S.A.C. Capital Advisors $602 million landmark insider-trading settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission is facing some dissent. Reports Thursday cite a Manhattan judge raising questions over a provision that allows S.A.C. Capital to avoid admitting it did anything wrong. All of this could raise new problems for the mega-fund’s billionaire CEO, Steven A. Cohen.
Ex-Morgan Stanley Manager to Start Japan Stocks Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
Tsukasa Shimoda, a former fund manager at Morgan Stanley Asset & Investment Trust Management Co., will start a Japan-focused hedge fund amid increased appetite for the world’s second-largest equity market. The UMJ Galleyla Fund will start on April 1 with about 1 billion yen ($11 million) in initial capital including money from an overseas fund-of-hedge-funds, said Shimoda, who runs the strategy. The long-short equity fund will bet on rising and falling stocks in Japan and will target an annual return of 15 percent to 25 percent, he said.
Teeple, Accused Of Insider Trading, Of Hedge Fund Artis (FINalternatives)
The hedge fund analyst arrested on insider-trading charges on Tuesday works at Artis Capital Management. Matthew Teeple was charged with conspiracy and securities fraud this week. Prosecutors, who did not identify Teeple’s employer, said that he learned about Foundry Networks’ impending acquisition by Brocade Communications Systems from a friend, former Founder chief information officer David Riley. Teeple both pushed his colleagues at Artis to trade on the tip and passed it to two others, John Johnson, a former money manager at a Denver firm who is now chief investment officer for Wyoming’s state retirement system, and Karl Motey.
Computer hedge fund firm Henri Capital shuts down (Reuters)
A hedge fund spinout from Winton Capital, one of the world’s biggest hedge fund managers, is shutting down after less than two years of trading, as even the brightest start-ups find it tough attracting clients. London-based Henri Capital, named after French mathematician Henri Poincare, was set up by Joey Huang and Filip Wuytack to manage Winton Octo, an equity long-short portfolio the pair had been running in their capacity as senior researchers at Winton.
Greece-focused hedge fund turns cautious (hedgeweek)
A Greece-focused hedge fund managed by Dromeus Capital Group, which has delivered investors over 50 per cent returns in its first six months, says it has turned cautious on Greek investments raising its cash balances for the first time since its inception. Achilles Risvas, managing partner at Dromeus Capital, says: “Greek asset prices have been through a tremendous rally over the last three quarters but future prospects increasingly depend on budget execution and output recovery and we have doubts on both.”
UBS, SEC Talk Settlement Over CDO Hedge Fund Attacked (FINalternatives)
The bank hopes to make a deal to end an SEC probe into ACA ABS 2007-2; the regulator is looking into whether UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS) defrauded investors in the $748 million CDO. ACA ABS 2007-2 is one of three CDOs that hedge fund Pursuit Partners has sued UBS over, accusing the bank of selling the notes knowing that they’d shortly be downgraded.
REITs Trigger Fed Warning as Kain Tops $100 Billion: Mortgages (SFGate)
Gary Kain spent 20 years at Freddie Mac managing as much as $800 billion of bonds before the U.S. took over the company. Since 2009, he’s used his knowledge of the home-loan market to help turn American Capital Agency Corp. into the fastest growing mortgage debt investor. American Capital’s assets grew to $100.5 billion at the end of last year from less than $5 billion three years earlier, making the Bethesda, Maryland-based real estate investment trust the largest after Annaly Capital Management Inc., in an industry that’s drawing attention from investors and the Federal Reserve for its double-digit yields and rapid expansion.
A Bearded Carl Icahn Terrorizes Wall Street
Those who follow Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) for the drama it brings to Wall Street, would know that Vanity Fair did an interesting piece on the many eccentricities of Bill Ackman, the leading man on Herbalife’s short side. For the Carl Icahn fans who thought the 77-year-old investor did not receive due publicity for his long position in Herbalife, here is some good news. Forbes is printing an in-depth story on Icahn in its April 15 issue. The post is more focused on Carl Icahn’s current warfare at Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and his other proxy battles instead of just Herbalife. The most striking (if not unsettling) feature that sticks in from Forbes’ piece, by Steven Bertoni, is Carl Icahn’s cover photo in a white beard.
Chesapeake Says Hedge Funds Shouldn’t Sue Elsewhere (Bloomberg)
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) said hedge funds asking to withdraw from its dispute with Bank of New York Mellon Corp. over the redemption of bonds shouldn’t be allowed to pursue any other litigation if they do so. “Such a condition will avoid the possibility, however remote, of pointless duplication,” Richard Ziegler, an attorney for the company, said in a letter yesterday to U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan.
Natixis, Aurora Launch Multi-Strategy Mutual Fund Of Hedge Funds (FINalternatives)
Natixis Global Asset Management has launched a new mutual fund of hedge funds. The Aurora Horizons Fund is a multi-strategy fund managed by fund of funds shop Aurora Investment Management, led by CEO and portfolio manager Roxanne Martino and three other Aurora executives. The fund features dynamic allocations to sub-advisors running a variety of strategies.
