Asset managers seek to deflect new rules (FT)
The asset management industry is playing US regulators against their international counterparts and stirring national sentiment on Capitol Hill in an attempt to head off new regulation of its biggest firms. Lobbyists are urging lawmakers to try to block new international rules to designate large asset managers as “systemically important”, while a similar review in the US remains in its infancy. The industry’s effort moves to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, one day after a hearing at the US Treasury, where hedge fund manager Ken Griffin told a regulator from the Bank of England that she was mistaking normal capital market volatility for systemic risk.
Must-know: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square 1Q14 positions (MarketRealist)
Pershing Square Capital Management is a New York-based $13 billion activist hedge fund founded and run by Bill Ackman. Pershing Square Capital Management initiated new positions and sold stakes in 1Q14. The updates are outlined in the following table. The total value of the portfolio increased slightly to $8.3 billion in 1Q14 from $8.2 billion in 4Q13. …Pershing took new stakes in Platform Specialty Products Corp (LON:PAH), Apartment Investment and Management Co (NYSE:AIV), Allergan, Inc. (NYSE:AGN), and Home Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HME). Positions sold include General Growth Properties Inc (NYSE:GGP) and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG).
After ugly primary, McConnell appears headed to November (CentralKyNews)
The Republican Senatorial race ends on Tuesday after a dogfight between incumbent Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) and challenger Matt Bevin that, at times, more closely resembled a WWE bout than a political race. In the right corner is Senate Minority Leader and undisputed heavyweight filibuster champ McConnell, a lawyer and former Jefferson County judge-executive who’s served for 30 years despite polarizing his own party with obstructive tactics. In the far-right corner is Matt Bevin, an Army veteran and hedge fund manager whose Republican, Tea Party and independent supporters are fed up with career politicians funded by corporate and foreign interests.
Nassim Taleb Debated Larry Summers Last Week, And He Is NOT Happy With How Summers Behaved (BusinessInsider)
Things got icy between former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and author Nassim Taleb last week at SALT Las Vegas, one of the biggest hedge fund conferences of the year. The two shared the stage for a discussion about the global post-crisis financial system. The discussion was widely reported on (see MarketWatch and CNBC), but according to Taleb, Summers violated pre-approved ground rules of the debate. “I was fighting with a bully,” Taleb said of Summer’s performance, later adding, “It’s very strange for a Harvard professor to act like a cheap politician.”
Designer of Beats Headphones Prototype Discovers There’s No Free Lunch (Bloomberg)
Fans of the signature boom in Beats Electronics headphones can thank Mike Klasco, an audio-equipment consultant who was responsible for the speaker and related electronic innards of the original device. But if Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) spends $3.2 billion to acquire Beats as expected, Klasco won’t be among those who reap the benefits. In 2005, he was hired by Stephen Lamar, a former hedge-fund manager who had created SLS Audio. Lamar was working with Beats owners Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to create a new kind of headphone. Klasco went to work on a model that could handle the power needed for high-tech amplifier chips, which were just hitting the market.
Hedge Funds Fail To Catch Fire In May (Finalternatives)
Hedge funds are still struggling to find their footing in 2014, with most strategies losing further ground in May after declines in March and April. The average hedge fund is up 0.04% this month, according to the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, and 0.42% on the year. But 10 of the 18 strategies and substrategies tracked by the suite are in the red through May 13. Equity hedge funds have suffered the most, with fundamental growth funds shedding 1.15% (up 0.57% year-to-date) and equity market neutral funds 1.07% (up 1.56% YTD). Equity hedge funds overall lost 0.51% in the month’s first two weeks (down 0.7% YTD).
Deutsche Bank plans to raise new capital (CNBC)
David Einhorn Keeps Buying This Controversial Energy Giant (WallStCheatSheet)
After underperforming the broad market at the beginning of the year, energy companies have drawn a significant amount of attention recently. Many members of the sector trade at attractive valuations and offer impressive dividend yields that can be difficult to match in today’s low-interest-rate environment. With that in mind, one well-known hedge fund titan continues to invest in a controversial energy giant. David Einhorn, founder of Greenlight Capital, added to his position in BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) during the first quarter. According to the latest 13-F filing, a quarterly report of equity positions, Greenlight Capital held 1.48 million shares of BP at the end of March, up 51 percent from only 980,000 shares in the prior quarter.
Wall Street CEOs open up about their gay sons (WTVR)
In the “boy’s club” of Wall Street, some top executives’ views on gay rights changed entirely when the issue became personal. That is, when their own adult children came out of the closet. When he was CEO of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) First Boston, John Mack was known for his progressive views on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. …Hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, CEO of Elliott Management Corp., said that before his son Andrew came out of the closet he would have rated himself “a solid 2.1″ out of 10 when it came to accepting LGBT issues.
George Soros Funds BDS, Buys SodaStream Stock (FrontpageMag)
It’s no secret that lefty doesn’t practice what he shrieks. Michael Moore had Haliburton stocks. Code Pink’s deranged Medea Benjamin invests in companies that have a sizable presence in Israel. George Soros, a major funder of the Anti-Israel movement, including BDS, goes them one better by buying up a chunk of Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ:SODA) while investing in other Israeli companies. …It’s doubtful that the leftist groups funded by George Soros which attacked Johansson will condemn their own backer. Just as Code Pink doesn’t have a lot to say about Medea Benjamin’s investments.
Nouriel Roubini – The Bad News Just Keeps On Coming (BidnessETC)
“All the risky things that were happening back in ’06 and ’07 are back again to the same level, if not more.” There is only one man in the entire universe who could have uttered these words. This man, or rather this legend, has the uncanny ability of staring happiness in the face and making it miserable –that too for no good reason. This man, this predictor of chaos and turbulence, is none other than Nouriel Roubini. Don’t get us wrong, we know that Roubini is a professor at New York University, chairman of Roubini Global Economics, and a renowned economist, but what we can’t place our heads around is why most (if not all) of his financial prophecies point towards doom and gloom.
Three ex-natgas traders of hedge fund Sasco join merchant Freepoint (Reuters)
Energy merchant Freepoint Commodities said on Monday it hired three natural gas traders from hedge fund Sasco to expand its reach into U.S. gas futures, amid a return of volatility that could boost client interest in that market. Joe Howley, previously chief investment officer at Sasco, joined Stamford, Connecticut-based Freepoint as senior managing director, while traders Brian Lisoski and Garth Camp have come on as vice presidents of trading, Freepoint told Reuters in an email. The three worked at Westport, Connecticut-based Sasco for about a year. Their move to Freepoint was first reported by energy news portal Sparkspread on Monday.
Allergan Hits Back After Ackman Rips Chairman Pyott Over Conflicts Of Interest (Forbes)
Things are getting personal in the three-way fight for the future of Botox-maker Allergan AGN -0.19%. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square owns 9.7% of Allergan, fired off a scathing letter to the company’s lead independent director Michael Gallagher, railing against Chairman and CEO David Pyott’s “disabling conflict of interest” when it comes to evaluating the $46 billion takeover offer that is on the table from Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX). …The letter goes on to cite “numerous Allergan shareholders” who have told Ackman that Pyott has denigrated Valeant’s business model and criticized Pershing Square.
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