Relational Said to Nominate Two B/E Board Directors (Bloomberg)
Relational Investors LLC , the activist fund co-founded by Ralph Whitworth and David Batchelder, nominated two directors at B/E Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:BEAV) before the aviation supplier postponed its annual meeting amid a strategic review, two people familiar with the matter said. Relational, which disclosed a B/E Aerospace stake of about 3.5 percent May 15, submitted Batchelder and Managing Director Matthew Hepler as candidates before this week’s deadline, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the nominations aren’t yet public.
Regis Philbin: I was Einhorn’s ‘best summer intern’ ever (MarketWatch)
Take note, you wannabee hedge-fund-summer-interns: the bar has just been lifted. The “hardest-working man in show business” is also the hardest-working summer intern that hedge-fund manager David Einhorn has ever seen. Talk- and game-show host Regis Philbin spilled the beans Wednesday on CNBC about his stint as an intern at Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital. The TV legend got the gig after impressing Einhorn with one of his stock picks — Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU). Philbin said he went to Einhorn’s New York office and met everyone, including Einhorn, who “happens to be a very nice guy.” One long chat later: “They thought I was the best summer intern they ever had,” said the clearly modest TV host.
Icahn Joins Ackman With Fannie, Freddie Investment (FINalternatives)
When hedge-fund managers Carl Icahn and William Ackman buried the hatchet in April after a bitter, decade-long feud, Ackman suggested that the two famed activists might one day work together. That day may be now. Icahn has taken a $51 million stake in government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to regulatory filings. The deal puts Icahn alongside Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, which owns an 11% stake in both companies.
Activist hedge funds launches surged in 2013 – Preqin (Reuters)
The number of activist hedge funds launched in 2013 more than doubled compared with a year earlier, data provider Preqin said on Thursday, as company boards come under greater scrutiny from their shareholders. Launches of activist funds, which take stakes in companies and use their positions to agitate for change, often through appointing directors, increased to 28 over the year, up from 12 a year earlier, and were at their highest level since 2007. The biggest activist hedge fund is New-York based Elliott International, with $15.6 billion in assets under management, Preqin said.
Fund Manager Sets Goats Grazing in Blighted Detroit (New York Times)
To most of the world, the solution to debt-ridden Detroit is money. But for one hedge fund manager, it’s goats. Mark Spitznagel, the founder of the $6 billion hedge fund Universa Investments, on Thursday brought 20 billy goats to graze among abandoned homes and general detritus in Brightmoor, one of Detroit’s most blighted neighborhoods. Not to be outdone by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), the country’s biggest bank, which recently pledged to invest $100 million to help Detroit over the next five years, Mr. Spitznagel says he is contributing directly to the community.
Great opportunities in market: Trader (CNBC.com)
London Pension Fund Authority pulls out of Brevan Howard (Financial Times)
The influential London Pension Fund Authority has redeemed its entire investment in Brevan Howard, the world’s third largest hedge fund, after it refused to provide a detailed breakdown of its trading positions. The withdrawal by the highly influential LPFA comes as the UK government has questioned the benefits of the country’s £178bn local authority pension funds investing in active managers such as hedge funds because of high fees and underwhelming performance.
Gain Access To Daniel Loeb’s Hedge Fund Through Third Point Re (GuruFocus.com)
Through my research of Greenlight Re (GLRE), I discovered Third Point Reinsurance (TPRE). Third Point Re was listed as the most similar, publicly traded competitor to Greenlight Re. The company is a way to gain access to Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund without needing the typical $1 million to invest in such a fund. Loeb has been one of the best performing gurus that we follow at GuruFocus. Third Point’s funds have blown away the S&P 500 over the years. The Master Fund has provided an annual return of 20.4 percent since inception in 1995 compared to the S&P 500’s annual return of 9.7 percent.
KKR strikes first real estate deal in South Korea (Reuters)
KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR) has struck its first real estate deal in South Korea, acquiring a commercial property in Seoul with Hong Kong-based hedge fund LIM Advisors in a deal which local media valued at around 500 billion won ($489 million). KKR invested in the 83,800 square meter K Twin Towers office and retail complex in Seoul’s central business district (CBD), as the U.S. private equity firm looks to deepen its real estate portfolio in Asia.
Mortgage Firm Tied to Hedge Fund Said to Plan First Bonds (Bloomberg)
WinWater Home Mortgage LLC, a buyer of the loans affiliated with former Deutsche Bank AG banker Neil Ahuja’s Premium Point Investments LP hedge fund, is planning its first sale of bonds without government backing, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. WinWater hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) to market the $249 million transaction tied to prime jumbo U.S. mortgages, said the person, who asked not to be named because the offering is private. The company intends to become a regular issuer of the debt, the person said.
From hedge fund trader, to David Beckham’s rival, to interior design (eFinancialCareers)
Until 2012, Alessandro Butini was Chris Hohn’s right-hand man at the Children’s Investment Fund Management as a partner and senior trader generating ideas and “trading colours” for the founding partner and the hedge fund’s research team. Now, when he thinks of colours it’s for an entirely different reason – interior design for the sort of high-net-worth individuals who want to deck out their luxury historical homes or yachts. Earlier this year the Italian, who had been working in finance since starting as a junior salesman role at Salomon Smith Barney in London in 1998, joined at Intarya, an interior design company that focuses on the luxury end of the market.
