Hedge Fund and Insider Trading News: Paul Singer, Jeffrey Talpins, PointState Capital, Brevan Howard Asset Management, Sutter Rock Capital Corp (SSSS), Nordson Corporation (NDSN), and More

Hedge Fund PointState Stops Clients From Cashing Out in Full (Bloomberg)
PointState Capital, the macro hedge fund started by former traders for billionaire Stan Druckenmiller, is blocking investors who ask to pull their money out from getting their cash back in full. Clients who withdrew their investments at the end of last year will get 88% back in cash, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg. The remaining 12% will be distributed as shares in new vehicles created to hold assets with “somewhat limited liquidity” that could take time to sell. Redemptions on March 31 or later may be subject to similar terms, the letter states.

Paul Singer Doesn’t Need Your Help, But He’ll Take It (Deal Breaker)
Paul Singer has a knack for getting his way. Whether his reputation precedes him, or through force of personality or argument or fear, or stubbornness, or patience, or elections, or holographic armies, companies eventually come around to his way of thinking (or are replaced by those who do). Which is all to say if you want to be one of the few Elliott targets to escape unscathed, it’s best not to hand it any extra ammunition. This, apparently, did not occur to Capgemini CEO Paul Hermelin.

Jeff Talpins’ $18 billion Element Capital Raised Fees in 2019 and It Turned in a Worse Performance than the Previous Year – but Still Beat the Average Hedge Fund (Business Insider)
Macro manager Element Capital finished 2019 up 12%, a source familiar with the firm told Business Insider. Jeff Talpins‘ firm manages $18 billion and is raising performance fees to 40% this year, Bloomberg reported last summer. The firm also cut seven portfolio managers last year to refocus on the core macro strategy. The firm trailed the overall market this year, but finished above the average hedge fund.

Brevan Howard Shutters Hedge Fund With Manager on Sabbatical (Bloomberg)
Brevan Howard Asset Management liquidated an Asia macro hedge fund because its manager, Kaspar Ernst, is taking a sabbatical. The money pool, which Ernst ran for 15 years, managed $468 million at the end of November and was wound down at the end of last year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Brevan Howard is in the process of returning capital to investors this month, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

As Tom Steyer Qualifies for Debate After Jump in Polls, He Hopes It’s Not a ‘Flash in the Pan’ (EastBayTimes.com)
Former San Francisco hedge fund chief Tom Steyer qualified for this month’s Democratic debate just a day before the deadline after two surprising polls found him surging in South Carolina and Nevada Thursday night. Steyer – who’s spent more than $17 million to dominate the airwaves in both states – was at 15 percent among voters in South Carolina and 12 percent in Nevada in Fox News polls released Thursday. That put him in third place in Nevada, below former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders and tied with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and a shocking second place in South Carolina, behind Biden.

Under Highland Capital Bankruptcy Deal, Co-Founder Dondero Stays, Without Pay (The Wall Street Journal)
Highland Capital Management LP co-founder James Dondero avoided being ousted entirely from the bankrupt hedge-fund business and will remain as an unsalaried portfolio manager-as long as he produces. In the hours before a scheduled Thursday hearing, a committee of Highland creditors agreed to drop a requirement that he leave the fund manager altogether under a negotiated corporate governance overhaul.

Hedge Funds Industry Up 9.74 per cent in 2019 (Hedge Week)
The global hedge fund industry returned +1.75 per cent in December, bringing aggregate 2019 full-year returns to +9.74 per cent, according to eVestment’s December 2019 hedge fund performance data. 2019 marked the industry’s best aggregate returns since 2013, when the industry returned +12.58 per cent. For the year, Russia-, China- and Brazil-focused funds were performance leaders by a wide margin. Russia-focused funds returned +26.69 per cent for 2019, China-focused funds returned +23.15 per cent last year and Brazil-focused funds closed out 2019 at +21.68 per cent.

The EVP, CFO of Nordson (NASDAQ: NDSN) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the EVP, CFO of Nordson (NDSN), Gregory Thaxton, sold shares of NDSN for $495.9K. Following Gregory Thaxton’s last NDSN Sell transaction on September 24, 2019, the stock climbed by 22.0%. In addition to Gregory Thaxton, 4 other NDSN executives reported Sell trades in the last month.

Star Witness in Insider-Trading Case Describes Far-Reaching Scheme (The Wall Street Journal)
As Marc Demane Debih was flown out of Serbia last May, as a prisoner in U.S. custody, he told federal agents on the plane that an “unbelievable” number of people were committing insider trading. It was a “sport” overseas, Mr. Demane told the agents, according to investigative records described in court. Mr. Demane said he could name names. In at least 19 interviews with federal authorities, and hours of trial testimony in a Manhattan courtroom this week, Mr. Demane – now a cooperating witness for the government – did just that.

Friday 1/10 Insider Buying Report: SSSS, RMCF (Nasdaq.com)
As the saying goes, there are many possible reasons for an insider to sell a stock, but only one reason to buy – they expect to make money. So let’s look at two noteworthy recent insider buys. At Sutter Rock Capital Corp (SSSS), a filing with the SEC revealed that on Thursday, CEO and President Mark D. Klein purchased 18,508 shares of SSSS, at a cost of $6.75 each, for a total investment of $124,957. Klein was up about 2.7% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with SSSS trading as high as $6.93 at last check today. Sutter Rock Capital Corp is trading up about 0.7% on the day Friday.

The Chief Operating and of Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ: BLUE) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the Chief Operating and of Bluebird Bio (BLUE), Jason Cole, sold shares of BLUE for $176.1K. In addition to Jason Cole, 6 other BLUE executives reported Sell trades in the last month.