Soros Says Russian Defeat in Ukraine Would Trigger Dissolution of ‘Russian Empire’ (Reuters)
Billionaire financier George Soros said on Thursday that if Russia was defeated in the Ukraine war it would result in the dissolution of what he called the ‘Russian empire,’ something he said would be greeted by former Soviet republics. Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the deadliest European conflicts since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Salesforce’s Hedge Fund Hotel Fills Up Amid Elliott Pressure (Axios)
Details of hedge fund investments into Salesforce emerged Wednesday, revealing some significant bets at a critical and uncertain time for the company. Why it matters: Activist Elliott Management stands to benefit from a pack of hedgies supporting its battle for changes at Marc Benioff’s company, though Salesforce has a few fund allies building stakes as well. Driving the news: Fund managers released mandated 13F filings on Wednesday, shedding light for the first time on some of the CRM (Salesforce’s ticker) stakes owned by the five activist managers involved with the company at the moment.
Graham Capital Posts Double-Digit Gains in Dismal 2022 by Betting on Hawkish Fed (Pensions&Investments)
Macroeconomic hedge funds aim to anticipate moves in financial markets, such as the direction of interest rates, currencies, stocks, bonds and commodities, and these funds were among the few to make money in 2022. Kenneth “Ken” Tropin‘s hedge fund Graham Capital Management was among the winners. The $18 billion hedge fund firm, based in Rowayton, Conn., posted double-digit returns in 2022 net of fees in its discretionary and quantitative macro funds. Graham’s winning wager was based on an early hawkish view on interest rates, as the firm correctly forecast that the Federal Reserve and other central banks would tighten faster and with more hikes than Wall Street expected. About 65% of the assets are institutional investors.
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Restaurant Group Under Fire from Activist Stakeholder (Proactive Investors)
Wagamama owner Restaurant Group PLC (LSE:RTN) has been slated by activist shareholder Oasis Management following the company losing two-thirds of its share price in the last year. Oasis Management, an Asia- based hedge fund, has called for Restaurant Group to “re-align its priorities” by taking immediate action to revitalise investor confidence.
Ilmarinen’s Hedge Fund Portfolio Returns 8% in 2022 (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – 2022 was a difficult year for investors, including well-diversified institutional investors, as equity and bond markets experienced double-digit declines. Finnish pension insurer Ilmarinen saw its investment portfolio book a loss of 6.6 percent for 2022, resulting in an investment loss of €4.0 billion. Ilmarinen’s hedge fund portfolio, which accounted for 8.6 percent of the overall portfolio at the end of 2022, returned 8.2 percent during the year to offset some of the broader portfolio’s losses.
Anson Hedge Fund Pivots to Long Wagers, Betting on Weed Stocks (Bloomberg)
Canada’s Anson Funds, once primarily known for wagering against stocks, is pivoting to make more long bets after last year’s market rout. The $1.5 billion fund began the year with a net long position of around 20% compared with 9% at the beginning of 2022, according to Moez Kassam, the firm’s co-founder and chief investment officer.
