Hedge Fund News: Steven Cohen, Omega Advisors, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS)

Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), Elan Corporation, plc (ADR) (NYSE:ELN), Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS), SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD), iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:SLV), Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX), Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S), DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH), Mylan Inc. (NASDAQ:MYL)

Hedge fund ‘owes Elan shareholders at least $685m’ (Irish Examiner)
SAC Capital Advisors, the hedge fund firm founded by Steven Cohen, owes Elan Corporation, plc (ADR) (NYSE:ELN) shareholders at least $685.6m (€533.3m) as a result of alleged insider trades in the drugmaker’s stock, investors said in a lawsuit. The Elan shareholders’ claim came in a consolidated complaint filed on May 13 in Manhattan federal court against SAC and Mr Cohen. The suit stems from federal criminal charges against Mathew Martoma, a former SAC Capital portfolio manager accused of using inside information to help SAC make $276m on shares of Elan and Wyeth. Mr Martoma has denied the charges.

Gold Posts 6th Consecutive Loss, Hedge Funds Still Interested? (Wall St. Cheat Sheet)
On Thursday, gold futures for June delivery, the most active contract, declined $9.30 to close at $1,386.90 per ounce, while silver futures for July traded flat to finish at $22.66. Gold has now closed lower for six consecutive sessions. Both precious metals continue to drift lower as sentiment remains weak. Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) recently said gold will trade down to $1,100 an ounce within a year, and sink below $1,000 an once within five years. However, the pullback in precious metals during the first quarter appears to have attracted a popular hedge fund. Leon Cooperman’s Omega Advisors added new positions in the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD) and iShares Silver Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:SLV), worth $13.9 million and $4.4 million, respectively. The firm also took a new position in the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX) worth $4.4 million.

Billionaire Carl Icahn Has Been Buying Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) and Transocean LTD (RIG) (Insider Monkey)
If anyone’s been living on another planet for the last six months, let’s sum up: billionaire Bill Ackman of Pershing Square gave a presentation accusing Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) of being a pyramid scheme, driving down the stock price. As it was recovering, Carl Icahn criticized Ackman in the media, eventually dialing in to a CNBC interview with the hedge fund manager and engaging in a nasty fight. Since then Icahn has become a major shareholder in Herbalife (though he had apparently started buying before his confrontation with Ackman) and owned over 16 million shares at the end of March. He has suggested that he may try to take the multilevel marketer of health and fitness products private at a premium.

Goldman Offers Hedge Funds to the 99% (TheStreet.com)
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) said Thursday it is bringing the sophisticated trading strategies of Wall Street hedge funds to individual investors with investment portfolio’s and retirement accounts as small as $1000. The bank’s investment management unit, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, is launching its Goldman Sachs Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund (GMAMX), which will give ordinary investors the ability to put their savings and retirements in Wall Street’s riskiest products such as convertible bonds, junk bonds, bank loans, mortgage backed securities, credit default swaps, structured products, swaptions, total return swaps, swaps on futures, variance swaps and contracts for difference, among other arcane financial instruments.

Credit: Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)

Occupy hedge funds: when private investment funds and the public collide (The Guardian)
The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to soon begin allowing hedge funds and other private placement investments to begin advertising and otherwise promoting themselves to the general public. That means television commercials and gussied-up websites, not to mention cold calls and online marketing pitches, coming to your home. “Ms Olen, would you like to hear about an innovative investment strategy, formerly only known to the wealthiest of the wealthy … ? The veteran investor Henry Kaufman often has a snarky but accurate quote attributed to him: that there are two kinds of people who lose money: …