Hedge Fund Tipsters Avoid Jail (Finalternatives)
Two corporate insiders who passed confidential tips to hedge funds were spared prison terms yesterday as a reward for their cooperation. Mark Longoria and Walter Shimoon were each sentenced to time served—a day in jail each—and two years of supervised release. The two were also ordered to forfeit money they received as expert-networkers for providing the information: $170,000 for Longoria and $45,000 for Shimoon. …“It is because the very nature of this crime and the very nature of its discovery is usually dependent on the use of cooperators,” U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said. “The cold, realistic fact is a price has to be paid for that cooperation and it takes the form of a substantial reward in the form of reduced jail time.”
What’s Eating Einhorn’s Greenlight Fund? (WallStCheatSheet)
“Gold does well when monetary and fiscal policies are poor and does poorly when they are sensible” – famous words spoken by a famous hedge fund manager. David Einhorn is the man behind the $8-billion Greenlight Capital fund and is known for, among other things, issuing warnings about the financial conditions of Lehman Brothers before it collapsed. The collapse — and the call — is significant because it marked the beginning of economic crisis and the start of a new chapter for the markets. …As Einhorn pointed out in 2009, when he spoke on adopting a position on gold, all the chaos made for a surge in prices that has been a boon to hedge funds.
West Virginia picks Elementum’s catastrophe reinsurance fund (PIOnline)
West Virginia Investment Management Board, Charleston, hired Elementum Advisors to run $40 million in its Elementum NatCat Offshore Fund, according to the $13.2 billion board’s May financial statement. It is the first hedge fund allocation of 2013, according to financial statements. The hedge fund pool as of May 31 had $1.34 billion in assets. The subscription date for the fund, which specializes in catastrophe-based reinsurance investments, was May 1. According to the board’s fiscal report as of Sept. 30, 2012, total investments returned 1.1% in the previous 12 months, with a three-year annualized return of 12.3%.
Relax foreign ownership policy: American investor (DailyExpress)
Malaysia needs to relax its foreign ownership policy in order to maintain the country’s position as an attractive investment destination in Asean, says American investor Jim Rogers. He said Malaysia can emerge as an international financial centre if its foreign ownership policies were to be eased. “When people think of Malaysia, they think the government owns or controls a major portion of the economy.” he said, adding that the government should grant incentives to Malaysians who invest in companies that are privatised to speed up demand from investors. “Assets disposed are sometimes better off in the hands of the private sector rather than with the government. “International investors can go anywhere, and they don’t go to places where there are restrictions and problems, they prefer the open, exciting and dynamics places.
Hedge Fund Tax Attack, 13 Banks Accused, KPMG: Compliance (Bloomberg)
James H. Simons, a former Cold War code breaker, later in his life deployed an unusual tax strategy at Renaissance Technologies LLC, saving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes for himself and other investors, said people with knowledge of the matter. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is challenging the technique, which it called “particularly aggressive,” without identifying the hedge fund that is the subject of the dispute. The agency is demanding more tax payments from investors in Renaissance’s $10 billion Medallion fund, the people said.
