Elliott Associates Hedge Fund Gained 4.6% in First Half (Wall Street Journal)
Paul Singer, the hedge-fund manager entangled in a public fight with Argentina over the country’s defaulted bonds, gained 4.6% in the first half of the year in his Elliott Associates L.P. fund, investor documents show. Elliott has historically specialized in distressed investments, and the average such fund returned 6.7% in the first half.
Dalio’s Bridgewater Said to Rise in June as Funds Advance (Bloomberg)
The $2.7 trillion hedge-fund industry posted gains of 1.1 percent in June, the biggest monthly advance in almost a year, after the European Central Bank added stimulus and the U.S. economy strengthened. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates LP, Solus Alternative Asset Management LP, Paulson & Co. and Balyasny Asset Management LP were among firms with positive returns as managers across the investing spectrum benefited from gains in multiple markets, according to people with knowledge of the results, who asked not to be named because the information is private. “Asset prices rallied in June across equities, bonds, credit and most commodities,” Anthony Lawler, money manager at $120 billion Swiss asset manager GAM, wrote in a report issued on July 3.
Hedge fund liquidation in gas ‘largely complete’ (Agrimoney.com)
Hedge funds’ liquidation of bullish bets on agricultural commodities “looks to have largely run its course”, Australia & New Zealand Bank said, after data showed a further selldown, with positioning on soybeans the most downbeat since 2011. Managed money, a proxy for speculators, cut its net long position in futures and options in the top 13 US-traded agricultural commodities, from cocoa to lean hogs, by more than 50,000 contracts in the week to last Tuesday, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulator.
Apollo Formalizes Stock Pay Plan (FINalternatives)
Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO) has clarified its plan to pay top partners and executives some of their bonuses in stock instead of cash, a policy that has led to grumbling among those affected, as well as a number of departures. The private-equity giant said in a Thursday regulatory filing that partners and other top managers would receive at least some of their share of the profits, rather than cash. The shares would vest over three years.
Foreign investors put pressure on Samsung (MarketWatch)
A number of prominent U.S. investors have taken large stakes in Samsung Electronics Co. in recent months, putting pressure on the technology giant’s management to return more of its $60 billion cash pile to shareholders. Some of these investors, which include New York hedge fund Perry Capital LLC and mutual fund managers Yacktman Asset Management and Artisan Partners LP, have been pushing Samsung executives to increase dividends and restart share buybacks in private meetings, they said in interviews with The Wall Street Journal.
Underwhelming year for hedge funds? (CNBC.com)
Pressure mounts on PetSmart to boost shareholder value (USA TODAY)
Another big investor is barking at PetSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETM), urging the struggling retailer to boost shareholder value. PetSmart said Monday that it’s “reviewing potential changes” to its capital structure with “a focus on returning capital to shareholders.” The move comes after Longview Asset Management said it had boosted its PetSmart stake to 9%, just days after hedge fund Jana Partners announced a 9.9% stake and urged a sale of the company. PetSmart gained $1.67 (2.5%) to $68.95 Monday after surging 12.5% Thursday on word of Jana Partners’ investment.
TCI’s Hohn Gets Ruling Keeping Finances Private in Divorce (Bloomberg)
Christopher Hohn, the founder of The Children’s Investment Fund Management UK LLP, can keep the financial details of his London divorce proceedings private, a judge ruled. Hohn, 47, started testifying today after media organizations, including Bloomberg News, lost a request to have all of the proceedings heard in public. Judge Jennifer Roberts declined to block reporting of the entire lawsuit over how to divide the couple’s $1.3 billion in assets in one of the largest divorce cases in the U.K.
Argentina Will Meet With Mediator, But Not Hedge Funds (FINalternatives)
Little more than three weeks from its second debt crisis in 13 years, Argentina will meet today with a court-appointed mediator—but not with the hedge-fund holdouts from its 2001 default. Speaking Thursday at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., Argentine Economy Minister Axel Kicillof said a delegation of government officials would meet with Daniel Pollack in New York. But Kicillof said that it would not sit down with the holdouts, led by Elliott Management and Aurelius Capital Management, and implied that it wouldn’t do so unless the hedge funds agree to certain preconditions, chief among them a deal allowing Argentina to pay its restructured debt while negotiating with them.
Standard General Confirms Talks With American Apparel (Wall Street Journal)
Standard General confirmed in a securities filing that it is in talks with American Apparel Inc. to shore up the company’s finances, reconstitute its board and strengthen its management. If the talks with American Apparel break down, the hedge fund said it would consider launching a proxy fight to win board seats. Standard General effectively controls 43% of the company’s shares through an arrangement it reached last month with Dov Charney, American Apparel’s ousted founder and chief executive.
InvestCorp Expands Its Hedge Fund Advisory Board (HedgeCo.net)
Investcorp, the $11.3 billion global hedge fund manager, has appointed four new Corporate Investment Advisory Directors, Brendan Harris, Joan Julia Dinares, Guy Leymarie and Philip Walters. “We are delighted to welcome such an esteemed group of new Advisory Directors.” Hazem Ben-Gacem, Head of Investcorp’s European Corporate Investment team, said: “Their collective knowledge and experience will be invaluable to Investcorp, as we continue to seek to identify and execute a steady flow of attractive investment opportunities and actively support our portfolio company management teams to build world-class businesses.”
