Tiger Global’s Loss This Year Widens to 23% After February Swoon (Bloomberg)
Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management posted a 10% decline for its flagship hedge fund last month, a significantly steeper drop than the broader market, according to people familiar with the matter. That follows a 14.8% swoon in January, extending its loss for the year to 23%.
Billionaire Hedge Fund Founder Ken Griffin Softens His Anti-Crypto Stance: ‘I Haven’t Been Right on this Call’ (CNBC)
Ken Griffin, CEO of investment firm Citadel and a prominent crypto detractor, seems to have softened his stance on digital currencies. Griffin previously dismissed cryptocurrencies as “a jihadist call” against the dollar, but this week said that “crypto has been one of the greatest stories in finance over the course over the last 15 years.”
U.S. Activist Investors, Icahn Cry Foul Over Proposed Stock Disclosure Rule (Hedge Week)
March 3 (Reuters) – Activist investors including Carl Icahn say a U.S. proposal that would require them to disclose 5% stakes in companies days sooner than current rules could make it unprofitable for them to build the large positions they need for successful campaigns.
EQT Launches $5.6bn Core Infrastructure Fund (Opalesque)
Nordic private markets giant EQT is planning to raise €5bn ($5.6bn) for a new longer-hold fund targeting core infrastructure companies that provide essential services mainly in Europe and North America. Stockholm-based private equity firm said in a press statement that the fund, EQT Active Core Infrastructure, will have a longer-hold strategy (15 to 25 years) with a focus on downside protection and on core infrastructure companies “at the lower end of the risk-return spectrum”. The fund will be led by Daniel Pérez, based in Stockholm, Fabian Gröne, based in Munich, and Alex Greenbaum in New York.
Brevan Howard Founder Leads USD7.5m Series A Round in Nested (Hedge Week)
Alan Howard founder of hedge fund Brevan Howard has led a USD7.5 million Series A funding round in Nested, a social trading platform that enables users to create and invest in “financial NFTs”, according to a report by CoinBase. The round also attracted several angels and other investors focused on decentralised finance (DeFi) including Polychain Capital’s Joseph Eagan, and Lily Liu, whose bitcoin startup Earn.com was acquired by Coinbase for over USD100 million in 2018. Nested allows users to create and trade entire hand-curated crypto portfolios via NestedNFTs – non fungible tokens linked to the underlying assets of the portfolio.
What Are the Chances of a Russia/NATO War? A Hedge Fund Heavy Weighs In (The Street)
The rhetorical battle between the U.S. and Russia has heated up during Russia’s war against Ukraine. Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden have launched harsh criticism against each other. The U.S. has applied harsh economic sanctions against Russia, and Putin has put Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert. The relationship between the U.S. and Russia is returning to the Cold War footing of the 1950s through 1980s. So what are the odds that this Cold War could turn into a hot war? Hedge fund star Ray Dalio, chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, sees a small chance that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could morph into a war between Russia and NATO countries.
Fallen Hedge Funder Phillip Falcone Offloads Luxe Belongings in Fire Sale (New York Post)
This once mighty money man is hitting the skids hard. Debt-riddled ex-billionaire Philip Falcone has taken to hawking his home furnishings for chump change, just three years after cashing in with a record $77 million sale of his massive, ultra swanky Manhattan townhouse on 14-16 East 67th St.
Press of Atlantic City Might Get Saved from Hedge Fund Takeover (New Jersey Globe)
A national newspaper chain that owns The Press of Atlantic City, seems to have repelled a hostile takeover bid by hedge fund Alden Capital. Two longtime Lee Enterprises board members appear to have the votes to win re-election after two leading proxy advisory firms recommended support for them. Alden was dealt a major blow two weeks ago when a Delaware judge upheld a move by Lee to reject two opposition board candidates. This week, the nation’s leading newspaper staff union, NewsGuild, slammed prior practices by Alden.
Thursday 3/3 Insider Buying Report: RCII, PTVE (Nasdaq.com)
At Rent-A-Center, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Mitchell E. Fadel bought 40,000 shares of RCII, at a cost of $27.08 each, for a total investment of $1.08M. Fadel was up about 11.5% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with RCII trading as high as $30.20 at last check today. Rent-A-Center is trading up about 3.6% on the day Thursday. This purchase marks the first one filed by Fadel in the past year. And also on Tuesday, Director Jonathan D. Rich purchased $494,455 worth of Pactiv Evergreen, purchasing 52,606 shares at a cost of $9.40 each. Pactiv Evergreen is trading down about 0.2% on the day Thursday.
Insiders Sell More Than $323M Of 5 Stocks (Benzinga)
Zeta Global Holdings: The Trade: Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA) Director William Royan disposed a total of around 4,000,000 shares at an average price of $11.40. The insider received around $45.6 million as a result of the transaction. Liberty Oilfield Services: The Trade: Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. (NYSE: LBRT) 10% owner Schlumberger Technology Corp sold a total of 7,224,173 shares at an average price of $11.60. The insider received around $83.8 million from selling those shares. Arista Networks: The Trade: Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE: ANET) Chief Development Officer Andreas Bechtolsheim sold a total of 200,000 shares at an average price of $122.10. The insider received around $24.42 million as a result of the transaction.
Palihapitiya Sued Over Insider Sale of Virgin Galactic Stock (1) (Bloomberg Law)
Chamath Palihapitiya took advantage of his insider role as chairman of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. to sell 10 million shares of the struggling space travel company for $315 million before he abruptly quit the board last month, a shareholder alleged in a lawsuit. The complaint, filed on behalf of Virgin Galactic to seek damages from its directors and officers, also alleges that founder Richard Branson pocketed $301 million by dumping his shares while the stock price was “artificially inflated.”
Crocker Partners and Hedge Fund Acquire Atlanta Skyscraper Bank of America Plaza (SWFI)
CP Group (formerly known as Crocker Partners), a vertically-integrated commercial real estate and management firm, announced the acquisition of Bank of America Plaza in the heart of Midtown Atlanta. The 55-story Class-A skyscraper was acquired in a joint-venture with funds managed by HPS Investment Partners, LLC. The property has been an enduring fixture of Atlanta’s Midtown submarket since its construction in 1992. It is currently occupied by anchor tenants including Bank of America and national law firm Troutman Pepper.
