Chris Hohn Is a Hedge Fund Manager Like No Other (Institutional Investor)
When British hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn launched The Children’s Investment Fund Management in 2003 — pledging to donate 50 basis points of the management fee to a charitable fund — even he wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. “No one did that before,” recalls Ana Marshall, chief investment officer for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s $14 billion portfolio and one of Hohn’s initial investors. “From the beginning, Chris created a fee structure that was intentional about philanthropy.”
Tiger Global Backed a $95 Million Round into Qualified, a Pipeline Generation Startup Created by Ex-Salesforce Execs, After Seeing This 16-Slide Pitch Deck (Business Insider)
San Francisco-based Qualified raised $95 million in a Series C round with backing from Tiger Global. It currently counts companies like Adobe, Carta, Databricks, Grubhub, and VMware among its users. Insider got an exclusive look at the 16-slide pitch deck it used to raise the fresh funds. A startup founded by ex-Salesforce execs that aims to boost sales by transforming company websites into “sales and marketing machines” has raised $95 million from investors, including hedge fund giant Tiger Global.
Lynx Celebrates Strong CTA Performance (Hedge Nordic)
London (HedgeNordic) – CTAs are enjoying a performance resurgence, and Swedish Lynx Asset Management is right in the midst of this surge. In 2021, equities and commodities made the best contributions; in the first three months of 2022, commodities have continued to be big contributors, while fixed income and interest rates – which lost money in 2021 partly due to reversals – have also become profitable markets as a clear uptrend in rates has developed due in part to building inflationary pressures.
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Dr. Oz, Hedge-Funder David McCormick Flood Pennsylvania Airwaves in Negative Ads (The Wall Street Journal)
LITITZ, Pa.—Voters in Pennsylvania knew almost nothing about David McCormick and Mehmet Oz as political figures when the men started running for the Republican nomination to the Senate a few months ago. Since then, more than $37 million in largely negative advertising from the two candidates and their allies has gone a long way to filling the gaps.
Dan Niles Says He’s Betting Big on Travel and Leisure Stocks, Still Sees Upside Ahead (CNBC)
Hedge fund manager Dan Niles told CNBC on Tuesday he’s been buying travel and leisure stocks, betting strong consumer demand heading into the summer will the propel the shares higher.
Wall Street Is Paved With Cathie Wood Wizards Who Had 1 Brilliant Idea in a Row (The Street)
Wall Street is paved with geniuses who had one brilliant idea in a row. In a recent-wide ranging CNBC interview, Ark Invest‘s Cathie Wood tried to make the case for her investing style and products. Bob Pisani and Scott Wapner conducted a wide ranging, engaging and excellent interview. I will share my reaction to her remarks and my opinion of the dubious merits of investing in ARK in this column. However, my long-standing distaste for Wood’s strategy and why I shorted Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) (which at the time was a very unpopular move!) more than a year ago — at over $140/share, now $54/share — is chronicled here in my recent column “ARK Invest’s ‘Vicious Cycle’ Comes Into Closer Focus.”
Willkie Adds Hedge Fund and Asset Management Partner in New York (Hedge Week)
Willkie Farr & Gallagher has appointed Gabriel Acri as a partner in the Firm’s Asset Management Department in New York. Acri previously served for ten years as Managing Director, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of hedge fund adviser Sovarnum Capital LP. Earlier in his career, he was an associate in Willkie’s Asset Management Department. Acri has extensive experience in the formation, maintenance and regulation of various domestic and offshore hedge funds and other private funds, including commodity pools.
Former Goldman Sachs Partner’s Hedge Fund Pivots Away From China (Bloomberg)
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Ryan Thall is pivoting his hedge fund firm away from China investments, as Beijing’s credit tightening in the property sector and zero-Covid policies weigh on the economy. Thall’s Panview Capital Ltd. has cut Greater China to 20% to 60% of total investments, including long and short positions. When the firm started in 2019, investors were told the region would be its largest, accounting for 40% to 80% of investments. The Hong Kong-based firm is debating a further reduction, it told investors in a quarterly letter seen by Bloomberg News.
Why ESG is a Foundation for Successful Credit Investing (Preqin)
Credit investor AlbaCore embedded ESG from day one. Partner Deborah Cohen Malka explains why assessing and monitoring ESG metrics is good risk management. How does AlbaCore view ESG? Deborah Cohen Malka: The Senior Leadership team were previously at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and already incorporated ESG; so naturally, when AlbaCore was founded five and a half years ago, the team built an ESG policy. We started with negative screening, such as excluding oil and gas, and have expanded over the years.
KKR Raises $19bn for Its Largest-Ever Fund (Opalesque)
The US buyout giant KKR & Co. wrapped up its largest-ever buyout fund – KKR North America Fund XIII – with $19 billion in investor commitments in a fundraising effort that broke an in-house record that has stood for more than 15 years. A press release from the global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions described the fund as the largest in its 46-year history. Its predecessor fund, KKR North America Fund XII, raised $13.9 billion and closed in 2017. North America Fund XIII, dubbed NAX3, will be investing $2 billion of capital in the Fund alongside investors through the firm’s balance sheet, affiliates, and employee commitments.
Tuesday 4/26 Insider Buying Report: SCHW, LGF.B (Nasdaq.com)
On Monday, Charles Schwab’s CEO, Walter W. Bettinger, made a $2.55M buy of SCHW, purchasing 36,640 shares at a cost of $69.49 a piece. The Charles Schwab Corporation is trading off about 0.2% on the day Tuesday. This buy marks the first one filed by Bettinger in the past twelve months. And on Friday, Director Harry Sloan bought $635,800 worth of Lions Gate Entertainment, buying 50,000 shares at a cost of $12.72 each. This purchase marks the first one filed by Sloan in the past twelve months. Lions Gate Entertainment is trading up about 0.4% on the day Tuesday. So far Sloan is in the green, up about 5.8% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $13.45.
Executives Buy Around $65M Of 3 Stocks (Benzinga)
Xerox Holdings: The Trade: Xerox Holdings Corporation (XRX) 10% owner Icahn Partners Master Fund Lp acquired a total of 2,130,423 shares at an average price of $17.04. To acquire these shares, it cost around $36.3 million. Affirm Holdings: The Trade: Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM) 10% owner Jasmine Ventures Pte Ltd bought a total of 800,000 shares at an average price of $32.00. To acquire these shares, it cost around $25.6 million.
SEC Issues $6 Million Award to Five Whistleblowers (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a total award of $6 million to two groups of whistleblowers who provided information and assistance in a single covered action. The first group of whistleblowers provided the SEC with key documents that led the staff to request additional documents from the respondent, while the second group provided the staff with valuable firsthand accounts of the misconduct at issue. Both groups, which totaled five individuals, provided ongoing assistance during the staff’s investigation.
