SAC Re the Bermuda based Class 4 reinsurer backed by Steven A. Cohen, the billionaire hedge fund manager and founder of SAC Capital Advisors LP, has announced four new hires as they build up their teams capabilities. The hedge fund backed reinsurance play launched in July having raised $500m of capital in a private placement of the equity securities of its parent, S.A.C. Re Holdings, Ltd. S.A.C. Re Ltd. announced that it has filled several key management posts in its property reinsurance, finance and risk management teams.
Greenlight results show benefit of hedge fund reinsurer strategy (Artemis)
Greenlight Re, the Cayman Islands domiciled reinsurer backed by hedge fund manager David Einhorn, has shown how the aggressive investment strategies that hedge fund reinsurers can employ when necessary can help to offset any issues on the underwriting side of the business. In their latest quarterly results Greenlight revealed an underwriting hit from commercial auto liability policies they had written in a previous period. The auto liability contracts have come back to haunt Greenlight, contributing to an underwriting loss of $43.9m in the third quarter of 2012.
Japan Advisory hit with another insider trading charge (Reuters)
Japan’s securities watchdog recommended on Friday Japan Advisory be fined $1,500 for insider trading, the second penalty against the Tokyo hedge fund at the center of an industry-wide crackdown on insider dealings ahead of public share offerings in the country. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) said it had recommended a fine of 120,000 yen ($1,500) against Japan Advisory for trading on inside information about a planned fundraising by chipmaker Elpida Memory (ELPDF.PK) in July 2011.
Ex-Goldman Prop. Chief To Shut Hedge Fund Edoma (Finalternatives)
Two years ago, Edoma Capital was one of the hottest new hedge funds around. Today, it is no more. The London-based hedge fund, founded by former Goldman Sachs proprietary trading chief Pierre-Henri Flamand, told clients yesterday that it would close its doors after failing to live up to expectations. The fund, which launched in November 2010 with more than US$1 billion in commitments, has lost 6.9% since inception and 4.9% this year. Those disappointing returns have seen fund’s assets, once as high as US$2 billion, fall to about US$855 million.
Hedge Funds Poke Argentina In Court, Falklands (Finalternatives)
It’s open season on Argentina among hedge funds. The country suffered a huge court defeat in its ongoing battle with Elliott Associates over its 2001 default. Meanwhile, Elliott’s hedge fund peers are, in effect, quietly calling Argentina’s bluff on the Falkland Islands, which the country claims but which have been in British hands for almost 180 years. Last week, in a ruling that could cost Argentina more than $1 billion, the federal appeals court in New York upheld a lower-court ruling that bars Argentina from paying bondholders who accepted its exchanges for the defaulted debt before those who, like Elliott affiliate NML Capital and Aurelius Capital Management, refused to take the haircut.
Throgmorton Adds Hedge Fund Tax Expert From E&Y (Finalternatives)
British accounting firm Throgmorton has nabbed a top hedge fund tax specialist from rival Ernst & Young. Neil Oliver was named tax director at Throgmorton. He will lead the firm’s effort to expand its alternative investments client base. A former chairman of the Alternative Investment Management Association’s tax committee, Oliver spend 24 years at E&Y, including two leading its effort in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, home to many offshore hedge funds.
Ohio Pensions Hire Three Hedge Funds (Finalternatives)
A pair of public pension funds in Ohio are adding to—and in one case rejiggering—their hedge fund portfolios. The Ohio Public Employees’ Retirement System hired two new hedge fund managers and the Ohio School Employees Retirement System one, Pensions & Investments reports. The former awarded $180 million to Bridgewater Associates‘ Pure Alpha Major Markets fund and $100 million to Visium Asset Management’s Balanced Fund. The latter handed $35 million to Oxford Asset Management’s relative-value OxAm fund. OSERS didn’t stop there, however. The pension’s board has approved a rebalancing of a chunk of its $1.5 billion hedge fund portfolio.
Hedge Fund Opinion: Hedge Fund Summit Speaker Duncan Rolph “Asset Allocation Is Key” (HedgeCo)
To protect and maximize wealth, private wealth managers should focus on asset allocation, as results are primarily driven by that and not by manager performance, advised Duncan Rolph, Partner, Miracle Mile Advisors. Dynamic asset allocation that can change with market conditions and client objectives is what works best in a volatile environment, he added The largest contributor to long-term results is asset allocation and in a more volatile environment, it should be dynamic. An investment portfolio should be a work in progress that constantly seeks to optimize risk and return within the framework of an individual’s or family’s investment objectives.
Risk-AI and BarclayHedge Launch Hedge Fund App (HedgeCo)
Risk-AI and BarclayHedge have collaborated to produce the first hedge fund risk application for the iPad. The new application allows users of Risk-AI’s Transparency Analytics software to view data and analysis wherever they can use their iPad. “This application allows users to quickly research hedge fund managers and review fund information anytime and anywhere, even without Internet connectivity,” says Aleksey Matiychencko, senior partner and CEO of Risk-AI.
Mill Valley hedge fund managers spend big to promote anti-union initiative and defeat tax measure (Marinij)
Two partners in the same Mill Valley-based hedge fund, SPO Partners, have contributed about $1.75 million to help defeat Proposition 30 and to promote Proposition 32. William Oberndorf has emerged as one of the top contributors, giving $1.1 million to a “Small Business, No on 30/Yes on 32” political action committee. John Scully has given $500,000 to the same committee. Oberndorf has also contributed another $150,000 directly to the Yes on 32 campaign.
A tax loophole we should close (Waltonsun)
A few years ago, we worked with a soon-to-be former St. Joe senior executive. The project included review of their sizable deferred compensation package and, like all deferred compensation, its substantial ordinary income tax liability. Interestingly some deferred compensation, through a tax loophole likely not to be closed anytime soon, is not taxed as ordinary income. “Carried interest,” a euphemism for hedge fund and venture capital distributions to principals, has the much more favorable capital gains rate (15 percent) rather than the more burdensome ordinary income rate (35 percent).
Burbank’s Passport Reduces Short Wagers by More Than Half (BusinessWeek)
Passport Capital LLC, the $3.4 billion hedge fund founded by John Burbank, cut by more than half its bets on securities expected to fall, according to a letter to investors. Passport’s main fund reduced its short positions to about 45 percent of assets at the end of the third quarter from about 95 percent at the start of the three-month period, the San Francisco-based firm said in the letter dated yesterday, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.
UAW Wants Romney To Disclose $15 Million Auto Bailout Profit (IBTimes)
It seems Republican nominee Mitt Romney still cannot shake the demons of the auto industry bailout he supposedly opposed, and a new one looks like it may well haunt him just days before the Presidential election. The biggest auto workers’ union and several government and public interest groups say that they have filed an ethics complaint against Romney, alleging “serious conflicts of interest” and calling for the presidential nominee to release information about what they say are millions he made from the industry bailout. At issue are alleged investments the Romneys made in a hedge fund that owned a controlling interest in Delphi Automotive PLC (NYSE:DLPH), the former GM auto parts division.
Hedge fund cashes in on Greek bonds (III)
London-based hedge fund Adelante Asset Management has made a 70 percent gain on a sale of Greek bonds, showing the potential for big profits from betting on a recovery in the fortunes of a country effectively off-limits to investors a few months ago. Adelante’s deal offers a rare glimpse into the opaque market for Greek bonds, which has been tough to track since the country’s debt restructuring earlier this year. Since the restructuring, Greek government bond prices have strengthened, allowing Adelante to sell them for around 24 cents on the euro, having bought them for around 14 cents in June, the company said.
IMAGINE A HEDGE FUND MANAGER AS U.S. PRESIDENT (InDepthNews)
In the late summer of 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, a group of German and French professors of economics organised at the University of Bremen in Germany a seminar to discuss ways to re-regulate the international financial markets. The theme could not have been timelier: The disaster of the Mexican crisis in late 1994 had already shaken the foundations of neoliberalism in Latin America, the Asian crisis repeated the same symptoms, and it was already clear that some hedge funds, such as the Long Term Capital Management, which had been heavily speculating in Russian bonds, would sooner than later go bust.
Hedge Fund Legends with Their Humble Beginnings (HedgeFund)
While the hedge fund industry may be mostly comprised of professionals from privileged upbringings, some of the world’s most successful hedge fund managers actually come from more humble beginnings. Hedge fund legends such as George Soros, Ray Dalio, and sibling duo Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner are just some of the recognizable names in the industry from middle-class backgrounds who worked their way up the corporate ladder to become some of the most successful leaders in the financial world.
Franklin Templeton Completes K2 Advisors Transaction (HedgeFund)
Investment firm Franklin Templeton Investments announced Monday that it has completed its purchase of a majority stake in a fund of hedge funds manager. Franklin Templeton also said in its statement that KS Advisors will use the proceeds from the transaction to purchase all of the equity currently held by private equity firm TA Associates Management and to retire all of K2’s debt obligations. K2’s current management has not sold any of its interests, but Franklin Templeton will acquire the remainder of the firm over several years.
FactSet Research Systems Inc. : FactSet wins Overall Research Provider award from Hedge Fund Review (4-Traders)
FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) was named the winner of the Overall Research Provider at the annual Hedge Fund Review, Service Provider Rankings 2012 Awards in London on 1 November. These awards recognize industry excellence within data management and are voted on by financial end-user Hedge Fund Review readers. FactSet helps the world’s best investment professionals outperform. Users stay ahead of global market trends, access extensive company and industry intelligence, and monitor performance with our desktop analytics, mobile applications, and comprehensive data feeds.
Romney Faces Sale With a Win (WSJ)
It would be a financial yard sale of epic proportions. If Mitt Romney is elected president, he likely would have to sell big chunks of his investment portfolio to comply with federal rules and to ward off political problems, according to several government-ethics experts and someone familiar with his finances. Mr. Romney’s assets, valued at between $190 million and $250 million, include investments in hedge funds, private-equity funds and partnerships at Bain Capital, which he ran for 15 years. These entities have ownership stakes in dozens of companies that could be affected by government action, such as radio firm Clear…
