Hedge Fund Manager Boaz Weinstein Bets Market is Wrong on Credit Suisse (Reuters)
Hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein doesn’t believe Credit Suisse will default on its debt but if it does, the derivatives trade he has on the bank may win big, highlighting just how hedge funds use volatile markets to try and generate juicy returns. Speculators increased bearish bets on the Swiss bank last year on concern about how much capital it would need to bolster its balance sheet in a confidence crisis deepened by unsubstantiated social media reports on the bank’s financial health.
Steve Cohen-Backed Collectibles Firm Goldin Starts New Platform (Bloomberg)
High-end collectibles auction house Goldin is looking to go mainstream by opening its own online marketplace to compete with the likes of EBay Inc. The new platform combines an e-commerce site with authentication and grading services, along with a physical vault to store the items, in an effort to streamline the selling process.
Founders of Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital Plan Trading Platform for Distressed Crypto Debt (The Wall Street Journal)
The founders of a bankrupt crypto hedge-fund firm are seeking to launch an exchange where creditors to insolvent digital-assets firms, including their own, would be able to buy and sell claims. Su Zhu, a co-founder of the bankrupt crypto hedge-fund manager Three Arrows Capital Ltd., said that he and others are seeking to raise $25 million in seed money for the new platform. A pitch deck to potential investors, seen by The Wall Street Journal, referred to the company as GTX, a poke at the fallen crypto exchange FTX.
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Squeezing Alpha From Energy Transition Sectors (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – The war in Ukraine and worldwide disruptions in energy markets strengthened the global consensus around the energy transition and added momentum to the push for renewable energy. Despite facing supply chain issues, energy transition-related sectors enjoyed a good year in 2022 from an economic point of view amid increasing demand. Equity investors exposed to these sectors, however, faced a more challenging year due to plunging stock prices.
Why Small Hedge Funds Look Set to Outpace Larger Managers in 2023 (Financial News)
Large hedge funds had a mixed 2022 as macro funds saw strong gains while equity funds witnessed steep declines. But the next 12-month picture could change in favour of smaller hedge funds, whom advisers expect will outperform their larger counterparts as they take advantage of specific market opportunities on account of their size and ability to be nimble.
Greenlight Marks Stellar 2022 on Shorting Tech Stocks (Reuters)
Hedge fund manager Greenlight Capital said on Tuesday its fund rallied 36.6% in 2022 in one of its best years ever, thanks to a profitable long book and shorting technology stocks. Big tech and growth stocks bore the brunt of a prolonged rout last year, worsened by aggressive interest rate hikes that sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index down 33% in 2022. “2022 was an exceptionally good year,” Greenlight said in a letter. “In many ways, it was our best ever and is most comparable to 2001, the year after the last technology bubble popped.”
Trian Changes Wendy’s Order (Axios)
Trian Fund Management, the activist hedge fund led by Nelson Peltz, said it will not seek to take Wendy’s (Nasdaq: WEN) private. Why it matters: At the counter, this reflects how Wendy’s has grown revenue, made C-suite changes, announced a share buyback and increased its dividend. In the kitchen, it’s about Peltz turning his attention to a much more lucrative target in Disney. Backstory: Trian has been involved with Wendy’s for over a decade, with it and Peltz currently holding a 19.35% ownership stake. Last May, the firm said it was considering a takeover bid, either alone or with a third party.
Bridgewater’s Prince Says More Jobs Must Vanish to Tame Inflation (Bloomberg)
Bob Prince, who helps manage the world’s largest hedge fund, said we’re seeing the return of the boom-bust cycle and more people need to lose their jobs before inflation will be brought under control. “It is hard to say whether we are done with the tightening or we will have another tightening,” Prince, the co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “What we can say is that the next shoe to drop has to be a decline in the economy, in particular, a contraction in the labor markets.”
LHG Capital Surpasses $1 Billion in AUM, Hikes China Macro Fund Fees to 25% (EINNews.com)
After receiving record inflows in 2022, macro hedge fund LHG Capital Management (LHG) has just surpassed US$1 billion in assets under management (AUM), further consolidating its position as one of the largest pure-play global macro hedge funds in the Asia-Pacific region. Due to strong demand, in January, the firm’s management team announced plans to hike the performance fee of its USD-denominated China macro fund from 20% to 25%.
Crypto Hedge Funds Ended 2022 Down Almost 50% – BarclayHedge Data (Reuters)
Hedge funds trading crypto currencies tracked by index provider BarclayHedge ended 2022 down almost 50%, the research firm said on Tuesday, a sign that the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX continues to ripple through the industry. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in November following its spectacular collapse that sent shivers through the industry. Ben Crawford, head of research at BarclayHedge, said since FTX fell to pieces, the conversation around trading crypto currencies had become polarised and that “true believers” in crypto were “cranking up their evangelizing to 11.”
Tuesday 1/17 Insider Buying Report: FATE (Nasdaq.com)
On Friday, Director John Mendlein purchased $698,138 worth of Fate Therapeutics, purchasing 124,679 shares at a cost of $5.60 each. This purchase marks the first one filed by Mendlein in the past year. Fate Therapeutics is trading up about 7.4% on the day Tuesday.
Over $4 Million Bet On Werewolf Therapeutics? Check Out These 4 Penny Stocks Insiders Are Buying (Benzinga)
Werewolf Therapeutics: The Trade: Werewolf Therapeutics, Inc. (HOWL) Director Rajeev Shah acquired a total of 1,853,000 shares at an average price of $2.21. To acquire these shares, it cost around $4.1 million. Biote: The Trade: Biote Corp. BTMD Director Andrew R Heyer acquired a total of 200,000 shares at an average price of $3.00. The insider spent around $600 thousand to buy those shares.
