Hedge Fund D1 Capital’s Public Bets Fall 12% in December; Founder Sees Buying Opportunity (The Wall Street Journal)
D1 Capital Partners has lost 12% in its public investments for the month of December through Monday as fears about the fast-spreading Omicron variant have fueled big stock swings in recent sessions. D1 founder Daniel Sundheim wrote in a Dec. 20 letter to investors that D1 remained confident in its portfolio and was using the volatility to add to many of its stakes in companies that had recently caused losses or that it most believed in. He cited as examples travel companies that should benefit given consumers’ high savings levels and pent-up desire to travel; private companies D1 has been invested in that have gone public this year and sold off significantly, many by more than 40%; and fast-growing Internet companies.
The CEO of the World’s Largest Hedge Fund is Gearing up to Run for Senate in Pennsylvania (Business Insider)
Bridgewater Associates Chief Executive David McCormick reportedly plans to run for a US Senate seat representing Pennsylvania in a 2022 race that could determine which party controls the chamber. The 56-year-old Republican and Gulf War veteran planned to file paperwork with the IRS creating the “Friends of Dave McCormick Exploratory Committee,” according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report Monday citing his advisers.
The Story of Alden Global Capital Illustrates Deep American Problems (The Atlantic)
The Men Who Are Killing America’s Newspapers. In November, McKay Coppins wrote about Alden Global Capital, the secretive hedge fund gutting newsrooms and damaging democracy. I’m from Chicago originally and still a close reader of the Tribune. It’s astonishing how bad things have gotten for a once-vibrant institution. The pages are thinner. Associated Press wire stories have replaced original reporting. There are spelling errors throughout.
Two Sigma, Renaissance Rebound in 2021 (Institutional Investor)
Quant funds are back…at least for now. After losing money in 2020, computer-driven hedge fund firms, including Two Sigma and Renaissance Technologies, have rebounded sharply this year. This is especially true for a few strategies in particular. “Risk Premia and equity quants are having their best year in a while, and nobody…
Hedge Funds Hit by ‘Onerous’ ESG Rule Turn to Lawyers for Help (Bloomberg)
An obscure rule covering environmental, social and governance investing in Europe has prompted hedge-fund managers in the U.S. and U.K. to turn to their lawyers. At issue is whether they need to comply with one of the most complicated corners of Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The sub-section in question — the so-called Principal Adverse Impact rule — requires investment firms to state whether their actions might in any way harm the environment. U.S. and U.K. hedge funds had thought the rule applied only to products marketed in Europe.
