John Arnold Gives $2.8-Million to Nonprofit News Outlet (Philanthropy)
The Center for Public Integrity, which won journalism’s prestigious Pulitzer Prize earlier this year, has been awarded a $2.8-million gift that will help it expand operations, the International Business Times reports. The donor is John Arnold, a Houston-based former hedge-fund manager who made made his wealth trading natural gas. Under the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Mr. Arnold and his wife have pledged or given away 10s of millions of dollars in recent years.
California Hedge Fund Manager Gets 14 Months For “Side Pocket” Investments (HedgeCo)
Former Bay Area hedge fund manager and philanthropist Lawrence Goldfarb has received a sentence of over a year behind bars for concealing more than $12 million in investment proceeds that was owed to investors in his fund. In 2011 Goldfarb agreed to pay more than $14 million to settle the charges, however, he failed to make the payments. The FBI said: “The Court determined that instead of paying the agreed upon restitution and disgorgement, Goldfarb spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on various personal indulgences, including Golden State Warriors season tickets, private air travel, and vacations.”
Greenblatt on the Valuation Dichotomy (TheGuruInvestor)
Hedge fund guru Joel Greenblatt says he’s seeing a wide disparity in the way the current market values large stocks and small stocks. Greenblatt tells Barron’s that, according to his valuation method, the Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks is in the 5th-most-expensive percentile over the past 23 or so years. When priced at these levels, stocks have gone on to lose an average of 3 to 4 percent over the next year. The Russell 1000 index of larger stocks, meanwhile, is only in the 36th-most-expensive percentile using that same timeframe. Historically, when stocks have been priced at that level, they have gone on to gain between 6 and 11 percent, on average, over the next year, Greenblatt said. Greenblatt also talked about his overall investing approach, and how he values stocks.
Quad Advisors debuts hedge fund incubator and accelerator (HedgeWeek)
Quad Advisors provides small and mid-size hedge funds a scalable trading platform, in-house analyst research, risk assessment, accounting and technology services, as well as access to Quad and investor capital. “This is the next step in the continuing evolution of Quad,” says John Guarino, managing partner of Quad. “Hedge funds we accept into Quad Advisors have instant access to capital and benefit from our lower cost and expense structure. We view this as a natural extension of our business, and a prelude to additional initiatives in the future.”
Rothstein Investors Say Hedge Fund Deal Doesn’t Bar Claims (Law360)
A group of investors in a feeder fund of jailed attorney Scott Rothstein’s $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme on Tuesday fought back against hedge fund managers who say that their $32 million deal with Rothstein’s bankrupt law firm bar the investors’ state court claims. The investors, known as the FEP Group, filed an opposition to the hedge funds’ motion to enforce a release in the $32 million deal with the estate of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler PA, arguing that the general release was with the estate and that…
Ocwen lower after downgrade (CNBC)
The Hedge Fund Manager Taking Down Argentina Massively Trolled The Country At The World Cup (BusinessInsider)
We learned an important lesson about sportsmanship from a Wall Street hedge fund manager today. Here it is: Just because you’re in a vicious decade plus legal battle with a country that owes you money, doesn’t mean you can’t show your love and support for them at the World Cup. Bloomberg’s Max Abelson and Katya Porzecanski are out with an awesome profile of Paul Singer, the hedge fund manager currently engaged in a battle with Argentina for over $1.3 billion worth of sovereign debt. Last month the country failed to pay Singer, despite a U.S. Court order, and is now in default.
George Soros Dumps SodaStream (JewishBusinessNews)
Billionaire investor George Soros sold his stake in SodaStream, consisting of 550,000 shares. Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ:SODA), whose main factory is in the West Bank, is once again in the spotlight, but a spokesman for Soros refused to comment on the reason for the sale. The timing of the move, giving the raging conflict between Israel an Gazans, led to speculation by Pro-Palestinian news agencies that Soros, either through pressure of conviction, was divesting from SodaStream for political reasons.
David Einhorn Is Afraid Of Losing His Shorts (JewishBusinessNews)
Greenlight Capital David Einhorn said in a recent conference call that he is cautious about long positions and, for the first time since 2006-2007, his shorts may be lost to aggressive mergers and acquisitions activity. Greenlight Capital returned 8.1% for the second quarter and 7.3% for the year so far. Its Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) positions are performing well, quashing rumors that Einhorn felt that tech stocks were in a bubble. On the call, he clarified a remark he made in the first quarter that momentum tech stocks seemed to be in a bubble; Apple and Micron are doing just fine. New long positions include Altice SA, Resono Holdings and Sunedison Inc (NYSE:SUNE)…
Cliffs Natural appoints Goncalves chairman, CEO after proxy battle (Reuters)
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF), an iron ore and coal producer, said on Thursday that Lourenco Goncalves, a former steel company executive, was named to run the company after activist investor Casablanca Capital triumphed in a proxy battle. The Cliffs board of directors named Goncalves as chairman, president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Goncalves was the preferred CEO candidate of Casablanca, the hedge fund investor that last week succeeded in getting a majority of its nominees appointed to the board.
Summertime Living Isn’t Easy for Macro Funds (WSJ)
The market’s summer stumble has dealt a new blow to a group of macro hedge funds that seek to anticipate trends in global markets. Graham Capital Management LP has laid off more than 10% of its staff, or more than 20 employees, according to people close to the matter. Six funds at the firm, run by Kenneth Tropin, have posted declines of as much as 5.9% this year, the people said. Rubicon Fund Management LLP’s Rubicon Global Fund Ltd., an $850 million macro fund run by Paul Brewer, the firm’s founding partner, dropped 21% this year through July 25, investors said.
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