Third Point’s Loeb No Longer Considering Taking Insurer SiriusPoint Private (Reuters)
Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb is no longer exploring a potential acquisition of SiriusPoint Ltd (SPNT.N), according to a regulatory filing on Friday, a month after disclosing his interest in taking the insurance firm private. Loeb, who runs hedge fund Third Point, and SiriusPoint were unable to reach a consensus on the value of a potential deal, the filing said. The insurer’s shares fell 9.3% to $9.03 in morning trading. The company had a market value of $1.6 billion as of Thursday close.
Here Are the Winners of the 20th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards (Institutional Investor)
Citadel and Saba Capital Management took home the most trophies. After a complicated year for hedge fund strategies, one firm ranked above the rest for institutional investors. Allocators named Citadel the Institutional Hedge Fund Manager of the Year on the heels of the firm’s biggest gain in over a decade. Citadel also earned the title of Multistrategy Hedge Fund Manager of the Year at the Hedge Fund Industry Awards. Institutional Investor held the 20th Annual Hedge Fund Industry Awards on Thursday at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. Finalists across 18 categories, including allocators, consultants, and other hedge fund managers, received awards over the course of the evening.
Hedge Fund Trade With a History of Blowups Is Back Again (Bloomberg)
Hedge funds looking to profit from dislocations in the US Treasury market appear to be playing with the very fire that burned them so spectacularly in the depths of the pandemic turmoil. A recent surge in leveraged positions betting that Treasury futures will fall — at a time when Wall Street is increasingly confident that a US recession will soon spur rapid central bank interest-rate cuts — smacks of so-called basis trading, market watchers say. That’s when hedge funds seek to profit from a mismatch in pricing between Treasury futures and the deliverable note or bond.
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Hedge Fund L1 Capital is Buying Cyclicals in Contrarian Trade (AFR.com)
Melbourne-based hedge fund L1 Capital says it has pared back its long exposure to equity markets but it is buying unloved cyclical stocks over defensive companies that have already priced in future interest rate cuts. Mark Landau, the co-founder of the 16-year-old hedge fund, told investors that ASX-listed companies that derived their revenues offshore were particularly vulnerable, given their elevated valuations and the weak Australian dollar.
Inside the World’s Most ‘Exclusive’ Hedge Fund – Run by Harvard Students (Express.co.uk)
Black Diamond Capital Investors is a student-run money management organisation based out of Harvard University. Members of the “most exclusive hedge fund in the world” are sharing how they make their money through investing. In order to become a member of the “exclusive” fund, students need to be studying at the university and go through an admissions process. The hedge fund was founded in 2012 and provides Harvard students with the opportunity to invest money and work alongside Wall Street giants. According to its website, Black Diamond outperforms the S&P 500 “by an average of seven percent annually over the past years”.
Hedge Funds Too Pessimistic on Stocks, Says SocGen (Hedge Week)
Hedge funds have become too pessimistic about stocks as they position for a slump in global equities and may have to become more bullish if the current stock rally continues pushing the market even higher according to a report by Bloomberg. The report cites Arthur van Slooten, a strategist at Societe Generale, as saying that their positioning is “so extreme” that no decline in equities “could result in a quick and drastic reversal of positions” and could potentially send “equities and bond yields higher”.
Phony Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Charged with Running Ponzi Scheme (MarketWatch)
Phillip Galles had all the trappings of a successful hedge fund manager — a fleet of luxury cars, paintings by masters like Picasso and Chagall on his walls, and a billion dollars in the bank. But it was all a carefully-crafted lie aimed at drawing investors into a Ponzi scheme, federal authorities say. Galles, 57, of Chicago, was charged Thursday with bilking more than 50 investors out of over $6 million, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors in New Jersey and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Renowned Hedge Fund Manager Says US Regional Banking System at Risk (AAStocks.com)
Renowned U.S. hedge fund manager Bill Ackman warned that the U.S. regional banking system is at risk as regulatory institutions of the country failed to update and expand its insurance regime for the deposits at regional banks, which “hammered more nails onto the coffin”. Ackman remarked that, at the current rate of deterioration, no regional bank will survive the bad news and unfavorable data, and a massive plunge in stock prices will inevitably follow.
Insiders Selling Tesla, Amazon And This Tech Giant (Benzinga)
Microsoft: The Trade: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) EVP, Chief Marketing Officer Christopher C Capossela sold a total of 5,000 shares at an average price of $310.05. The insider received around $1.55 million from selling those shares. Tesla: The Trade: Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) CFO Zachary Kirkhorn sold a total of 3,750.75 shares at an average price of $162.70. The insider received around $610.25 thousand from selling those shares.
ASIC Charges Vaughan Bowen with Insider Trading, Again (AFR.com)
The corporate regulator and ex-Vocus chairman Vaughan Bowen are set to lock horns again over allegations of insider trading relating to the sale of Vocus shares in 2019, which were potentially worth $25.7 million. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) indicted Mr Bowen on Wednesday with two insider trading charges. It comes after Mr Bowen was originally charged in September 2021, but then discharged by the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last December following a contested committal hearing, where it was determined there was insufficient evidence for the case to proceed.
Thursday 5/11 Insider Buying Report: BXMT, CFR (Nasdaq.com)
At Blackstone Mortgage Trust, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director Michael B. Nash bought 50,000 shares of BXMT, at a cost of $17.22 each, for a total investment of $860,810. Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc is trading up about 1.9% on the day Thursday. Before this latest buy, Nash bought BXMT on 2 other occasions during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $1.99M at an average of $22.10 per share. And also on Wednesday, Director Chris Avery purchased $478,750 worth of Cullen/Frost Bankers, purchasing 5,000 shares at a cost of $95.75 a piece. Before this latest buy, Avery made one other buy in the past twelve months, purchasing $540,425 shares for a cost of $108.08 each. Cullen/Frost Bankers is trading off about 0.4% on the day Thursday.
