Einhorn Says In A Word If He Shifted Bets for Election: ‘No’ (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn opted against shifting his portfolio to prepare for market volatility tied to the results of U.S. elections. Asked in a conference call Tuesday if he made any “tactical moves” to prepare for the eventual outcome, Einhorn answered: “No.” “I’m sure it matters to a lot of the holdings. It’s not clear when it matters to the portfolio as a whole, however,” Einhorn said on a conference call discussing results for Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., the Cayman Islands-based reinsurer where he is chairman. “The portfolio is a mix of longs and shorts, and I’m sure various securities will be impacted in different ways.”
Julian Robertson Sucked Into Fintech-Investment Battle (The Wall Street Journal)
Hedge-fund titan Julian Robertson last year passed on an investment in one of the most highly valued U.S. financial-technology companies. Why he did so is now the subject of a legal battle between the company, Mozido Inc., and a former board member. Mozido alleged in a complaint filed in New York state court last week that the former director told Mr. Robertson the mobile-payments company was a “fraud” that would go out of business. This led Mr. Robertson, the complaint said, to walk away from a potential investment in Mozido, which is now trying to raise capital. The allegations of defamation and wrongful “interference” are rare in the usually genteel world of venture-capital fundraising.
Whatever Happens Tuesday, The Biggest Loser Is Bill Ackman (DealBreaker)
When Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced last month that it would hold its third-quarter earnings call on election day, investors should have braced themselves for some sobering news. A charitable observer might chalk up the dubious timing to the company’s Canadian domicile, but functionally speaking, Valeant is headquartered in the decidedly American environs of Bridgewater, New Jersey. But despite Tuesday’s electoral hubbub, Valeant’s shareholders – most notably Bill Ackman – haven’t missed the company’s dismal quarterly financial results. The stock fell by more than a quarter in the first hour of trading, on news that revenue dropped 11 percent while profits of $50 million last year flipped to a massive $1.2 billion loss this past quarter.
Brevan Howard Fund Up 0.7 pct In October, Down 2.69 pct For Year – Sources (Reuters)
Brevan Howard‘s main hedge fund, one of Europe’s largest, made gains of 0.7 percent in October, two sources close to the matter told Reuters. One of the sources said that brought the loss for the year so far down to 2.69 percent for the ‘macro’ fund, which takes bets on macroeconomic trends through a variety of asset classes. Brevan’s flagship fund outperformed the average macro fund in October, which lost 1.49 percent, according to data from industry tracker Hedge Fund Research, but fell short of average gains this year of 0.17 percent. London-based Brevan manages $17.3 billion overall though assets in its main fund had dropped to $13.7 billion at the end of September from $14.24 billion at the end of August, the source said.
Ex-BlueCrest Portfolio Manager Hashemi To Launch Own Hedge Fund – Sources (Reuters)
Ex-BlueCrest portfolio manager Ardy Hashemi plans to launch an equity hedge fund with the backing of $200 million from U.S.-based Lighthouse Investment Partners, sources close to the matter told Reuters. Lighthouse, which manages about $8.5 billion in assets, currently has 110 investments in a wide range of hedge fund strategies. Hashemi is expected to start London-based Hashemi Asset Management in the new year and will focus on European equities as part of a so-called long-short strategy, one source said, betting on both rising and falling share prices. Hashemi, 32, joins a number of people to leave BlueCrest Capital Management, the $8 billion hedge fund firm founded by billionaire Mike Platt that announced it was closing to outside investors in December 2015.
The Hedge Fund Of Unsound Method (DealBreaker)
In the legalistic retellings of Heart of Darkness by the SEC and Justice Dept., with Och-Ziff Capital Management cast as the ivory trading company and former Och-Ziff London chief Michael Cohen as Col. Kurtz, the doings of the hedge fund’s inner station have been reasonably well laid out: Bribing Muammar Gaddafi’s sovereign-wealth fund for mandates, bribing the Congolese for mining rights, bribing officials in Chad, Niger and Guinea, for good measure (and mining rights). The brown current of redemptions running swiftly out of the hedge fund, ebbing into the sea of inexorable time.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ Stock Plunges 20% And Keeps Making Big Name Investors Look Like Amateurs (Forbes)
Bill Miller is a legendary stock picker who dazzled Wall Street by beating the Standard & Poor’s 500 index for 15 straight years. Two weeks ago, Miller hopped on CNBC and said he was buying shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals because he liked its free cash flow. “We think the stock doubles in three years,” Miller said. Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals plunged by 20% in Tuesday morning trading in New York, the latest big move down in its stock market train wreck. Since its August 2015 highs, Valeant’s stock is down by 95%.
Ackman-Herbalife Saga to Hit Theaters With Distribution Deal (Bloomberg)
The documentary film “Betting on Zero,” which chronicles hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s attempt to destroy Herbalife Ltd., is going to be seen by a lot more people thanks to a distribution deal. The film will reach theaters early next year via Gunpowder & Sky Distribution, according to a statement. The movie, which debuted in April at the Tribeca Film Festival, received some free publicity on Sunday when it was highlighted by HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” show during a diatribe against multilevel-marketing firms such as Herbalife. After the theatrical release, “Betting on Zero” will be available through video-on-demand.
