Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Ken Griffin, Paul Tudor Jones, Andrew Redleaf, Two Sigma Advisors, Renaissance Technologies, Chevron Corporation (CVX), Central Pacific Financial Corp. (CPF), and More

Citadel’s Griffin Taps Longtime Partner James Yeh as Co-CIO (Bloomberg)
Ken Griffin promoted James Yeh to president and co-chief investment officer at Citadel, tapping a longtime partner to help run the fast-growing hedge fund firm alongside him. Yeh, 53, has been a key player at Citadel since he joined the Chicago-based firm in 1993 as one of its first employees. In his new role, announced on Wednesday, he will oversee the Global Quantitative Strategies business as well as the global fixed income and macro unit.

Tudor Jones Says the Stock Market will ‘Definitely Decline’ If a Democrat Wins the 2020 Election (CNBC)
Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones told CNBC on Wednesday that the stock market will turn south if any Democrat wins the 2020 presidential election, regardless of the differences in their policy proposals. “I think the stock market will definitely decline because that will assume that it’s going to be accompanied by a raise in taxes,” Jones said on “Squawk Box.”

Two Sigma Launches Portfolio Risk Management Solution for Institutional Investors (Hedge Week)
Two Sigma has launched Venn, a cloud-based investment analysis software platform. Venn was introduced initially on a limited, invite-only basis, but is now available to institutional investors and wealth managers among others. For many institutional investors, the investment process today remains highly qualitative, with a reliance on spreadsheets or other inefficient tools that are slow to provide more complex analysis and can require hours of manual effort to build and maintain. These barriers to data-driven analysis can prevent investment teams from responding to management needs in a timely manner and increase the likelihood of human error.

Countries with the Smallest Government Per Capita in the WorldCountries with the Smallest Government Per Capita in the World

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RenTech’s Billion-Dollar Tax Cloud Darkens After IRS Ruling (Bloomberg)
A little-noticed decision by the Internal Revenue Service’s appeals unit may spell trouble for legendary investor Jim Simons, who’s embroiled in a multibillion-dollar tax dispute with the agency. Reviewing the audit of an investment manager in Connecticut, the IRS Office of Appeals rejected a tax-avoidance maneuver involving so-called basket options. That’s the type of transaction at the heart of a separate, larger case involving Simons’s Renaissance Technologies hedge fund. The decision, made public in a court filing in May, could offer a preview of the tax agency’s reasoning in the Renaissance case.

Private Equity Would Survive Sen. Warren Tax Plan, Says Hedge Fund Manager Richard Robb (CNBC)
Richard Robb, hedge fund manager and Columbia University economics professor, and Mark Zandi, Moody’s chief economist, join “Squawk on the Street” to discuss the Chamber of Commerce’s remarks on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposed tax plans.

Battle of the Billionaires: Steyer Jabs Bloomberg, Says ‘I Don’t Think He Should Run’ Without Backing Wealth Tax (Fox News)
CONCORD, N.H. – Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer is far from thrilled that fellow billionaire Mike Bloomberg might enter the race for the party’s 2020 nomination. After Steyer filed to place his name on the New Hampshire presidential primary ballot, the one-time hedge fund manager turned billionaire environmental and progressive advocate took a shot at Bloomberg while answering questions from reporters.

Keep Them Coming (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Sector Zen, an Oslo-based long/short equity fund focused on the Japanese stock market, has received another takeover bid for one of its holdings. Machinery and electronics maker Toshiba just announced plans to buy out the minority shareholders of its 52.4-owned subsidiary NuFlare Technology, one of Sector Zen’s holdings. This represents the 36th takeover in the fund’s portfolio since launching in the first half of 2006. According to the Sector Zen team, comprised of investment manager Trond Hermansen and analyst Lars Solberg, more than two-thirds of the fund’s long portfolio include attractively-valued subsidiaries and affiliates of larger parent companies.

Sorin Gives Up Blackstone Role, Winds Down (HFAlert.com)
Sorin Capital, a commercial mortgage bond investor that ran $1.6 billion at its peak, is shutting down after a 15-year run. After liquidating two hedge funds earlier this year, Sorin continued to run a $500 million portfolio for Blackstone. But with Blackstone’s blessing, Sorin transferred management of that vehicle to relative-value credit manager Good Hill Partners at the end of October. Managing director Joel Jasinski and vice president Matt Rossetto have joined Good Hill from Sorin’s investment team and will continue to run the portfolio for Blackstone. At least part of Blackstone’s mandate comes from an alternative mutual fund called Blackstone Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund, which already allocated capital to Good Hill.

Hedge Fund Founder Andrew Redleaf Says Prepare For Low Growth ‘For A Very Long Period Of Time’ (Forbes)
Andrew Redleaf, who founded the hedge fund Whitebox Advisors, says the coming years will be marked by lower economic growth in the U.S. and that investors should prepare for bankruptcies, especially among smaller companies. “The overwhelming and dominant factor is that we’ll have very, very subdued growth for a very long period of time,” Redleaf said on the Contrarian Investor Podcast. “A number of businesses that probably shouldn’t have existed before – we are going to see their bankruptcies and their liquidations accelerate.”

Public Company Sports Bettor Billy Walters Found Guilty of Insider Trading Files for Bankruptcy (Casino.org)
The public company sports bettor Billy Walters was found guilty of insider trading has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Dean Foods, the largest dairy company in the United States, credited a decades-long decline in milk consumption for its financial distress.

Pharma Scion in Trade Case Now Seeks $26 Million Bail (Bloomberg Quint)
(Bloomberg) — The son of a wealthy Greek pharmaceutical executive proposed an elaborate $26 million bail package to get out of a U.S. jail while he awaits trial over his alleged role in a global insider-trading ring. Telemaque Lavidas is one of six people accused in what prosecutors said was a scheme that generated tens of millions of dollars. Lavidas got inside tips about Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. from his father, Athanase Lavidas, a former Ariad board member and the chief executive of Lavipharm SA, and passed it to a friend who used the information to earn almost $2 million in profits, prosecutors said.

Only Thirteen Dow Components With Recent Insider Buying, CVX is One of Them (Forbes)
The officers and directors of a company tend to have a unique inside view into the business, so when these insiders make purchases, investors are wise to take notice. Presumably the only reason for a company insider to choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the open market, is that they expect to make money – maybe they find the stock very undervalued, or maybe they see exciting progress within the company, or maybe both. Within the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, only thirteen companies have experienced such buying over the trailing six month period, one of which was Chevron, where an investment totaling $502.1K was made by Director Debra L. Reed.

A Director at Central Pacific Financial (NYSE: CPF) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, a Director at Central Pacific Financial (CPF), John C. Dean, sold shares of CPF for $200.7K. In addition to John C. Dean, one other CPF executive reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Central Pacific Financial’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $64.05 million and quarterly net profit of $14.55 million.

Comscore +21.5% after Disclosing Round of Insider Buys (Seeking Alpha)
Comscore (NASDAQ:SCOR) has risen 21.5% in the wake of insider buys from its chairman as well as its newly named and recent CEOs. New chief executive Bill Livek bought more than $1M worth of shares in a series of purchases over the past week, according to an SEC filing. Including yesterday’s purchase of 56,454 shares (at an average price of $3.38), the moves bring Livek’s beneficial direct ownership to 735,829 shares.

Insider Trading: November 12, 2019 (BIV.com)
Insider Hugh Charles Wood, 10% owner. Company: Vecima Networks Inc. (TSX:VCM). Shares owned: 1,589,600. Trade date: October 31. Trade total: $1,880,000. Trade: Sale of 200,000 shares at a price of $9.40 per share. Insider Robert R. McEwen, 10% owner. Company: Great Bear Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:GBR). Shares owned: 2,685,346. Trade date: October 31, November 1. Trade total: $1,717,794. Trade: Sale of 244,700 shares at a price of $7.02 per share.