Hedge fund founder and investor extraordinaire Warren Buffett had a few words to say about women in investing over at UK newspaper The Telegraph. “As fears grow that the United States is preparing to plunge over the “fiscal cliff”, the octogenarian philanthropist said he expected a deal to be reached to avoid automatic austerity measures kicking in. But over the longer term he said he was particularly optimistic about prospects for the US because the country was finally beginning to harness the full potential of women…. He said affording women the same prospects to succeed as men was key to a bright economic future. “[It is] one of the things that make me so optimistic about the future.” The Telegraph reports.
Man’s FRM Capital Advisors launches strategic relationship with Japan focused hedge fund (Opalesque)
FRM Capital Advisors (FCA), the seeding division of FRM, Man Group plc‘s (Man) fund of hedge fund division, has entered into a strategic relationship with a Japan focused hedge fund. FCA will make a significant investment in a fund launched by Arena Capital Management Limited (“Arena”), a Hong Kong based investment advisor. Arena, established in May 2012 by Toby Bartlett (CIO), manages a Japanese Long-Short Equity strategy focusing on domestic demand sectors, constructed with a factor neutral pair trading book. Joining Mr Bartlett at Arena are Greg McLaughlin (COO), Ayumu Kuroda (Head of Trading and Risk Systems) and Yukimi Oda (Research Analyst).
Hedge fund managers say investors are constantly faced with information overload (Opalesque)
Investors are faced with the constant problem of information overload and bombarded with incessant inflow of short term information that influences their long term perspective, declared Mark Levas, the Founder and Senior Managing Principal of the Olympian Group of Investment Management Companies. Levas made the statement at the latest Opalesque Florida Roundtable sponsored by Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) and Eurex. The Roundtable was attended by major hedge fund managers and took place on December 2012 at Wells Fargo’s Miami office.
Hedge funder smack (NYPost)
Big-bucks Manhattan hedge-fund chief Jay Goldman gave his unlicensed son the keys to the family Land Rover, and the kid promptly crashed it into a tree — leaving a pal paralyzed after a post-Hurricane Sandy joyride, a lawsuit claims. Alejandro Bocija Nova, 15, of Spain, sustained “severe and permanent personal injuries, including quadriplegia,” when pal Asher Cole Goldman, 16, who did not have a driver’s license, took the SUV onto the darkened, rain-slicked streets of East Williston, LI, on Oct. 31 at about 3 a.m., the Manhattan Supreme Court suit alleges.
Fixed income most popular Ucits hedge fund strategy in 2012, says Alix Capital (HedgeWeek)
More than half the inflows into Ucits hedge funds (EUR13.2bn) were allocated to fixed income strategies during 2012, followed by macro strategies (EUR5.8bn), according to data released by Alix Capital. The latest quarterly research by the Geneva-based provider of the Ucits Alternatives Index also found that Ucits hedge funds assets under management (AUM) increased by 20 per cent in 2012 reaching a new high of EUR140bn.
FSA bans fund manager and two traders for market abuse (MoneyMarketing)
The FSA has banned a Swiss fund manager and two traders for market abuse and hit them with fines totalling more than £1.5m. Stefan Chaligné, a Swiss-based hedge-fund manager, has been fined £900,000 plus £308,005 of extra financial benefit he gained. Patrick Sejean, a former senior salesman on Cantor Fitzgerald Europe’s London-based French desk, has been fined £650,000. Both individuals have also been banned.
2nd Circ. Doubtful Of Hedge Fund Suit Against Anglo Irish (Law360)
A Second Circuit panel suggested Wednesday that it would not likely revive a hedge fund’s suit over the nationalization of Anglo Irish Bank Corp., expressing doubt about the whether the law permits the court to override Irish sovereignty. The older than 60-year-old Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Ireland and the U.S., in which Ireland said it would not challenge lawsuits in U.S. courts, will likely not override U.S. law preventing suits against foreign sovereigns, a judge said at oral arguments. Fir Tree Capital Opportunity…
Women are making gains in finance (TheRepublic)
After covering women in finance for almost two decades, I smell a revolution in the works. — Two new surveys show women are kicking the behinds of the financial industry’s male-dominated hierarchy. A report released earlier this month by the financial-services firm Rothstein Kass reveals that female hedge-fund managers leveraged an average 8.9 percent return in the third quarter of 2012. A separate report from Hedge Fund Research showed that, globally, hedge funds averaged a mere 2.69 percent return during the same period.
Icahn Domain Pops Up After Herbalife Hedge Fund Fight (BusinessWeek)
First, hedge fund titans Bill Ackman, Carl Icahn and Daniel Loeb tussled publicly over whether Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) is a pyramid scheme. Now their names are popping up online in ominous-sounding domain names, including “therealcarlicahn.com” and “therealdanielloeb.com.” While Herbalife registered several domain names referencing Ackman after he accused the nutrition company of running a pyramid scheme, it’s unclear who or what entity is behind the ones referencing Icahn and Loeb. They were privately registered through Register.com and currently don’t lead to any actual websites.
Guggenheim Hedge Fund Arm Seeks New Managers (Finalternatives)
Guggenheim Partners is poised to ramp up its multistrategy hedge fund business with the addition of as many as 10 new portfolio managers this year. Guggenheim Global Trading currently has 15 managers in-house, managing more than $500 million in Guggenheim Partners’ assets, as well as some outside capital. But Guggenheim has pledged as much as another $1.5 billion to GGT, which debuted a year ago, and GGT is interviewing several possible candidates as it aims to increase its stable of managers to as many as 25 by the end of 2013, Bloomberg News reports.
BNY Mellon Named Largest Fund of Hedge Fund Administrator (Equities)
BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, has been recognised as the world’s largest Fund of Hedge Fund (FoHF) administrator in HFMWeek’s bi-annual administrator survey. BNY Mellon saw its FoHF assets under administration rise by $20 billion to $130.6 billion in the six months to October 2012, demonstrating considerable growth in what has been a challenging period for the FoHF industry, with overall assets under management down by 2%, falling from $1.09 trillion to $1.07 trillion.
Court Rules In Partner Vs. Partner Hedge Fund Dispute, Will Investigate Forgery Claim (Finalternatives)
The dispute between a pair of former hedge fund partners will continue, even after a New York appeals court found unanimously that one had improperly withheld profits from the other. The Manhattan court found that James Melcher should be awarded damages for Brandon Fradd’s withholding of the $6 million. The two ran the now-defunct Apollo Medical Partners.
Hedge Fund Billionaire Paul Singer Gives Bernanke A ‘D’ Grade (BusinessInsider)
Morgan Stanley’s high profile hedge fund conference is happening right now at the Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Florida. The annual conference has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry, including billionaire Steve Cohen, the founder of SAC Capital. Unfortunately, the press is not allowed. However, Absolute Return’s Lawrence Delevingne has been getting scoops of what’s being said at the conference.
Dr Doom and Gloom makes his investment predictions for 2013 (SCMP)
It’s always good value listening to the thoughts of Marc Faber, otherwise known as Dr Doom. The eternally bearish investment guru can always be relied on to pour cold water on market exuberance, no matter how buoyant things might look. He notes the S & P 500 is getting very close to the all-time high of 1565, but he’s not big on equities full stop. “If you look back at equity performance over the last 15 years, it has not been good. The Dow hit 1100 in March of 1999 and we’re only getting close to 1,4000 now,” he reminded RTHK listeners. In fact, equities have done miserably in the last 15 years, he concluded. So isn’t it about time that they are the place to be? Not really, he said, pointing out that the Dow Jones and S & P Stock performance, dividends included, averages out at a pretty unexciting 6 per cent per annum.
Bank Muscat hosts Rogers (Omantribune)
MUSCAT Bank Muscat hosted Jim Rogers, investment expert, as part of the Treasury & Capital Markets conference on ‘Global Financial Markets – Prevailing Challenges and Strategies for 2013’, on Wednesday, according to press release. Jim Rogers shared his insights on the state of world economy and financial markets with dignitaries from the government, senior private sector officials and top clients who attended the conference.
