Hedge Fund Billionaire Bill Ackman Lays Down His Investing ‘Commandments’ (Fortune)
If you’ve got a portfolio headache on your hands, don’t worry—legendary investor Bill Ackman says it’ll soon become a “blip.” The hedge fund manager, who founded Pershing Square Capital in 2004 and serves as its CEO, has built up a fortune of $3.7 billion during his decades-long career, according to Forbes. However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Ackman, who has made bets that both won and lost him billions of dollars. But in a recent interview, he said looking back over the past two decades reinforces his belief that investing can be fairly straightforward if some simple principles are followed.
Buffett Spurs Sparx CEO to Seek $2 Billion for Engagement Fund (Bloomberg)
When veteran money manager Shuhei Abe met with Warren Buffett in Tokyo earlier this year, they exchanged similar thoughts about value investing in Japan. Now the founder of Sparx Group Co. is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses. He’s seeking to attract about $1 billion from global institutional investors over the next three months, and $2 billion by 2024, for the Sparx Owners’ Commitment Fund.
Lansdowne to Launch Fund Targeting Retail Markets – Presentation (Reuters)
London-based investment manager Lansdowne Partners plans to launch a long-only retail version of its flagship Developed Markets Fund, according to a presentation seen by Reuters on Monday, marking another departure from its hedge fund past. Lansdowne, one of Britain’s oldest hedge funds, has experienced a turnaround since July 2020, when it closed its $2.8 billion long-short hedge fund strategy after losses of 23% in the January-June period.
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Gersemi Welcomes New Portfolio Manager Aboard (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Joakim Hannisdahl’s Gersemi Asset Management has officially opened its new office in Oslo and welcomed a freshly hired portfolio manager, Fredrik Flem. Flem joined Gersemi at the start of September to co-manage Hannisdahl’s recently launched long/short shipping hedge fund, Gersemi Shipping Fund. “We opened our new offices in Oslo and welcomed our new colleague, Fredrik Flem, to the team,” announces Hannisdahl, who has been running a shipping-focused strategy after a successful career as a shipping analyst.
ExodusPoint Eyeing $1bn in New Capital (Hedge Week)
ExodusPoint Capital Management, the hedge fund firm founded by Michael Gelband and Hyung Lee, is looking to raise $1bn in new money from investors by the end of the year having reopened to new capital from the first time in three years, according to a report by Bloomberg. The multi-strategy firm, which managed $12.5bn as of 1 July – down from $13bn at the end of 2022, has been closed to new money since September 2020.
Activist Holder Land & Buildings Takes Aim at Ventas Board Again (Seeking Alpha)
Land & Buildings Investment Management, the hedge fund run by Jonathan Litt, renewed its campaign for board changes at senior housing REIT Ventas (NYSE:VTR) on Monday with a letter to Ventas shareholders. The letter hints that L&B may restart a proxy fight to change Ventas’s board. The firm said it “believes further action is necessary to address the lackluster returns shareholders have suffered — and continue to suffer — under the current board of directors and management.”
Nearly Half of the Asset Managers and Hedge Funds have Digital AUM (Opalesque.com)
Interest in digital assets is strong and continues to grow despite the bear market – almost half (48%) of asset managers and hedge funds actively have digital assets under management, according to a survey. The Amberdata research finds that interest from U.S. and European institutional players in digital assets continues to grow despite advancing regulatory scrutiny and market uncertainty. 25% of firms have a specific digital assets strategy, and an additional 13% plan to launch one within the next two years, the new research report, Digital Assets: Managers Fuel Data Infrastructure Needs, in partnership with Coalition Greenwich, said.
‘The Gloves are Off’: Investors Turn Against Boards (AFR.com)
Wake up boards, you are on notice. After 10 years of directors being bored to death by warnings about the rise of shareholder activism, it really is time to pay attention. Fund managers are sick and tired of poorly run companies, misallocation of capital and sleepy boards. They know the slowing economy, sticky inflation and tougher consumer environment will leave what they deem lazy or poorly run companies with nowhere to hide. Investors no longer accept COVID-19 as an excuse, while pandemic-era spending patterns and government support are long gone and there is a newfound focus on earnings margins.
Monday 9/11 Insider Buying Report: AVGO, PLOW (Nasdaq.com)
At Broadcom, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director Check Kian Low bought 11,000 shares of AVGO, at a cost of $872.03 each, for a total investment of $9.59M. Investors are able to buy AVGO even cheaper than Low did, with shares changing hands as low as $854.76 in trading on Monday which is 2.0% under Low’s purchase price. Broadcom is trading off about 0.2% on the day Monday. And also on Wednesday, CEO Robert L. McCormick bought $307,110 worth of Douglas Dynamics, buying 10,000 shares at a cost of $30.71 each. This purchase marks the first one filed by McCormick in the past year. Douglas Dynamics is trading off about 0.5% on the day Monday. McCormick was up about 4.1% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with PLOW trading as high as $31.97 at last check today.
$1M Bet On Axalta Coating Systems? Check Out These 3 Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Axalta Coating Systems: The Trade: Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (AXTA) Director Kevin Stein acquired a total of 36,600 shares an average price of $27.38. To acquire these shares, it cost around $1 million. What’s Happening: Axalta Coating Systems reported worse-than-expected second-quarter financial results and issued FY23 guidance below estimates. What Axalta Coating Systems Does: Axalta Coating Systems Ltd is a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of high-performance coatings systems.
