Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Jamie Dinan, Kyle Bass, Citadel Investment Group, CQS Cayman LP, Johnson Outdoors Inc. (JOUT), Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc (RH), and More

Activism is the No. 1 Way to Create Superior Returns, Hedge Fund Manager Jamie Dinan Says (CNBC)
York Capital Management founder Jamie Dinan said the best way to create superior return is through activism. “In order to create alpha right now, activism is number one in my book, and I think that’s true in any market,” the hedge fund manager said at the Project Punch Card Conference in New York City on Wednesday. While “a big fan” of activism, Dinan said the work he has done is “behind the scenes,” which contrasted notable investors like Bill Ackman and Carl Icahn who frequently call on companies for changes publicly.

Citadel Hires Tripp Kyle as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Citadel has hired Tripp Kyle to lead the $32 billion investment firm’s public relations effort as its chief corporate affairs and communications officer. Kyle, a communications industry veteran, joins Citadel from Millennium Management where he had been the hedge fund’s chief communications officer, Citadel spokeswoman Megan Ingersoll confirmed on Thursday.

The Hedge Fund CQS Is Looking at Unloved Parts of the Credit Market for 2020 (Barron’s)
The hedge fund CQS is starting to wade into beaten-down sectors of the credit market. In the firm’s 2020 outlook, Sir Michael Hintze, founder of the credit fund, writes that many investors were too early in predicting a slowdown in economic growth that would hurt risky companies’ ability to handle their debts. And because he doesn’t expect a recession next year, those investors’ categorical aversion to the riskiest securities has created one-off opportunities, he says.

Insider Trading Eyeglasses

Alex Oakenman / shutterstock.com

Hedge-Fund Manager Kyle Bass on Decade-Worthy Investments, Trade Talks and that Nickel Collection (MarketWatch)
Your 20-year investment plan is simple, according to Kyle Bass, founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management. Bet on young Americans, he says. “Where are you going to put your money? In Europe, in China, in South America? There is no better place to put your money than the United States. We have a rule of law, and we have the best economy as well,” says Bass, in a recent interview with MarketWatch.

Hedge Fund’s Control Over Wendy’s Goes Deep as Fast Food Chain Snubs Farmworkers (Eyes on the Ties)
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has waged a long campaign calling on Wendy’s to join the Fair Food Program. That campaign is now gaining more momentum – receiving more press coverage, for instance – as organizers continue to try to convince Wendy’s board to have the company join the program. It makes sense to focus on Wendy’s board, because this is where power over the company lies. As we discuss below, Wendy’s board is effectively controlled by the hedge fund Trian Partners and its billionaire CEO Nelson Peltz. Trian is the largest institutional shareholder in Wendy’s – and its influence on Wendy’s board goes perhaps even deeper than we initially documented in our past work on Trian and Wendy’s.

SS&C GlobeOp Hedge Fund Performance Index and Capital Movement Index (PRNewswire.com)
WINDSOR, Conn., Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The gross return of the SS&C GlobeOp Hedge Fund Performance Index for November 2019 measured 1.38%. Hedge fund flows as measured by the SS&C GlobeOp Capital Movement Index advanced 0.24% in December. “SS&C GlobeOp’s Capital Movement Index for December 2019 was 0.24%, reflecting net inflows into hedge funds. These net inflows were lower than the 0.62% net inflows reported a year ago but were well within the normal variation range,” said Bill Stone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SS&C Technologies. “The full year 2019 net flows were closely in line with the full year 2018. We view this as a favorable result given the strong directional markets this past year.”

Pimco, Elliott Group Press Newsom to Reject PG&E’s Restructuring Plan (Bloomberg)
A group of creditors have lobbied California Governor Gavin Newsom to reject PG&E Corp.’s restructuring plans in a last-ditch effort to gain control of the bankrupt utility, people familiar with the situation said. The bondholders led by Pacific Investment Management Co. and activist investor Elliott Management Corp. want Newsom to use his veto power over a $13.5 billion settlement that PG&E reached with wildfire victims last week. Newsom has until Friday to approve the deal or reject it because it fails to meet state standards.

One of the Smartest People on Wall Street Is Buying These 3 Stocks — Should You Follow? (The Motley Fool)
Norwegian hedge fund manager Ole Andreas Halvorsen is one of the world’s most highly regarded investors. He’s also worth following because he tends to run a relatively concentrated portfolio — slightly more than 50% of Viking Global Investors holdings are in the top 10 stocks — so his stock picks are highly relevant. With this in mind, let’s take a look at three stocks Viking added in the last quarter.

Rh (RH) Chairman & CEO Gary G Friedman Sold $75.9 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman & CEO of Rh., Gary G Friedman, sold 320,364 shares of RH on 12/10/2019 at an average price of $236.93 a share. The total sale was $75.9 million. RH, formerly Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc is a luxury brand in the home furnishings marketplace offering furniture, lighting, textiles, outdoor and garden products. It offers collections through its retail galleries, source books and websites.

A Director at Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ: JOUT) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Director at Johnson Outdoors (JOUT), John M. Fahey, sold shares of JOUT for $79.72K. Following John M. Fahey’s last JOUT Sell transaction on July 07, 2015, the stock climbed by 53.7%. This is Fahey’s first transaction since reporting a Buy transaction on TIME back in May 2017.

China Xd Plastics Co (CXDC) CEO Jie Han Bought $1.1 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
CEO of China Xd Plastics Co., Jie Han, bought 554,923 shares of CXDC on 12/11/2019 at an average price of $2.05 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $1.1 million. China XD Plastics company Ltd manufactures plastics for automobiles. Its product includes automobile exteriors, for car interiors and other components. China XD Plastics Co Ltd has a market cap of $113.813 million; its shares were traded at around $1.70 with a P/E ratio of 1.40 and P/S ratio of 0.06.

Sebi Fines Unitech Dir, Promoter Over Insider Trading (DeccanHerald.com)
Markets regulator Sebi on Thursday imposed a total fine of Rs 5 lakh on Unitech Ltd Executive Director Sanjay Chandra and its promoter Mayfair Capital for disclosure lapses with regard to change in their shareholding in the company. The regulator has fined the promoters for violating Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) regulations. “The regulation seeks to achieve fair treatment by…mandating disclosure of timely and adequate information to enable shareholders to make an informed decision and ensuring that there is a fair and informed market in the shares of companies affected by such change in control,” Sebi said.