Drifting Hedge Fund Star Could Do With a New Co-Pilot (Bloomberg)
Michael Hintze should find a way to focus on trading again. After all, CQS once boasted returns that were triple the hedge fund industry average. When the mojo starts to fade at a previously successful hedge fund, founders will often ask a colleague to run the overall business in order to concentrate on the trading opportunities that built the riches in the first place. But what if that road to redemption is compromised by a previous failed attempt to cede control? Billionaire Michael Hintze’s hedge fund is down by 42.5% this year after losing a third of its value during the Covid-driven market turmoil in March, my Bloomberg News colleague Nishant Kumar reported earlier this month. Investments in structured credit, Hintze’s specialty, were hammered amid concern the pandemic would trash the economy and spark a wave of debt defaults.
Anthony Scaramucci Says First Presidential Debate Was an ‘Embarrassment’ to the U.S. (CNBC)
SINGAPORE – The first debate between U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was an “embarrassment” to the country, said Anthony Scaramucci, a hedge fund investor who briefly served as Trump’s White House communications chief. During the 90-minute debate on Tuesday night, the candidates constantly interrupted each other and the moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, struggled to maintain control.
Silver Lake Launches New 25-Year Investment Strategy Backed by Mubadala (The Wall Street Journal)
Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. is making an investment in Silver Lake and contributing $2 billion to help the technology-focused private-equity firm launch a new long-term strategy. Mubadala will take a stake of less than 5% in Silver Lake, buying roughly half of what Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s Dyal Capital Partners purchased in 2016, the private-equity firm said Wednesday.
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Union Fund Sues Over Stock Offering to Ackman, Pershing Square (Pensions&Investments)
Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 292 Pension Fund, Troy, Mich., is suing to gain access to the books and records of Howard Hughes Corp. in connection with a private stock offering to a hedge fund firm. The suit, filed Sept. 23 in chancery court in Delaware, said that in March, HHC offered 10 million shares of common stock to Pershing Square Capital Management, while concurrently offering 2 million shares to the public. HHC Chairman William A. Ackman is Pershing Square’s founder, CEO and portfolio manager.
Hedge Fund Launches at “Historically Low” Levels Despite Q2 Recovery, But Liquidations Ease Following Covid Crash (Hedge Week)
The rate of new hedge fund launches grew between April and June following the coronavirus-fuelled first quarter slump, as hedge fund performance recovered – but the number of new roll-outs over the past 12 months remains “historically low”, Hedge Fund Research says. New hedge fund launches totalled an estimated 129 in the second quarter. That number was a sharp increase on Q1 which proved the highest quarterly launch total since 153 funds were rolled out in Q2 2019, according to HFR’s latest Market Microstructure Report.
Mets Sale to Steve Cohen Excuses a Decade of Wilpon Errors (Bloomberg)
Fred Wilpon and his brother-in-law, Saul Katz, made their first investment with Bernie Madoff in 1985. The amount was $3 million, which came from revenue from their real estate company, Sterling Equities. The next year, Wilpon, who was a minority shareholder in the New York Mets, raised his stake to 50% of the team. Then in 2002, he paid the Mets’s longtime owner, Nelson Doubleday, $135 million for the other 50% (along with the assumption of the team’s debt). The deal gave the team a valuation of $400 million. As Wilpon prepares to sell the team to hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen, keep that number in mind.
More Hedge Funds Launch in April-June Period, After First-Quarter 12-Year Low (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – A total of 129 new hedge funds launched in the April-June quarter this year, recovering from the previous quarter’s 12-year low as investor confidence slowly recovered from the COVID-19 hit, according to industry tracker Hedge Fund Research. The second-quarter number was the highest since the year-ago period when 153 hedge funds started trading, HFR said in a report on Wednesday.
Paamco Offering Pools Manager Exposures (Green Street)
Paamco Prisma is planning another hedge fund product. The offering follows a format in which managers of multiple portfolios run money separately under a single master-feeder umbrella, in this case called Molecule. Managers that aren’t affiliated with Paamco trade most of the sub-accounts, which span asset classes in the U.S. and abroad but are heavy on long/short or relative-value equity strategies. Discretionary trading teams within Paamco also manage some of the portfolios.
Guardant Health Inc (GH) Chairman, President and COO Amirali Talasaz Sold $8.3 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman, President and COO of Guardant Health Inc., Amirali Talasaz, sold 75,000 shares of GH on 09/25/2020 at an average price of $110.71 a share. The total sale was $8.3 million. Guardant Health Inc has a market cap of $11.06 billion; its shares were traded at around $111.24 with and P/S ratio of 40.82. GuruFocus has detected 1 severe warning sign with Guardant Health Inc.
Wednesday 9/30 Insider Buying Report: AGEN, JMP (Nasdaq.com)
At Agenus (AGEN), a filing with the SEC revealed that on Friday, CEO Garo H. Armen purchased 100,000 shares of AGEN, at a cost of $5.03 each, for a total investment of $503,000. Bargain hunters have the opportunity to snag AGEN at a price even lower than Armen did, with the stock changing hands as low as $4.62 in trading on Wednesday which is 8.2% below Armen’s purchase price. Agenus is trading up about 4.7% on the day Wednesday. This buy marks the first one filed by Armen in the past year. And also on Friday, CEO Joseph A. Jolson purchased $494,532 worth of JMP Group (JMP), purchasing 80,002 shares at a cost of $6.18 a piece. Before this latest buy, Jolson purchased JMP at 3 other times during the past year, for a total investment of $6.89M at an average of $6.81 per share. JMP Group is trading up about 0.8% on the day Wednesday. Jolson was up about 3.7% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with JMP trading as high as $6.41 in trading on Wednesday.
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) Executives are Making Moves with Their Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Major Shareholder at Walmart (WMT), Jim Walton, sold shares of WMT for $103.2M. Following Jim Walton’s last WMT Sell transaction on June 07, 2019, the stock climbed by 33.4%. In addition to Jim Walton, 2 other WMT executives reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Walmart’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending July 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $138 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.48 billion.
Edwards Lifesciences Corp (EW) Chairman & CEO Michael A Mussallem Sold $5.4 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman & CEO of Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Michael A Mussallem, sold 68,550 shares of EW on 09/29/2020 at an average price of $78.74 a share. The total sale was $5.4 million. Edwards Lifesciences Corp is a part of the healthcare sector. The company specializes in the treatment of structural heart disease.
