Hedge Fund News From HedgeCo.Net

Hedge Fund Charity to Honor Warrick Dunn

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:44:30 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – Former NFL star running back Warrick Dunn will be honored for his outstanding charitable contributions at A Little Hope’s ‘A Night For Our Children’ 11th annual fundraising gala. A Little Hope is a non-profit, hedge fund backed foundation that provides grief counseling and bereavement support services to children and teens who [...]

Hedge Fund Manager Kellner DiLeo Rebrands as Kellner Capital

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:26:57 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – Kellner DiLeo & Company, LLC, a more than three decade-old hedge fund manager, has been reorganized and renamed Kellner Capital, LLC, and has launched a new event-driven investment fund. George Kellner, Founder and CEO, said, “The Firm has experienced exciting changes and we thought it appropriate to rebrand the organization.” The new [...]

Mutual Funds Group Urges Limits On Hedge Fund Advertising

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:18:17 +0000

Bloomberg – Mutual funds are pushing for limits on hedge fund advertising permitted under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, saying such ads may hurt investors and damage the entire fund industry. The law’s repeal of a ban on the marketing of private offerings to the general public may result in misleading advertisements for hedge [...]

Broker fees for U.S. stock trading fell to lowest since 2006

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:00:17 +0000

Stamford Advocate – U.S. securities firms received the lowest commissions from equities trading since 2006 amid a fifth straight year of outflows from stock funds and the worst returns during the bull market that began in 2009. The industry split $10.9 billion in fees last year from asset managers, down 6 percent from 2010, according to [...]

Rajat Gupta secretly served Rajaratnam’s hedge fund: Prosecution

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:45:53 +0000

Daily News India – Prosecutors in the insider-trading trial of Rajat Gupta have suggested he leaked information about Goldman Sachs to convicted hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam because he was secretly serving as an executive of his Galleon Group. Indian-American Gupta quietly served as an executive of Galleon while also serving on the boards of [...]

Insight – Gains that funds made on bets by JPMorgan whale may be limited

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:44:24 +0000

Reuters – JPMorgan Chase & Co’s losing bets in credit derivatives were so huge that one of its traders was known as “the London whale” and the hedge funds that attacked him have often been portrayed as harpooners who made a killing. But the story, it turns out, is more complicated than that. According to [...]

With Megadonations for Both Parties, a Hedge Fund Hedges Its Political Bets

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:16:16 +0000

MJ – Among the 15 top donors to outside political groups this election cycle, only two happen to work for the same company: James Simons, the billionaire founder and chairman of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies is a prominent Democrat. RenTech’s co-chief executive, Robert Mercer, is a Republican backer of right-wing tea party candidates. In [...]

Ontario Power Authority offers U.S. hedge fund $82.3 million to settle Mississauga power plant dispute

Editor — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:13:47 +0000

The Star – The Ontario Power Authority offered to pay a U.S. hedge fund $82.3 million to settle a lawsuit over the province’s decision to cancel construction of a gas-fired power plant in Mississauga. But the hedge fund rejected the offer, according to New York Supreme Court records of a hearing held on May 11. The [...]

Busson’s EIM considers merger plan

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:59:51 +0000

Telegraph – EIM, the fund-of-hedge funds founded by the flamboyant Arpad Busson, has held merger talks with rival asset managers after suffering a spate of client withdrawals. Mr Busson, better known for his relationships with supermodel Elle Macpherson and actress Uma Thurman, is believed to have held talks to sell the business with a number [...]

Emerging Market Hedge Funds Gain +7.3% in 1Q12

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 12:13:38 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – Emerging Markets hedge funds posted their strongest start to a calendar year since 2006 with the HFRI Emerging Markets Index posting an industry-leading gain of +7.3 percent in 1Q12, according to the latest HFR Emerging Markets Industry Report. Total capital invested in Emerging Markets hedge funds soared to a record of [...]

Ex-Credit Suisse Trader’s Asia Macro Hedge Fund Returns 20%

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:56:29 +0000

Bloomberg – Splendid Asia Macro Fund, run by a former Credit Suisse Group AG trader, returned 20 percent this year through April as it bought Asian currencies, fixed income and equities, and sold the yen amid the European crisis. The fund, whose trades focus on Asia, now has $60 million in assets from $40 million when it started in [...]

Name-Dropping at Gupta Trial

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:54:53 +0000

DealBook – The insider trading trial of Rajat K. Gupta has featured testimony about some of America’s most prominent businessmen — including Warren E. Buffett, the billionaire investor, and Lloyd C. Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs. On Wednesday at Federal District Court in Manhattan, two more boldface names were drawn into the fray: George Soros, the [...]

Weavering boss Magnus Peterson guilty of fraud

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:38:14 +0000

The Independent - Magnus Peterson, the head of the collapsed hedge fund business Weavering, has been found in the High Court to have defrauded investors and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Mrs Justice Proudman ruled that Peterson, manager of the Weavering Macro Fixed Income fund, deceived clients and breached his duty of [...]

Hedge Fund ETF Weapons Turn Dangerous for Solo Investors

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:35:44 +0000

Business Week – If you are convinced, really convinced, the price of crude oil will rise today and U.S. stocks will fall, Factor Advisors LLC has an exchange-traded fund for you. The FactorShares 2X: Oil Bull/S&P500 Bearoffered by the New York-based firm makes a two-times long wager on crude oil futures and a short bet on [...]

Hedge fund boss found guilty in $600 million fraud

Editor — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:08:51 +0000

Reuters – Magnus Peterson, the boss of collapsed hedge fund business Weavering, has been found guilty of defrauding investors and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. London’s High Court ruled that Peterson, manager of the Weavering Macro Fixed Income fund, deceived clients and breached his duty of care to investors with [...]

FSA bans hedge fund manager over $500m bond scandal

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:57:59 +0000

Guardian – A hedge fund manager embroiled in a $500m (£319m) international bond scandal has been banned by the City regulator and given a £3m fine. Alberto Micalizzi is accused of trying to conceal “catastrophic losses” of more than $390m – 85% of his hedge fund Dynamic Decisions Capital Management (DDCM) – following the collapse [...]

Hedge fund lied about its principals’ having ‘skin in the game’: SEC

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:52:47 +0000

Investment News - The SEC has settled charges against investment adviser Quantek Asset Management LLC and two managers who told investors in two Latin American alternative investment funds that the executives had invested large portions of their own money in the funds between 2006 and 2008, regulators said. Quantek, lead executive Javier Guerra and operations [...]

Ex-Goldman Trader Run-Symphony Seeks Money for Hedge Funds

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:36:23 +0000

Bloomberg – Symphony Financial Partners, co- founded by an ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader in 2003, is seeking $1 billion from investors after its Japan-focused hedge fund returned more than four times its peers. David Baran, co-chief executive officer of Tokyo-based Symphony, is targeting about $500 million in new allocations for the $200 million SFP [...]

Hedge funds queue up to go short of Bankia

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:35:04 +0000

Reuters – A rush by hedge funds to go short of troubled Bankia in recent months has been stymied by a shortage of stock, limiting their gains from the Spanish bank’s collapsing share price. Shortsellers borrow shares they expect to drop in price and then sell them in the market. If the bet works, they buy [...]

FSA fines hedge fund chief £3m who hid losses

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:33:48 +0000

The Telegraph – Alberto Micalizzi, chief executive of London-based Dynamic Decisions Capital Management (DDCM), was yesterday handed the fine by the Financial Services Authority. The regulator accused Mr Micalizzi of lying repeatedly to investors after DDCM lost more than $390m (£223m), or 85pc of its value, in the months following the collapse of Lehman Brothers [...]

Hedge funds take bets against core euro zone bonds

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:32:11 +0000

Reuters – Hedge funds are piling into bets against the bonds of core euro zone countries like Germany and France, signalling a growing fear that nations once considered safe havens could be dragged down by the crisis in peripheral states like Greece and Spain. After a buoyant first quarter for markets, when fears over the euro zone debt [...]

Why Buffett Is Buying Newspapers

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:32:53 +0000

The Motley Fool – Earlier this month, Warren Buffett bought some newspaper titles through his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. This surprised many people, both inside and outside the industry, because the newspaper business isn’t what it used to be. During the last decade, people have increasingly been getting their news from other sources, especially the [...]

Romney Super PAC Backed by Hedge Fund Billionaires

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 12:03:04 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – Forbes reports that at least 30 billionaires, 7.5% of the Forbes 400, have donated to the Mitt Romney-backing super PAC Restore Our Future, among them are some of the top hedge fund managers this year. According to Restore Our Future’s monthly report, the hedge fund donors include: - Louis Bacon who gave $500,000 - Citadel’s Ken Griffin gave $2.85 [...]

Wallkill artist files suit against Manhattan investment fund

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:40:03 +0000

Times Herald-Record - A local artist and filmmaker put $4 million into a Manhattan hedge fund — a sophisticated, mostly unregulated investment — and is now at the center of a controversial bankruptcy case. In 2008, Lili Schad of the hamlet of Wallkill, invested the money in Harbinger Capital Partners Fund. The year before, the fund had [...]

U.S. SEC Shuts Down $11 Million Ponzi Scheme

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:38:27 +0000

Reuters – Regulators have charged a New York fund manager who was running an $11-million Ponzi scheme, federal court filings showed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Jason Konior with defrauding investors by promising to match their investments in his fund many times over. In reality, he used $2 million of the money he collected to [...]

Segantii wins Best Asian Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund and Best Asian Hedge Fund Awards

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:36:20 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – The Asian Hedge Fund Awards 2012 took place on 25th May 2012, marking another year of success as Eurekahedge celebrated the best of the Asian hedge fund industry. With 320 hedge fund players in attendance, Eurekahedge gave credit to the top achievers of 2011 and 1Q 2012 and were pleased to [...]

Hedge-Fund Billionaire Woos Binoche: Cannes Film Review

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:29:21 +0000

BusinessWeek – Eric Packer is 28 and a hedge-fund multibillionaire. He spends his days in a stretch limo, consulting geeks and gurus, undergoing medical checkups, and entertaining women. Packer is the hero of David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis,” an adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel which premiered at the just- ended Cannes Film Festival. In the title [...]

Tax concerns see hedge funds fleeing India

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:18:23 +0000

Opalesque – Hedge funds and several foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have packed up their bags and left India on concerns over the proposed tax rules that India plans to implement that could impact on their investments. According to a report by Asian Investor, these short term investors that bought exposures to Indian securities using participatory notes [...]

Murdoch Private Eye Targeted U.S. Hedge Fund Boss

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:50:44 +0000

Reuters – A private detective working for Rupert Murdoch’s British newspapers used a legally questionable tactic to obtain a hotel bill that a New York financier ran up at one of London’s swankest hotels, records reviewed by Reuters show. A database of business records compiled by British government investigators shows that some time before his [...]

‘Twitter’ hedge fund shuts down after a month

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:22:54 +0000

Investment UK – The only dedicated ‘Twitter’ hedge fund, Derwent Capital Markets’ Absolute Return fund, has shut down just a month after opening. This was even though it made a return of 1.86% in that single month, more than the average hedge fund. According to a report in the Financial Times, Paul Hawtin, chief executive and [...]

SEC Staff Ends Probe Of Lehman Without Finding Fraud

Editor — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:17:20 +0000

Bloomberg – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators have concluded their probe of possible financial fraud at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. without recommending enforcement action against the firm or its former executives, according to an excerpt of an internal agency memo. Lawmakers and investors have pressed the agency for more than three years to determine [...]

Nasdaq Glitch Causes Losses At Hedge Fund Market-Making Arm

Editor — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:44:16 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – A technical glitch botching Facebook Inc.’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange, has caused Citadel Securities’ market-making business to lose around $30 million, according to Reuters. Luckily, Citadel’s hedge fund was not affected, the losses came when Citadel honored trades that were canceled or changed during a period of around two hours on [...]

Clive Capital Hedge Fund Rebounds On Falling Energy Prices Bet

Editor — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:51:48 +0000

Bloomberg – Chris Levett’s Clive Capital LLP gained as much as $230 million in May after betting energy and power prices would fall in a month when oil posted its biggest drop in two years, two people with knowledge of the fund said. The $3.3 billion hedge fund rose about 7 percent in the first [...]

Hedge Fund Got Most South Carolina Fees While Lagging on Returns

Editor — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:47:31 +0000

BusinessWeek - Mariner Investment Group LLC, a hedge fund founded by a former Bear Stearns Cos. fixed-income executive, charged South Carolina’s pension fund more than any other manager while delivering returns that trailed competitors. Mariner, started by William Michaelcheck, 65, got $38 million in fees from the South Carolina Retirement Systems in fiscal 2011, or [...]

Analysis: Funds of hedge funds fight to stay relevant

Editor — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:46:11 +0000

Reuters – For funds which market themselves on their ability to spot the sharpest hedge fund minds, it could be their greatest challenge yet. Investors who once trusted them to find the best returns are gaining the expertise and confidence to do it themselves. U.S. pension funds like the giant $240 billion California Public Employees [...]

CFTC Sues Ex-Chicago Broker, Alleging Ponzi Scheme

Editor — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:15:17 +0000

Reuters – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued a former Chicago floor broker, claiming he ran a four-year Ponzi scheme and fraudulently solicited at least $7.8 million to trade commodity futures contracts. In a civil lawsuit, the CFTC said Bradley Schiller ran the Ponzi scheme promised investors annual returns of 13 percent or [...]

Brett Lane Joins Commonfund’s Hedge Fund Strategies Group

Editor — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:08:42 +0000

New York (HedgeCo.net) – Commonfund, a prominent investment manager for institutional investors, today announced the appointment of Brett Lane as Managing Director, reporting to A. Nicholas (Nick) De Monico, CEO, Commonfund Hedge Fund Strategies Group. “Brett is an integral addition to Commonfund, coming at an important time for the Hedge Fund Strategies Group as we expand market share and consider additional hedge [...]

First wiretap played at Rajat Gupta insider-trading trial

Editor — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:25:45 +0000

Reuters – A New York jury on Wednesday heard former Goldman director Rajat Gupta on a FBI wiretap casually discussing business with Raj Rajaratnam, the now-imprisoned hedge fund founder he is accused of tipping off about boardroom secrets. The 23-minute phone call on July 29, 2008 has no direct connection to the criminal charges against [...]

Trial of ex-P&G, Goldman board member starts in NY

Editor — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:16:17 +0000

AP – The July 29, 2008, phone call between two titans of Wall Street began with the old friends exchanging mild pleasantries, but then quickly turned serious and, by the government’s account, criminal. Hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam asked about a rumor that Goldman Sachs “might look to buy a commercial bank.” On the other [...]

SEC Sues Hedge Fund Execs for Ponzi Scam

Editor — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:12:49 +0000

HFN – The founder and the chief operating officer of a Florida hedge fund have been named in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit for their roles in a massive Ponzi scheme. The SEC announced Tuesday that Fort Lauderdale-area residents George Levin and Frank Preve allegedly raised more than $157 million from 173 investors during [...]