Discretionary Macro Funds Continue to Struggle in May (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
This year is shaping up to be a tough one for many of the best-known global macro hedge fund managers, who continue to struggle amid a turbulent and trendless environment for the financial markets. In a first look at May results, most discretionary macro funds — those that depend on humans to pull the trigger on investment decisions — extended their losses for the year through the middle of the month. Andrew Law’s New York–based Caxton Associates posted a loss of 1.55 percent for the month, through May 20, in its Caxton Global Investment fund, extending its loss for the year to 6.56 percent. Alan Howard’s BH Macro fund, which…
Former hedge fund analyst pleads guilty in insider trading case (Reuters)
Former hedge fund analyst Matthew Teeple pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a criminal conspiracy charge in connection with the 2008 takeover of a technology company. The former Artis Capital Management analyst told U.S. Magistrate Judge James Francis in Manhattan that he received tips from David Riley, a former chief information officer at Foundry Networks Inc, including one about the company’s pending $3 billion takeover in 2008 by Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD).
Morgan Stanley Sues Convicted Former Broker To Recoup $3.6 Million In Legal Fees (FA-Mag)
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) sued to recover more than $3.6 million it paid to defend a former broker who was imprisoned for his role in a kickback scheme. The firm said in its complaint against ex-broker Darin DeMizio that he should repay legal costs because “he intentionally defrauded Morgan Stanley and concealed his fraud” while working at the New York-based brokerage. DeMizio was convicted in 2009 of scheming to pay $1.7 million in kickbacks to his father and brother for virtually no work, according to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court…
Fair Oaks Capital inks starter space in Carnegie Hall Tower (TheRealDeal)
Anthony Edson and William Sheoris, two of the founders of hedge fund Stone Tower Capital, have inked a 5,000-square-foot space on the 27th floor of the Carnegie Hall Tower for their new venture, Fair Oaks Capital. The new hedge fund will set up shop above the duo’s original Stone Tower space at 505 West 37th Street, which snagged a 4,500-square-foot space in the tower’s base back in 2003. That spread eventually expanded to 30,000 square feet before the company was acquired by Apollo in 2012 and relocated to 9 West 57th Street.
‘Brain Hacking’: Serene Traders Make Killing as Wall Street Harnesses Meditation (MoneyNews)
When stock and bond markets took a dive in late January, hedge-fund manager David Ford kept his cool. Ford watched emerging markets melt down and read warnings that the U.S. economy could crater too. As prices dropped, he overcame the impulse to flee with the rest of the herd and, instead, bought more corporate bonds, Bloomberg Pursuits will report in its Summer 2014 issue. After two decades as a trader, Ford credits his serenity to experience — and to the 20 minutes he spends in his pajamas each morning repeating a meaningless mantra bestowed on him by a teacher of Transcendental Meditation two years ago.
Urban AG Accused Of Making Kickback Payments To A Hedge Fund (HedgeCo)
A microcap company and its CEO are being looked at by the SEC for orchestrating a pair of illicit kickback schemes and an insider trading scheme involving the company’s stock. The SEC is alleging that Massachusetts based Urban AG Corp. and its president and CEO Billy V. Ray Jr. of Cumming, Ga., schemed to make an undisclosed kickback payment to a hedge fund manager in exchange for the fund’s purchase of restricted shares of stock in the company. In a separate kickback scheme, Ray made an inducement payment to a stock promoter who would purchase shares of Urban on the open market ahead of planned press releases to help him manipulate the stock.
Caution on crude? (CNBC)
Former Hedge Fund Manager Drops Appeal To Focus On Education (HedgeCo)
Former hedge fund manager Fabrice Tourre made a statement yesterday, saying he would not seek appeal at a higher court. “After careful consideration, I have decided not to pursue a lengthy appeal process which, if successful, would lead to a retrial,” Tourre said in the statement. “While my lawyers have advised me there are strong grounds to appeal, I prefer to move forward with my education and close this difficult chapter of my life.” “Tourre, who made millions during his Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) tenure, has already paid the S.E.C. $825,000 in penalties and other costs. And an appeal could have complicated, or at least distracted from, his pursuit of a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago.” The NYT reports.
BNP Vets Ready Property Loan Hedge Fund (Finalternatives)
BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNP)’ former head of investment management in the U.K. is striking out on her own. Gerardine Davies plans to launch hedge fund PCM Partners with two other BNP veterans, Arjan Verbeek and Hamish Peacocke. PCM will invest in discounted property loans, employing what it calls a low-risk, diversified strategy, efinancialcareers reports. Davies led BNP’s British money management effort for only nine months in 2012. Most recently, she has served as co-head of retail property at Aegon Asset Management.
One Of The Smartest Men In The History Of Finance Invented A Fund That Cannot Make Money In Any Environment (BusinessInsider)
Today we’re going to talk about the boom in hedge fund-like mutual funds and the difference between brokers and advisors. I once looked at a “liquid alternative fund” from Natixis – liquid alts are products that purport to offer hedge fund strategies in a ’40 Act mutual fund wrapper – and I couldn’t understand a word of what the wholesaler was talking about. …Regretfully, I declined to get myself involved. But I promised the nice man from the mutual fund company to watch it and perhaps feel foolish in hindsight.
Biden teams up with top donor to raise big bucks (PoliticalTicker)
Vice President Joe Biden teams up Wednesday afternoon with one of the biggest Democratic donors: billionaire Tom Steyer. The vice president will headline a Democratic National Committee fundraiser at Steyer’s home in San Francisco. The former hedge fund manager has become a leading underwriter of Democratic causes and candidates. Steyer, who was a major supporter of President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, last year spent millions backing the Democratic candidates in the Virginia gubernatorial election and the special Senate contest in Massachusetts.
Why We Should All Take A Moment To Listen To Jim Rogers (Forbes)
Legendary investor Jim Rogers has been warning about “the ocean of artificial liquidity” as a result of the unprecedented money printing by central banks around the world for quite some time now. But with the U.S. stock market at an all-time high, his cautionary words seem to have hardly been heeded. In a recent conversation with China Money Network in Singapore, the chairman of Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum Fund, again sounded the alarm in his usual tireless manner.
Unhedged Commentary: Ignore AIFMD at Your Own Peril (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
For the large number of U.S. managers marketing their hedge funds in Europe, the game will change dramatically on July 22, 2014. That’s the day Europe’s new raft of hedge fund regulations embodied in the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive comes into force. Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For U.S. managers interested in raising money in Europe, embracing AIFMD could be well rewarded. Still, it’s going to be painful, particularly for U.S. firms seeking first-mover status and thus having to work through the largely untested additional compliance obligations imposed by AIFMD. But there will be rewards.
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