Hedge fund firm LNG bets on short-dated Greek bonds (Ekathimerini)
Hedge fund firm LNG Capital is betting on short-dated Greek bonds as one of a number of managers to believe the debt-laden country could end up paying back some of its bondholders at face value. Louis Gargour, chief investment officer at the London-based firm, told Reuters he has built up positions in Swiss franc-denominated Greek bonds maturing in May next year and U.S. dollar-denominated bonds maturing in July. The bet is that Greece, which is currently buying back some longer-dated bonds in the secondary market at a discount to nominal value in an effort to cut its debt and unlock aid from international lenders, will be relatively unconcerned about small tranches of debt with just months to run.
Man Who Broke The Bank of England – George Soros Third Quarter Stock Holding (Kapitall)
The investor who famously “broke the Bank of England” has released his third quarter holdings and he has made a few changes that may be of interest. The 82-year old billionaire George Soros returned outside investor’s money last year and converted it into a US$25 billion family office running his own money. In the latest quarter, Soros Fund Management initiated 68 new positions worth a total of US$2.2 billion and got rid of 59 positions worth US$490 million.
SEC Completes 18th Annual International Enforcement Institute (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the completion of its 18th Annual International Enforcement Institute, held from Nov. 5 to Nov. 9 at SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C., with participants from 60 different countries. In all, 161 officials from foreign stock exchanges and other regulatory and law enforcement agencies attended the weeklong training program. SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro said, “The commitment of securities regulators around the globe to protecting their investors and markets from those that would cause them harm has never been stronger. Through this program, the SEC staff teaches and learns enforcement best practices. We stand alongside our foreign law enforcement partners, ready to protect our capital markets from fraudsters, manipulators, and schemers, wherever they may lurk.”
S.E.C. Warns Netflix Over a Post on Facebook (NYTimes)
Reed Hastings, the chief executive of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), congratulated his team for a job well done in early July. On his public Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) page, he crowed about the one billion hours of video that subscribers watched the previous month. The message was just 43 words. Now, Netflix and its chief may be in deep trouble for that brief post. On Thursday, Netflix disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission was considering taking action against the company and Mr. Hastings for its Facebook communication. The agency, in a so-called Wells notice, warned that it may file civil claims or seek a cease-and-desist order.
BlueMountain, Pine River Say Structured Credit Boom Could Carry Into 2013 (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Structured credit, one of the best performing hedge fund strategies so far this year, will continue to provide opportunities in 2013 for those who understand it well, said fund managers speaking at the Bloomberg Summit in New York this week. Credit funds in general have returned 8.15 percent for the year through October 31, according to the Absolute Return Credit Index, while the Absolute Return index of mortgage backed securities funds, which tracks structured credit products, rose 13.33 percent over the same period. As banks and other traditional lending institutions have retreated from lending activities, hedge funds have been able to step in to provide financing through securitized…
Hedge Funds Face Increased Costs (Hedgeco)
Nearly 60% of hedge fund managers in North America say the cost of business has increased in the past year, according to a new study. However, there continues to be a disparity between managers’ and investors’ views about what costs should be borne by the fund. “Our survey found that 68% of funds passed along these increased costs — up from only 34% in 2011,” says Joseph Micallef, Financial Services Partner at Ernst & Young. “There will continue to be a greater push and pull on this issue of cost allocation for the foreseeable future as investors increasingly show less appetite for costs to be charged to the fund than they did a year ago. We don’t see this trend changing unless funds greatly improve investment performance returns.”
FOUR to launch long/short multi-asset fund for Pinggera (InvestmentWeek)
FOUR Capital Partners is launching a retail long/short fund for former Insight and Credit Suisse manager Michael Pinggera, who joined the boutique in October. The group plans to launch the FOUR Multi-Strategy fund next month. The portfolio will be managed in a hedge fund style, employing a core and satellite investment approach.
