Hedge Fund Och-Ziff Said to Lose Four London-Based Employees (Bloomberg)
Four employees of Daniel Och’s Och-Ziff Capital Management Group (OZM) have left the hedge fund’s London office over the past week, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Antonio Batista, Jason Marino, Marco Minoli and Filipe Bergana have departed the firm, one person said, asking not to be named as the details aren’t public. Batista was a managing director, while the other three were analysts, one person said.
Hedge Fund Founder Chanos Says Shorting Intel Shares (Reuters)
Jim Chanos, founder of hedge fund firm Kynikos Associates, said on Friday he is betting against the shares of chipmaker Intel Corp. “We’re short Intel,” Chanos told cable television network CNBC. Chanos said he has been shorting, or betting against the company’s shares, for the past six months. Chanos, who has been critical of the personal computer sector and has bet against companies such as International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., said Intel has “the same challenges.
Volatility No Help to Boaz Weinstein’s Struggles (WSJ)
The beleaguered hedge-fund manager Boaz Weinstein has repeatedly defended his unsuccessful trading of recent years by promising his positions will pay off when volatility returns to the market. Yet as The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, Mr. Weinstein’s losses at Saba Capital Management LP only accelerated amid the equity and oil market gyrations of the fourth quarter, according to investor documents and people familiar with the firm. In fact, most of the -11% annual loss occurred in the fourth quarter. What’s to blame? Even some of Mr. Weinstein’s own investors appear confused at the firm’s yearlong drought, with one telling MoneyBeat “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Comac Capital’s Macro Fund Said to Drop 8 Percent on Swiss Franc (Bloomberg)
Comac Capital lost about 8 percent after the Swiss National Bank (SNBN)’s surprise decision to abandon the franc’s cap against the euro roiled markets worldwide, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Comac, a $1.2 billion London-based macro hedge fund run by Colm O’Shea, lost money on foreign-exchange trades as the franc surged as much as 41 percent versus the euro on Thursday, according to two people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
Loeb King Says It’s Closing as Hedge Fund Rules ‘Cumbersome’ (Bloomberg)
Loeb King Capital Management, an investment firm with about $1 billion, is closing after principal Gideon King decided to manage his own money. “You will just be more profitable if you run your own capital,” King, 45, said in a telephone interview. “That’s 99.9 percent of the decision.” King informed clients in a Jan. 13 letter that the funds will begin an orderly liquidation. The decision isn’t related to the business prospects, he wrote, but because the industry has changed and there are better ways to deploy capital.
John Hancock Currency Fund Sheds 8.7%, Hardest Hit by Swiss Franc Turmoil (Bloomberg)
The market turmoil sparked by the Swiss franc’s record surge has turned the $1.9 billion John Hancock Absolute Return Currency Fund into the biggest loser among U.S. peers. The fund tumbled 8.7 percent yesterday, the steepest drop on record and the most among more than 2,000 U.S.-domiciled funds tracked by Bloomberg with at least $1 billion under management. The fund, managed by Dori Levanoni and Jeppe Ladekarl, had its second-biggest short position in the franc at the end of November, according to the latest fact sheet on John Hancock’s website.
Hedge Funds Turn to Denmark After Swiss Move Jolts Markets (Bloomberg)
As investors and traders work out how to adjust their portfolios after the Swiss National Bank jettisoned its euro cap yesterday, interest is turning to another country with a euro peg. Danske Bank A/S says it has received several requests from hedge funds and offshore investors seeking to profit from the new climate through bets on Denmark. Though it’s a lost cause to speculate the Danes may abandon their euro peg, according to Danske, the bank is advising clients to gird for rate cuts into unprecedented negative territory.
U.S. Companies’ REIT Love Affairs Seen Breaking Investor Hearts (Bloomberg)
Forest City Enterprises Inc. (FCE.A), Windstream Holdings Inc. (WIN), and Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) shares surged and trading volume jumped on the days they announced plans to create real estate investment trusts. Such investor enthusiasm for REITs is helping persuade more companies to convert, or spin off their property into trusts, including some that have little in common with traditional types of real estate. In the past two years, nine companies have converted or spun off assets to create REITs, more than double the previous three years combined, and at least six are considering or planning to make the change, according to Green Street Advisors LLC.
It’s Official: Startup Funding Last Year Was Biggest Since 2000 (Bloomberg)
The money spigots for U.S. startups opened last year to their widest since the peak of the dot-com boom in 2000. Venture capitalists pumped $48.3 billion into U.S. startups in 2014, according to data today from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the most since investors piled $105 billion into closely held companies in 2000. The 2014 total was up 61 percent from $30 billion in 2013 and was more than double the $20.4 billion invested in 2009.
