Billionaire Steve Cohen pays $100 million for art sculpture (PageSix)
Billionaie hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is the secret buyer of the Alberto Giacometti sculpture “Chariot,” sold last week at Sothebys (NYSE:BID) for a near-record $100,965,000. Despite all the hype around the sale, top art collector Cohen was the only bidder for the Giacometti masterpiece last Tuesday, sources connected to the sale tell Page Six. The sculpture was being sold from the collection of Aleko Goulandris, of the Greek shipping dynasty, who bought the 1950 bronze of a spindly goddess riding atop a chariot in 1972 for $375,000. While Sotheby’s had projected the sale would set “a new world record,” it fell just short of beating the $104.3 million paid by Lily Safra for Giacometti’s “Walking Man I” in London in 2010.
More academics confirm positive impacts of hedge fund activism, but returns may decline (Opalesque)
The current wave of investor activism is being driven by hedge funds and other alternative investment managers, more notably by Pershing Square (led by William Ackman), Icahn Associates (led by Carl Icahn), Jana Partners (led by Barry Rosenstein), and Elliott Capital (led by Paul Singer) said Laura Starks, the Charles E. & Sara M. Seay Regents Chair in Finance and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. In an article published at the National Law Review, Starks said the spike in activism activities also resulted in some high-profile successes…
China Changes the Subject in Hong Kong (BloombergView)
As hedge fund managers declare victory with the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong stock link, don’t forget the obvious loser: the city’s pro-democracy movement. For almost seven weeks, the students who have commandeered key streets around Hong Kong have sought modest concessions from Beijing. They probably would’ve folded their tents long ago if President Xi Jinping had signaled he might, perhaps, maybe let Hong Kongers choose their own leader at some vague point in the years ahead. The angry masses might’ve even settled for the slightest hint that unpopular Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying might step down early.
Sotheby’s Puts Loeb Battle Price Tag At $20M (Finalternatives)
Sotheby’s spent almost twice as much as previously disclosed to fend off Third Point’s Daniel Loeb. The auction house, which wound up settling with Loeb, giving his hedge fund three seats on its board, took a $20.1 million charge to cover those costs. Half of the money went to Loeb—as part of its deal, Sotheby’s agreed to reimburse his charges. But the other half covers Sotheby’s “third-party advisory, legal and other professional service fees directly associated with the issues related to the shareholder activism and the resulting proxy contest with Third Point and other associated litigation.”
Hedge Funds Spur Record Australian Bond Trade: Australia Credit (BusinessWeek)
As central bankers warn financial markets may be headed for a bumpy ride, buyers of Australia’s bonds can take comfort from the liveliest trading on record. Turnover in government bonds grew 5 percent to A$1.05 trillion ($908 billion) during the year ended June 30, according to the Australian Office of Financial Management annual report Oct. 31. Hedge fund trading jumped 11 percent. Sovereign bonds outstanding climbed almost 25 percent to A$290 billion, making it easier for investors can buy or sell in a crisis.
Marcato pushes IHG merger deal: Report (CNBC)
NJ hedge fund manager can’t toss Carter’s insider trading charges (Reuters)
A New Jersey hedge fund founder has lost a bid to dismiss charges he illegally traded in shares of children’s apparel maker Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) in a ruling that highlights the legal debate over what constitutes insider trading. U.S. Magistrate Judge Janet King in Atlanta rejected a claim by Steven Slawson, co-founder of Titan Capital Management, that his May indictment should be tossed because it did not allege he knew an insider disclosed illegal tips for personal gain. In a decision on Friday, King said there was no “binding or persuasive legal authority” requiring proof, or even an allegation, that a defendant knew a tipper had received any benefit for providing inside, non-public information.
CTAs Best Performers As Hedge Funds Lose 0.24% (Finalternatives)
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was down 0.24% in October and investors pulled US$1.6 billion from the asset class during the month. CTA/managed futures were the best-performing strategies for the month, adding 0.26% (up 6.30% year to date). The only other strategy to end the month in the black was fixed-income, up 0.10% (4.44% YTD). On the red side of the ledger were event-driven funds, down 2.09% on the month (up 1.14% YTD); multi-strategy funds, down 0.94% (up 2.98% YTD); distressed debt, down 0.87% (up 2.02% YTD); arbitrage funds, down 0.74% (up 2.04% YTD); macro funds, down 0.61% (up 1.83% YTD); relative-value funds, down 0.40% (up 2.61% YTD); and long/short equities, down 0.06% (up 2.94% YTD).
In a Tough Year, Computer-Driven Funds Are Thriving (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Commodity trading advisers (CTAs) and other computer-driven hedge funds are well on their way to enjoying their best year since 2008, extending their gains in October, when many other funds lost money. The Newedge CTA Index and the Newedge Trend Index each rose slightly more than 1 percent in October. As a result, the CTA Index is up 7.15 percent for the year, while the Trend Index has climbed by 8.2 percent. Most CTAs and their cousins, the trend followers, fared even better…
Retreating from Hedge Funds? Not These Institutional Investors (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Is the institutional investor lovefest with hedge funds starting to wither? A steady drumbeat of pundits has been predicting the exit of the professional investor set from hedge funds since the California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced it was pulling out of the asset class a few months ago. Then earlier this week we reported on an Ernst & Young survey that found just 13 percent of institutional investors plan to increase allocations to traditional hedge funds in the next three years, down from 17 percent last year and 20 percent in 2012.
Sprott adds senior portfolio manager (PIOnline)
Whitney George was named senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management, the company announced Monday. Mr. George was co-director of investments and senior portfolio manager at Royce & Associates along with Charles Royce. Mr. Royce remains CEO of the firm. …Two of the strategies Mr. George managed at Royce, the $190 million Royce Focus Trust, a multicap closed-end fund, and the $65 million Royce Privet hedge fund, will be moved to Sprott pending investor and regulatory approval. Mr. George will remain portfolio manager of the two strategies at Royce pending that approval, said Dave Gruber, Royce principal, in an interview.
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