Investor Ackman Opposes United Technologies’ Aerospace Merger with Raytheon: Source (Reuters)
(Reuters) – William Ackman’s activist hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP is opposed to United Technologies Corp’s $120 billion aerospace merger with defense contractor Raytheon Co, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Pershing Square wrote to United Technologies’ board to express its concerns about the deal, the source said. The hedge fund argued that the merger would distract from the company’s strategy of being nimble and focused, the source added.
Jeff Talpins’s Element Disbands Group of Non-Core Managers (Bloomberg)
Jeff Talpins’s hedge fund Element Capital Management is dismissing seven portfolio managers as it refocuses on its main macro strategy, according to people familiar with the matter. The managers were part of a program the New York-based firm started about five years ago that oversaw non-core parts of the portfolio, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The amount of money they oversaw was a small portion of Element’s $18 billion, the people said. A representative for the firm declined to comment.
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Nordic Equity HFs Give Up Gains (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Last month, Nordic equity hedge funds gave up some of this year’s gains as increased trade tensions sent equity markets sinking. Equity hedge funds, as expressed by the NHX Equities, were down 1.3 percent last month on average (89 percent reported), trimming the year-to-date gain to 3.7 percent. Nordic hedge funds outperformed both local and global equity markets last month. Nordic equities, as expressed by the VINX All-share index, delivered a negative net return of 5.2 percent in Euro terms.
Viking Co-CIO to Exit Hedge Fund After a Decade (Bloomberg)
Viking Global Investors co-Chief Investment Officer Ben Jacobs is said to be leaving the hedge fund after a decade. Bloomberg’s Sonali Basak reports on “Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Founder Andy Redleaf leaving Mpls-based Whitebox Advisors in August (Star Tribune)
Andy Redleaf, founding partner and former CEO of Minneapolis hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, plans to leave the firm in August after 20 years, according to a letter sent this month to clients. Redleaf, who is selling his majority interest to partners, declined to comment on his departure. Redleaf, who eventually made clients and himself untold millions for the right call early on the falling mortgage market in 2007-09, declined to comment on his departure.
A Watchdog Says Hedge-Fund Secrets Kept by the CFTC Are Vulnerable to Hacking (Bloomberg)
Confidential market information collected from hedge funds and brokers by the main U.S. derivatives regulator is vulnerable to hacking because of the agency’s outdated computer systems, according to an internal watchdog. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission needs to correct “numerous weaknesses” in the way it manages and stores data, the inspector general’s office said in an audit report released late last week. The review also said the CFTC needs to rebuild or replace a key, but antiquated, database of confidential trading positions that it uses to police futures and options markets.
Hedge Fund Managers Posted Minor Losses in May Amidst US-China Trade Tension (Hedge Week)
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index slumped 0.63 per cent in May as hedge fund managers struggled to generate returns during the risk-off month. The Trump administration’s decision to raise tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese imports signalled the escalation of the trade conflict between the US and China, leading to retaliatory tariffs from the other side. The worsening global economic outlook pushed global equities into the red for the month, as indicated by the 6.12 per cent decline posted by the MSCI ACWI (Local).
Ex-Goldman Banker Sentenced for Insider Trading (The Wall Street Journal)
A former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker who traded on confidential information regarding prospective deals has been sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to pay back $130,000 in illegal gains. Woojae “Steve” Jung, who pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, with six months of home confinement, and fined $30,000, according to court documents.
CFTC Attacks Insider Trading in Futures Market (Chicago Business)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is working closely with exchange operator CME Group to take on insider trading in the futures market, with help from a recently established CFTC task force. Representatives of the CFTC and CME talked about their heightened focus at a discussion last week convened by the Chicago Bar Association’s Futures and Derivatives Law Committee. The “Trading on Misappropriated Information: Enforcement Risks, Mitigation Strategies” panel included CFTC Chief Trial Attorney Lindsey Evans and CME Global Head of Investigations Andrew Vrabel.
Tuesday 6/11 Insider Buying Report: FOX, OXY (Nasdaq.com)
On Monday, Fox Corp (FOX)’s Chairman, Keith Rupert Murdoch, made a $20.56M buy of FOX, purchasing 600,000 shares at a cost of $34.27 each. Bargain hunters are able to pick up FOX at a price even lower than Murdoch did, with shares trading as low as $33.68 in trading on Tuesday – that’s 1.7% below Murdoch’s purchase price. Fox Corp is trading down about 0.1% on the day Tuesday. This buy marks the first one filed by Murdoch in the past twelve months. And at Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY), there was insider buying on Monday, by CEO Vicki A. Hollub who purchased 37,460 shares at a cost of $48.15 each, for a total investment of $1.80M. Occidental Petroleum Corp is trading up about 0.9% on the day Tuesday. Hollub was up about 1.4% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with OXY trading as high as $48.82 at last check today.
The Sr.V.P. Sales & Marketing of Service Corp International (NYSE: SCI) is Buying Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Today, the Sr.V.P. Sales & Marketing of Service Corp International (SCI), Steven Tidwell, bought shares of SCI for $669.5K. Following this transaction Steven Tidwell’s holding in the company was increased by 62.14% to a total of $3.19 million. In addition to Steven Tidwell, 7 other SCI executives reported Buy trades in the last month.
Insider Trading: June 11, 2019 (BIV.com)
The following is a list of stock trades made by corporate executives, directors and other company insiders of B.C.’s public companies filed in the week ended June 5, 2019. The information comes from a compilation of required reports filed with the BC Securities Commission obtained from DisclosureNet.com. Insider Stephen Gunn, officer. Company: The Keg Royalties Income Fund (TSX:KEG). Shares owned: 28,660. Trade date: May 30. Trade total: $324,497. Trade: Acquisition of 18,600 shares at a price of $17.39 per share.
SEBI Proposes Informant Mechanism to Combat Insider Trading (Regulation Asia)
SEBI wants to institute a process that incentivises timely reporting of instances of insider trading and provides for the granting of rewards to whistleblowers. SEBI (the Securities and Exchange Board of India) has proposed to issue a monetary reward of up to INR 10 million (USD 144,000) and amnesty from regulatory action to whistleblowers who provide details on insider trading violations. The new informant mechanism should help strengthen early detection of insider trading cases by providing “near absolute confidentiality along with appropriate safeguards,” according to a SEBI discussion paper.
Updated List of Firms Using Inaccurate Information to Solicit Investors (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it updated its list of unregistered entities that use misleading information to solicit primarily non-U.S. investors, adding 11 soliciting entities, four impersonators of genuine firms, and nine bogus regulators. The SEC’s list of soliciting entities that have been the subject of investor complaints, known as the Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list, enables investors to better inform themselves and avoid being a victim of fraud. The latest additions are firms that SEC staff found were providing inaccurate information about their affiliation, location, or registration. Under U.S. securities laws, firms that solicit investors generally are required to register with the SEC and meet minimum financial standards and disclosure, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements.
