Editor’s Note: Related tickers: The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)
The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), the largest outside investor in SAC Capital Advisors, is to pull out its money from the firm, Reuters reported. Reuters, citing a May 21 letter from pension consultant Russell Investments to clients, said that The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) had informed SAC Capital of its intent to “fully redeem” an important part of the estimated $550m it has invested with the $15bn hedge fund firm. The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) reportedly sent the notice to SAC Capital sometime before May 15 as it was concerned over the ongoing insider trading probe against SAC Capital and its executives that might even involve Cohen himself. The redemption affects only client money invested in SAC’s fund of hedge funds, the letter notes.
After Predicting Apple’s Collapse, Jeff Gundlach Now Owns The Stock (Businessinsider)
Bond god Jeffrey Gundlach, who runs DoubleLine Capital, told TheStreet.com’s Chris Ciaccia that he now owns Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in his portfolio. Gundlach famously shorted Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock last year and called it going to $425 a share on CNBC when it was trading around the $560 level in November. From TheStreet: “We bought it at $405 the first time, and I think our average cost is below $425. I said Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would go below $425. I wasn’t committed to buying it, but I think Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is an interesting play,” Gundlach said during the interview. Gundlach told TheStreet that the tech giant’s stock is “sorta cheap” and that he “sorta” likes Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Wheat price revival questions hedge fund selling (Agrimoney)
Hedge funds returned to taking a more negative stance on agricultural commodities, largely through increasing bets on falling values of sugar, which have paid off, and of wheat, in which they have been caught out. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, decreased its net long position in US traded agricultural commodity futures and options by more than 47,000 contracts in the week to last Tuesday, regulatory data show. The decrease, the first in six weeks, reflected in part a return to taking a more negative stance on corn, after a week in which US farmers planted the grain at a record pace, easing concerns over a yield penalty from sowings which had been running at a historically slow level.
You can be a hedge fund investor. But why would you? (TicoTimes)
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Asset Management announced that it would launch a new mutual fund that — apparently — will bring the joy of hedge fund investing to the masses. For as little as $1,000, the Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund (GMAMX) allows mom-and-pop investors to put their life savings into some of Wall Street’s riskiest and most expensive products. This “fund of funds” will, according to its prospectus, let investors gain exposure to the trading strategies of hedge funds. The obvious question is: “Why would investors want that?” Despite all the media coverage, glitz and glam of hedge funds, they have not done well for their investors. They have high — some say excessively high — fees; their short- and long-term performance has been poor.
Illinois Teachers fund embraces directness (PIOnline)
The Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Springfield, is drastically restructuring its $2 billion hedge fund portfolio in a move to all direct investments within the next two to three years. The changes are the brainchild of Kenneth Musick, absolute-return investment officer, who joined the $39.6 billion fund in October and wasted little time in reconstructing the hedge fund program. More staff will be needed, Mr. Musick told trustees at May 22-23 investment committee meeting. He didn’t provide any details. First on the tap are searches for a hedge fund consultant and a hedge fund risk management provider.
