Hedge Funds Won’t Want to Hear This (Institutional Investor)
Evidence is piling up that allocators may be better off replicating the returns of the best hedge funds — a more complex version of indexing — rather than investing in them directly. The finding grew out of research from Markov Processes International into the performance of a benchmark that it developed eight years ago. Although the study is small, its conclusions are a challenge for the hedge fund industry, which has long argued that its active managers shouldn’t fall victim to indexing and cheaper alternatives.
Activist Investor ValueAct Takes Stake in The New York Times (The New York Times)
ValueAct, an activist investor that has taken stakes in major companies including Microsoft, Reuters and 21st Century Fox, said on Thursday that it had bought nearly 7 percent of The New York Times Company’s common stock and would push for changes to some of the publisher’s business operations. The purchase of the stock, made public in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, makes ValueAct one of the largest shareholders in The Times, alongside Vanguard and BlackRock Fund Advisors. The Times is controlled by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, which limits the influence outside investors have on the company.
Apollo Raises $2.35bn for Its First Direct Lending Fund (Opalesque)
The global alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management Inc. has closed on its first-ever $2.35 billion direct lending fund. The American global private equity firm said in a press release that Apollo Origination Partnership Fund I (AOP) contributes to Apollo’s more than $50 billion of AUM across its direct lending strategies and platforms. “AOP is Apollo’s flagship closed-end, direct lending strategy focused on large corporate borrowers based primarily in North America and Western Europe,” said the release. The Fund focuses on originating top of the capital structure financing solutions to companies that predominantly generate more than $100 million of EBITDA.
Insider Buying: The WeWork Inc. (NYSE:WE) Executive Chairman of the Board & CEO Just Bought 2.9% More Shares (Nasdaq.com)
Investors who take an interest in WeWork Inc. (NYSE:WE) should definitely note that the Executive Chairman of the Board & CEO, Sandeep Mathrani, recently paid US$4.98 per share to buy US$249k worth of the stock. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 2.9%, it is still a solid purchase in our view. The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At WeWork: Notably, that recent purchase by Executive Chairman of the Board & CEO Sandeep Mathrani was not the only time they bought WeWork shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$250k worth of shares at a price of US$8.46 per share.
Lyft, Northrop Grumman And 2 Other Stocks Insiders Are Selling (Benzinga)
Kellogg Company: The Trade: Kellogg Company (K) 10% owner Kellogg W K Foundation sold a total of 146,153 shares at an average price of $75.27. The insider received around $11 million from selling those shares. Northrop Grumman: The Trade: Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) Corp. VP & General Counsel Sheila Cheston sold a total of 4,025 shares at an average price of $473.99. The insider received around $1.91 million as a result of the transaction.
