Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)
Hedge fund manager William Ackman led the Ron Johnson revolution at J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). And when Johnson was ousted in early April, his fund’s J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) stake was down about half a billion dollars. Not to worry. Just a few months earlier, the giant Texas Teacher Retirement System reported that it had invested $200 million with Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management. Another Texas pension for county workers also has $40 million invested with him. Throw in public pensions from New Jersey, Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Massachusetts and West Virginia, and Pershing Square manages more than $1 billion on behalf of government workers.
Goldman Sachs Alumnus Sze’s Hedge Fund Is Said to Return 8% (BusinessWeek)
Azentus Capital Management Ltd., led by former Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) proprietary trader Morgan Sze, returned 8 percent before fees this year through yesterday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Azentus’s assets stand at $1.6 billion, said the person, who declined to be identified because the information is private. Hong Kong-based Azentus manages a global multistrategy hedge fund focused on Asia. Roger Denby-Jones, Azentus’s chief operating officer, declined to comment. The Eurekahedge Multistrategy Hedge Fund Index, tracking the performances of 254 pools globally, returned 2.3 percent in the first three months.
Hedge Fund Association Teams up with The Appointment Group for Exclusive Travel Partnership (WSJ)
The Hedge Fund Association (“HFA”) today announced that it has teamed up with global travel management company The Appointment Group (“TAG”) as its exclusive travel partner. In this partnership, the HFA’s members will be able to take advantage of TAG’s quality service offerings geared specifically for the hedge fund traveler, which include specially negotiated hotel rates and international airfares, along with in-house 24-hour customer service to meet their complex and ever changing schedules. “Given the constant travel required by hedge fund executives, we are looking forward to offering the HFA’s members a hassle-free and cost-effective way to book their trips, with the highest possible service and other attractive amenities for their business excursions,” said Daniel Price, Managing Director, TAG.
Scotiabank Canadian Hedge Fund Index up 1.26 per cent in March (HedgeWeek)
The Scotiabank Canadian Hedge Fund Index ended March 2013 up 1.26 per cent on an asset weighted basis and gained 0.39 per cent on an equal weighted basis. The aim of the Scotiabank Canadian Hedge Fund Index is to provide a comprehensive overview of the Canadian Hedge Fund universe. To achieve this, index returns are calculated using both an equal weighting and an asset-based weighting of the funds. The index includes both open and closed funds with a minimum AUM of CAD15m and at least a 12 month track record of returns, managed by Canadian-domiciled hedge fund managers.
Agecroft Partners hires head of European Marketing (InvestmentEurope)
Agecroft Partners, a global hedge fund consulting and third party marketing firm, has hired Jim Sauls as managing director and head of European Marketing. Sauls previously worked at Calatrava Securities, where he was director of Marketing and CEO of their affiliated commodity pool operator. Previously he held roles at Fimat USA and Sanwa Futures. Sauls’ responsibilities at Agecroft include heading its marketing in Europe, and assisting on due diligence on potential managers it may represent.
Apex appoints Elliott Brown as managing director – Americas (HedgeWeek)
Apex Fund Services has appointed Elliott Brown to the newly created position of managing director – Americas. Brown will have responsibility for overseeing the growth of all of Apex’s offices in North and South America. Brown was formerly with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) for 18 years, most recently as the managing director responsible for leading the bank’s global hedge fund administration business. Prior to that role, Brown was in strategy and business development and was instrumental in the formation of the hedge fund and private equity fund administration businesses at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). Brown also worked for JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in Australia in relationship management and operations.
Investor tapes meeting with hedge fund manager (DailyPress)
A retired small businessman who invested in a hedge fund managed by a man now facing federal fraud charges told the courtroom he taped a meeting in case of future litigation. The trial of former MICG Investment Management head Jeffrey A. Martinovich, who is facing federal fraud charges, continues this week. Martinvovich ran the company’s Venture Strategies hedge fund, which owned a substantial stake in a struggling solar company in New Jersey. Prosecutors are accusing Martinovich of seeking inflated estimates of the solar company’s value that would translate into gains for the hedge fund and larger performance fees for MICG.
Headhunter to the Stars Expands New York City Recruitment Firm (Virtual-Strategy)
Founder of The Celebrity Personal Assistant Network, Brian Daniel, has expanded his recruitment firm to cater to Greater New York City’s upper echelon hedge fund managers, fashion designers and high net worth families. The areas served include but are not limited to Manhattan (Wall Street/Financial district, Upper East Side/West Side); Staten Island; Long Island (Brooklyn, Queens and the Hamptons); as well as the neighboring communities in Connecticut. As a former personal assistant to Hollywood A-list, billionaires and royalty, Daniel is the world’s only headhunter with such first-hand experience. Daniel’s network of top-tier executive assistants, estate mangers and personal assistants represent the best of the best in New York City and have worked for high profile families, Wall Street finance gurus and fashion icons of industry – among others.
8 reasons why the hedge fund industry deserves a second look in 2013 and why RIAs are so well positioned to capitalize (RiaBiz)
Earlier this month, I attended some sessions of the Consultants Conference held in San Francisco by the Investment Management Institute. The IMI is a research and educational organization for institutional investors and wealthy families worldwide. Speakers included hedge fund industry pioneer, Michael Collins, president of Collins Capital, which manages multi-strategy, multi-manager hedge fund portfolios. Collins thinks that RIAs may soon come to embrace hedge funds more closely—now that alternative investments are becoming intrinsic to current portfolio allocation strategies.
