Singer’s Elliott Returns 12.7% on Investments in 2020 (Bloomberg)
Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. returned 12.7% on its investments in 2020, turning in one of its strongest years in the past decade, according to an investor letter reviewed by Bloomberg. The New York-based hedge fund reported the same returns for both its international and onshore funds, marking their best year since 2012 and 2016, respectively, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.
Appian Capital Raises $775 Million for Second Mining Fund (The Wall Street Journal)
Appian Capital Advisory has raised $775 million for its second fund focused on the mining sector, as the private-equity manager looks to capitalize on rising demand for metals used in electric vehicles and clean-energy projects. The London-based mining investment firm closed Appian Natural Resources Fund II LP this month at the fund’s hard cap. The new fund, which was backed by about 15 institutional investors, collected more than double the $375 million that Appian raised for its debut vehicle back in 2014.
A Former Citadel Commodities Trader Devised a New Way for Farmers to Hedge Against Climate-Change Risks to their Crops. Here’s How His Startup’s Blockchain-Powered ‘Smart Contracts’ Work. (Business Insider)
Arbol Market is a young startup run by Sid Jha, a former quant for Ken Griffin‘s Citadel, that lets farmers and others impacted by climate change protect their profits. The firm considers itself an insure-tech firm – though it is in the process of becoming an insurer – because it uses smart contracts on a blockchain platform to connect those who need climate change insurance and pools of capital looking to diversify their holdings. So far, the platform has $250 million of risk capacity currently, with plans to break $1 billion early this year. “When we looked at this landscape, we saw users that could use this product and weren’t being served,” said Jha, who is a cofounder with his brother.
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SHK spins out East Point Asset Management (Pensions&Investments)
Sun Hung Kai & Co. announced a partnership and seed commitment of $150 million with East Point Asset Management, a hedge fund boutique the Hong Kong-based conglomerate’s money management platform incubated and spun out at the end of 2020. Lindsay Wright, CEO of SHK Fund Management, in an interview Monday said SHK has a revenue-sharing agreement with the new firm, which is led by Simon Walsh, CEO and chief investment officer.
Column: Rapid oil Price Rise Divides Fund Managers (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – Hedge fund managers are starting to diverge over the likelihood of further oil price increases as Brent futures surge above $50 per barrel and global coronavirus infections accelerate. Hedge funds and other money managers purchased the equivalent of 14 million barrels of futures and options in the six most important contracts in the week ending Jan. 5.
Equity HFs Have Best Year Since 2009 (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Nordic equity hedge funds gained an average of 4.1 percent in December (90 percent reported) to bring the group’s 2020 performance to 15.1 percent, capping off their best year since 2009. Last year was the second-best year on record for Nordic equity hedge funds since HedgeNordic started tracking the industry in 2005. As reflected by the FTSE World, global equity markets rose by 3.9 percent in local-currency terms last month and 14.4 percent for the year. In Euro terms, global equity markets rose 2.4 percent in December and 6.7 percent for 2020.
