Einhorn’s Greenlight Up 5.7% in August While Third Point Drops (Bloomberg)
David Einhorn’s hedge fund bucked last month’s equity-market slump, posting a 5.7% gain as competitors including Dan Loeb’s Third Point slipped. The advance brings Greenlight Capital’s increase for the year to 20%, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. August was more muted at Third Point, where the main fund fell 0.2% in August and is down 20% for the year, according to an investor letter seen by Bloomberg.
Warren Buffett’s portrait, complete with his autograph, just sold for over $75,000 at a Charity Auction (CNBC)
When Warren Buffett writes his name on something, it becomes instantly valuable — to the tune of $75,100. That’s how much an anonymous eBay user bid on Tuesday to win a unique piece of artwork: a 26-inch autographed print of Buffett overlaid with motivational quotes from the billionaire, including “Women make me optimistic about America.” All proceeds from the sale will go directly to Girls Inc. of Omaha, Buffett’s hometown chapter of the national nonprofit that provides mentorship and support for girls and young women from low-income communities across the country.
Could BH Macro be the ‘reassuringly expensive’ Stella Artois of hedge fund trusts? (SharesMagazine.co.uk)
The market regards hedge fund Brevan Howard as one of the leading global macro absolute return investment managers. Absolute return specialists aim to deliver a positive return to investors regardless of whether markets are rising or falling. They often own a mix of bonds and stocks as well as other asset classes and sometimes look to benefit from the value of assets falling as well as rising…
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com
‘Big Short’ Sage Michael Burry’s ‘Mother of All Crashes’ Prediction is Underway, He Says (New York Post)
Michael Burry, the hedge fund investor made famous in the 2015 film “The Big Short,” suggested Wednesday that a long-feared stock market crash is already underway. Burry, who predicted more than a year ago that stocks were headed for “the mother of all crashes,” delivered his latest warning alongside a graph showing the S&P 500’s sharp decline since hitting an all-time peak in January.
UK Hedge Fund Founder Charged in New York with Market Manipulation, Fraud (Reuters)
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) – The co-founder and chief executive of a prominent London-based hedge fund was charged in New York on Thursday with fraud over an alleged scheme to manipulate the U.S. dollar-South African rand exchange rate in order to trigger a $20 million payment. Neil Phillips, 52, was indicted on four criminal charges including wire fraud, commodities fraud and conspiracy.
Stafford Capital Partners Wraps Up Fourth Infrastructure Secondaries Fund at $731m (Opalesque.com)
UK-based independent private markets investment and advisory firm Stafford Capital Partners has closed it’s Stafford Infrastructure Secondaries Fund IV (SISF IV) with €731 million ($731 million) of commitments, making it the largest fund in the firm’s history. The fund was backed by 33 investors across 13 countries, said a press release from the Capital market company. Alongside these commitments, Stafford raised an additional £100m ($116m) managed account for geographically focussed infrastructure secondary transactions.
Billionaires Can’t Stop Buying This Fintech Stock on Sale (The Motley Fool)
Notable billionaire investors are looking to squeeze more value out of this once-hot fintech. This has been a challenging year for professionals and retail investors alike. The S&P 500 got off to its worst six-month start in 52 years, and growth stocks have taken the brunt of the hit. PayPal (PYPL -3.58%) is one beaten-down growth stock that has dipped nearly 70% from its all-time high price set last year. The fintech has experienced slowing growth, and earlier this month, investors learned that activist investor Elliot Investment Management took a $2 billion stake in PayPal. Hedge funds were buyers too. D.E. Shaw added 3.9 million shares, nearly doubling the hedge fund’s position, and Ray Dalio‘s Bridgewater Associates added 1 million shares of the fintech. So if billionaires are buying PayPal, should you?
Hedge Fund Haidar’s Return Tops 225% as Macro Firms See Benefits of Soaring Inflation (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund Haidar Capital is leading a pack of macro trading firms that are making the most of the global struggle to keep inflation under control. Said Haidar’s $3.3 billion Haidar Jupiter Fund soared an estimated 29.6% in the four weeks through Aug. 26, boosting this year’s return to more than 225%, according to investor documents seen by Bloomberg.
New PM at KLP’s Market-Neutral Fund (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – David Bhatti, a shipping analyst at SEB, has joined Simon Roksund Johannessen in managing energy-focused market-neutral equity fund KLP Alfa Global Energi as portfolio manager. Torkel Aaberg, who has been managing KLP Alfa Global Energi alongside Johannessen since the beginning of 2015, left KLP Kapitalforvaltning earlier this year after more than 13 years as portfolio manager at the firm.
Future Fund’s Hedge Fund Stars Defy Downturn (AFR.com)
The Future Fund has been pondering for years how to insulate its near $200 billion portfolio from the scourge of higher inflation and rising interest rates. The sovereign wealth fund’s chief executive, Raphael Arndt, says inflation is going to persist for a while, even if it softens from currently elevated levels. “We don’t think central banks will be able to raise rates sufficiently to kill inflation given how leveraged everything is and the political environment,” Arndt told The Australian Financial Review after the sovereign fund’s update.
Thursday 9/1 Insider Buying Report: RILY, BKNG (Nasdaq.com)
At B. Riley Financial, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director Randall E. Paulson purchased 25,000 shares of RILY, at a cost of $49.76 each, for a total investment of $1.24M. B. Riley Financial is trading off about 1.9% on the day Thursday. Before this latest buy, Paulson purchased RILY at 5 other times during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $5.33M at an average of $54.65 per share. And at Booking Holdings, there was insider buying on Monday, by Robert J. Mylod Jr. who bought 500 shares at a cost of $1912.37 each, for a trade totaling $956,182. Before this latest buy, Mylod Jr. made one other purchase in the past twelve months, buying $967,220 shares at a cost of $1934.44 each. Booking Holdings is trading off about 1.9% on the day Thursday. Investors have the opportunity to pick up BKNG even cheaper than Mylod Jr. did, with the stock changing hands as low as $1835.40 in trading on Thursday which is 4.0% under Mylod Jr.’s purchase price.
Insiders Selling Electronic Arts, Shoe Carnival And This Consumer Defensive Stock (Business Insider)
PriceSmart: The Trade: PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Director Robert E Price sold a total of 20,000 shares at an average price of $64.09. The insider received around $1.28 million from selling those shares. Shoe Carnival: The Trade: Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCVL) Director Andrea R Guthrie sold a total of 1,665 shares at an average price of $24.04. The insider received around $40.03 thousand as a result of the transaction. Electronic Arts: The Trade: Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) Director, CEO and Board Chair Andrew Wilson sold a total of 7,373 shares at an average price of $130.05. The insider received around $958.88 thousand from selling those shares.
