Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:AACC), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), CommonWealth REIT (NYSE:CWH), Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP)
Forget Windows. The future of Microsoft Corporation is in its enterprise software business and the cloud, said Jeffrey Ubben, founder and CEO of activist hedge fund ValueAct Capital. In fact, Ubben believes in Microsoft so much that he’s taking a stake in the firm that’s “within spitting distance” of $2 billion. The news sent shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) up nearly 5%. “We see Microsoft’s consumer strategy challenges and say who cares,” said Ubben, speaking Monday at the Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York.
Former Icahn Executive Lays Out Investment in CommonWealth (Wall Street Journal)
Executives at Corvex Management knew they were in for a fight when they first started buying shares in CommonWealth REIT (NYSE:CWH). So says Keith Meister, managing partner of Corvex Management, who discussed his firm’s investment in the roughly $7 billion real estate investment trust at the Active-Passive Investor Summit in Manhattan on Monday. “We knew we were in for a fight before we bought the first share,” said Mr. Meister, who previously was an executive at Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP).
Cohen, Ackman, Englander Headline Yankee Stadium Cap. Intro. Event (FINalternatives)
The big ballpark in the Bronx is the site of a Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) capital introduction event, and will feature SAC Capital Advisors’ Steven Cohen, Pershing Square Capital Management’s William Ackman, Saba Capital Management’s Boaz Weinstein, Maverick Capital’s Lee Ainslee, Millennium Management’s Israel Englander and Glenview Capital Partners’ Larry Robbins.
General Electric Company (GE), AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) And The Rest Of Adage Capital Management’s +3.5% Yielders (Insider Monkey)
Read on for our quick take on five stocks from Phil Gross and Robert Atchinson’s large hedge fund Adage Capital Management’s portfolio as of the end of December with yields of 3.5% or higher judging by current prices and dividend levels. The fund cut its stake in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) by 23% but still owned over 12 million shares according to the filing. General Electric Company’s earnings were up considerably last quarter compared to the first quarter of 2012, but sales were about flat and so we are skeptical that the company can continue to grow its net income at the same rate.
Former UBS credit trading head sets up new hedge fund – sources (Reuters)
The former head of European credit flow trading at UBS AG (USA) (NYSE:UBS), Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, has left the Swiss bank to set up a new hedge fund, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. The new fund, Arcade Capital Partners, is expected to be USD150m in size and will focus on the most liquid part of the market, one of the sources said.
Physicist hedge fund guru posts lukewarm returns (CBS Moneywatch)
Andrew Tsai is the chief investment officer of the Chalkstream Capital Group, a fund of hedge funds that was founded in 2003. Knowing that Institutional Investor has the benefit of hindsight and that the media in general highlights success stories, I expected to see that the Chalkstream had racked up impressive results. So, how did the fund do?…
…Over the decade 2003 through 2012, the fund returned 5.6 percent. The good news is that those were great results in the world of fund of hedge funds as Chalkstream outperformed the HFRX Global Index by 4 percent. Unfortunately, that is damning with faint praise. Those returns lagged the returns of every major stock asset class during that period.
In the smart money’s world, David Nierenberg’s Nierenberg Investment Management reported a sale of number of shares of Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:AACC) in a 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In total, the position in Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. is now worth near $28.4 million, a decrease of 14.6%. In layman’s terms, it’s very crucial for average investors to pay attention to David Nierenberg’s latest move out of Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ:AACC). At large, 13Ds indicate the intentions of activist fund managers. These members of the “investing elite” are the proverbial celebrities in the financial world, and seek to impose their will to an already standing business.
SAC’s Cohen Buys West Village Properties (FINalternatives)
SAC Capital Advisors founder Steven Cohen is in the midst of a frenzied real-estate deal-making spree. The hedge fund manager recently bought a $60 million East Hampton home down the block from his current Long Island getaway, and listed his Midtown Manhattan duplex for $115 million. Now comes word that he’s bought the site of a failed hotel project in the West Village for $38.8 million.
Roman to speak at third annual FN Hedge Fund Awards (Financial News)
Manny Roman, the new chief executive of Man Group, will be the keynote speaker at Financial News’s third annual Awards for Excellence in Institutional Hedge Fund Management, Europe 2013. Roman, who took over from Peter Clarke at the helm of Europe’s largest listed hedge fund manager earlier this year, will address guests at the black tie dinner, which will be held on Wednesday May 8 at One Mayfair.
Weeden Acquires Prime Broker Saxis (Traders Magazine)
The parent company of institutional broker Weeden & Co. said it has acquired Saxis Group, a provider of prime broker services. Weeden Investors said the acquisition of the New York-based firm will extend its “institutional quality services” to hedge funds and family offices. No terms were disclosed. Saxis Group works with investors considered “natural buyers” of early stage and emerging managers of hedge funds.
Small CTA With Impressive Pedigree Doubles Assets (FINalternatives)
Solaise Capital, a three-year-old hedge fund launched by veterans of some of the most prominent quantitative firms, has nearly doubled its assets under management over the past few months. London-based Solaise now manages US$165 million, up from US$86 million at the end of November, Reuters reports. A pension fund’s investment is responsible for much of the gain, although Solaise said it has enjoyed other inflows this year.
