David Winton Harding, Hedge Funds and Obama, Christian Levett

Winton Capital’s founder studied physics but forged a career in finance (Pensions&Investments)
Managed futures guru David Winton Harding graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1982 with a first-class honors degree in theoretical physics, but decided he’d rather have a job in finance than work in a lab. Now chairman and director of research of Winton Capital Management Ltd., London, Mr. Harding was recruited as a graduate trainee by the London office of stockbroker Wood MacKenzie Ltd. Some years and a few jobs later, he formed his own managed futures firm, Adam, Harding and Lueck Ltd., which was acquired by Man Group PLC in 1994. After leaving Man Group in 1996, Mr. Harding founded Winton Capital Management in 1997. In addition to its original strategy, the Winton Futures Fund, the company added three more investment strategies: the multistrategy hedge fund Winton Evolution Fund; the long/short equity hedge fund Winton Octo Fund; and the long-only Winton Global Equity Fund. Winton Capital Management’s recent growth has been strong, fueled by institutional inflows: Assets under management increased to $21 billion from $13 billion in the last 18 months.

David Harding

Obama Seeks to Win Back Wall St. Cash (NY Times)
Mr. Obama’s campaign has deployed a corps of loyal Wall Street supporters who have fanned out to defend the president’s record and stoke fatigued donors. They include Robert Wolf, the chief executive of UBS Group Americas; the hedge fund managers Orin S. Kramer and Eric Mindich; and Mark T. Gallogly, a co-founder of Centerbridge Partners. Mr. Mindich and Mr. Wolf were among those at the White House meeting, along with some prominent names from the hedge fund world: James G. Dinan of York Capital Management, Glenn Dubin of Highbridge Capital Management and Paul Tudor Jones.

Top paid member of Clive Capital nets almost £84m (eFinancialNews)
According to Companies House filings issued on Thursday, Clive Capital founder Christian Levett, along with fellow members of the partnership Richard Boland and Elizabeth Holstein, withdrew a total of £104.4m in remuneration from March 31 2010 to February 28 2011. The partner with the largest share of the profits netted £83.9m, up from £74.6 in 2010. London-based Clive Capital, with $4.6bn at June 1 according to an investor, was founded in 2007 by Levett, who previously traded at Moore Capital, managed by Louis Bacon. Levett is also the controlling party at Clive Capital. The fund had $5.1bn under management at May 1.

Forex Hedge Fund Assets Likely Shrink After May Losses – HFN (WSJ)
Losses at foreign-exchange-focused hedge funds in May might lead to further investor withdrawals from the funds, HedgeFund.net said Monday. The hedge-fund data provider, which tracks about 200 forex funds, said investors pulled $700 million from forex hedge funds in the nine months ended March 31, more than offsetting $580 million in asset appreciation during the period. It estimates a total $51.6 billion in hedge-fund assets were invested in forex strategies at the end of the first quarter. The outflow contrasted with a $110 billion inflow into other types of hedge funds in the nine months ended March 31, HFN said.

Texas Hedge Fund Manager Convicted In Life Insurance Fraud (FinAlternatives)
A Texas hedge fund manager was convicted Friday of defrauding retirees and others of $100 million in a life insurance scam. The Richmond, Va., jury took less than three hours to find Adley Abdulwahab guilty of all 15 counts, just a day after the Texas man took the stand in his own defense to deny the allegations against him.

Dylan Lauren Weds Paul Arrouet In Private Ceremony At Her Parents’ Home (Inquisitr)
Dylan Lauren, owner of the celebrity favorite Dylan’s Candy Bar stores wed her fiance, hedge fund manager Paul Arrouet, on Saturday during a private ceremony that took place at her parents’ Bedford, N.Y. estate. Lauren, the daughter of famed designer Ralph Lauren wore a dress designed by her famous father.