A Few Brave Investors Scored Huge, Market-Beating Wins (Wall Street Journal)
Chris Tuohy, a senior trader in the London office of Tudor Investment Corp., a $14 billion hedge-fund firm, was one of the few to profit from a sharp drop in the price of gold. Early last year, Mr. Tuohy began buying gold “puts,” or options contracts that pay off if an investment falls in price, according to people close to the firm, even as many gold strategists were bullish on the precious metal. As investors began dumping gold-related investments in the spring, Mr. Touhy’s profits piled up. Paul Tudor Jones, Tudor’s founder, also wagered against gold, the people said, though he didn’t make as big a bet as Mr. Tuohy’s.
Hedge Fund Founder Wilson Dies At 87 (FINalternatives)
Hedge fund pioneer Robert Wilson, who has spent the 28 years since his retirement giving away his fortune, died on Dec. 23. He was 87. Wilson leapt from his 16th-floor apartment and was found in an interior courtyard of the San Remo, the prestigious building that he called home. The suicide comes six months after Wilson suffered a stroke. Wilson left a suicide note, his executor, Richard Schneidman, told The New York Times. “The gist of it was that he had had a great life, and done all the things he wanted to, and that they way he chose to die was nothing to be ashamed of and shouldn’t be kept secret.” He ended his final missive with “a list of appointments that would have to canceled,” Schneidman said.
HEDGE FUNDS GAIN MORE THAN US$225 BILLION IN 2013 (Advisor.ca)
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 0.99% in December, bringing yearly returns for 2013 to 8.02%. The MSCI World Index returned 1.67% in December and was up 21.1% for the year 2013. Hedge funds remained in positive territory throughout the year, suffering a setback in June and August of 2013 as uncertainty loomed in the underlying markets following the Fed’s ‘taper scare.’ Overall, hedge fund managers were up 2.53% in the first half and 5.36% in the second half of the year. Most regional mandates ended the year on a positive note, with Japan- and Greater China-focused hedge funds outshining the rest.
Hedge fund adds parks to portfolio (Yorkshire Post)
James Caird Asset Management (JCAM), the hedge fund founded by City trader and racehorse owner Tim Leslie, has acquired business parks in Leeds and Birmingham after agreeing a £43m funding facility with Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS). A spokeswoman for the state-owned bank said the debt facility will enable the business to invest in and refurbish the office parks and provide local employment opportunities in both cities. Lawnswood Business Park is four miles north west of the city centre and close to Leeds Bradford Airport.
Tepper Pay Could Top $3 Billion (FINalternatives)
David Tepper was 2012’s highest-paid hedge fund manager—and it looks like he might be 2013’s, as well. The Appaloosa Management founder may have earned in excess of $3 billion last year, according to the New York Post. That would easily top his $2.2 billion payday in 2012, which put him at the top of Institutional Investor Alpha magazine’s ranking of the top 25 best-paid hedge fund managers.
