…high-margin products as a response to competition from cheap exchange-traded funds; and hedge funds looking for a new source of capital. Mutual fund groups have moved into the business by purchasing fund of hedge fund groups. Last year Franklin Templeton took a majority stake in K2, while Legg Mason added Fauchier Partners to its existing Permal subsidiary.
Clive Hedge Fund Pays Partner $34 Million After Losing Year (Bloomberg)
Clive Capital LLP paid its top-earning partner $33.5 million in the 12 months through February as the commodity hedge-fund firm managed by Chris Levett posted losses for clients for a second straight year. The company’s three partners Levett, 43, Richard Boland and Elizabeth Holstein, received a total $39.2 million, Clive said in a filing to the U.K.’s Companies House. The fund, which awarded its highest-paid member $60.8 million in the previous year, didn’t identify details of the compensations.
Hedge-fund tycoon blows £850,000 during high-stakes poker game (The Sun)
A hedge-fund tycoon reportedly blew £850,000 during Europe’s biggest cash poker game. Banker Talal Shakerchi joined five other fat cats who each staked 500,000 euros (£424,112) for an unofficial game at the European Poker Tour in Monaco last weekend. The 49-year-old, who is worth an estimated £100million, has won more than £1million in past tournaments. But luck was not on his side last Saturday when he lost the eye-watering amount during the high-stakes game.
Ron Mock ascends to the top of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Globe and Mail)
Ron Mock has completed his rise from the ashes of collapsed hedge fund firm Phoenix Research and Trading Corp., putting a controversial failure behind him to become the new chief executive officer of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Mr. Mock, 60, was named Tuesday as the successor to Teachers CEO Jim Leech, who is retiring at the end of the year. Mr. Mock is currently Teachers’ senior vice-president of fixed income and hedge funds, heading the largest of the pension plan’s six major asset management groups.
Stocks little changed amid optimistic remarks by N.J. hedge fund manager Tepper (The Star-Ledger – NJ.com)
U.S. stocks were little changed, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index set records in seven of the past eight sessions, as bullish comments from hedge-fund manager David Tepper offset concern China’s growth is slowing. The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 1,635.34 at 9:31 a.m. in New York. “While economic growth today is generally lackluster, there do not appear to be any systemic risks like before, with the exception of the inevitable unwinding of quantitative easing,” Dan Morris, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in London, wrote in a note. His firm oversees about $1.5 trillion globally. “Liquidity will continue to support markets, though there will be a price to pay for it in the future.”
Barclay Hedge Fund Index gains 0.75% in April (+4.96% YTD); Pacific Rim equities up 13.50% in 2013 (Opalesque)
Hedge funds gained 0.75% in April, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is up 4.96% year to date. “Equity markets rose again in April on indications of continued easing early in the month and positive earnings reports later in the month,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. Overall, 15 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund strategies had positive returns in April. The Barclay Pacific Rim Equities Index continued its strong performance, adding 4.39%. Pacific Rim Equities now have eight straight months of gains, and are up 13.50% in the first four months of 2013.
