, legendary contrarian investor and editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, is continuing his bearish ways on the United States stock market and overall economy as he believes U.S. stocks are overvalued. “I don’t regard this as a very healthy market,” Faber told CNBC on Thursday from Singapore. “The U.S. market is in a very dicey position where it could easily drop 10, 20 percent.” He added that some stocks have already declined by these percentages, such as technology and biotech shares. Faber noted that he would not feel comfortable allocating a substantial percentage of his money into equities because they were too expensive. However, if he were to acquire equities it would be in the emerging markets.
Citigroup Trading Chief Mike Pringle Leaves to Join Hedge Fund (WSJ)
The global head of equities trading at Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) +0.38% is leaving the bank, Financial News has learned, and is joining Louis Bacon‘s $12 billion hedge fund Moore Capital in Europe. Mike Pringle, who arrived at Citi in 2009 after roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) +1.41% will join Moore Capital later this year. A Citi spokeswoman confirmed Mr. Pringle’s departure. A spokeswoman for Moore Capital confirmed the appointment. Mr. Pringle couldn’t be reached for comment. Moore is a client of Citi and the split is “amicable”, according to a person familiar with the move.
Louisiana State Police boosts fund-of-funds manager allocations (PIOnline)
Louisiana State Police Retirement System, Baton Rouge, added a total of $18 million to existing hedge fund and private equity fund-of-fund managers, said Irwin L. Felps Jr., executive director. The $594 million pension fund added $10 million to private equity fund-of-funds manager Portfolio Advisors, giving the manager a total of $20 million. The pension fund also added $5 million and $3 million, respectively, to hedge fund-of-funds portfolios managed by Prisma Capital Partners and EnTrust Capital, giving each manager about $15 million. It brings the pension fund up to its 5% target to hedge funds of funds, Mr. Felps said. Funding comes from cash.
What to Expect From a Hedge Fund (WSJ)
There are many legitimate reasons to shun hedge funds. They are expensive—typically charging fees of 2% of assets under management and 20% of any profits. They often have lengthy lockup periods, so you aren’t always able to get your money back when you need it. And there are so many funds with inconsistent records that it is a challenge finding a manager whose performance justifies the steep fees. Yet there is one criticism that has been leveled at hedge funds recently that is unfair: poor performance relative to the S&P 500. Since the bull market began in March 2009, the critics will point out, the average hedge fund in the Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index has gained an annualized 8.5% through April 30, versus 23% for the S&P 500, assuming dividends were reinvested.
Alternative Ways To Tap Into Alternative Investments (Forbes)
Anything investable that is not a stock, a bond or cash is commonly referred to as an alternative asset. Alternatives run the gamut from “real” assets like commodities, farmland, and timber, to sophisticated debt structures, derivatives contracts and partnership interests in privately-held businesses. Partnerships that involve publicly-traded securities but allow the manager to hedge by selling short are also considered to be alternatives. Alternatives are popular with institutional investors and wealthy individuals because their returns are perceived to have a low correlation with those of the stock and bond markets…
Recommended Reading:
Dan Loeb’s Top Bullish Moves During the First Quarter
Highline Capital Management Bets on Healthcare, Basic Materials & Services Stocks
Richard McGuire’s Marcato Reveals New 7% Activist Stake in Life Time Fitness, Inc. (LTM)
