Billionaire Ray Dalio: ‘I Have Some Bitcoin’ (CNBC)
Though billionaire investor Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has previously expressed concern about the future of bitcoin, he has also noted that the cryptocurrency earned his respect. Now, he reveals, “I have some bitcoin,” Dalio told CoinDesk during its 2021 Consensus conference. The interview was recorded on May 6 and published Monday.
Elliott Takes Stake in Takeover Target UDG Healthcare (Bloomberg)
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a position in UDG Healthcare Plc, which has drawn shareholder criticism over the terms of its proposed takeover by buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice. The New York-based hedge fund, which is run by billionaire Paul Singer, disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday it owns a 3.1% stake in the company in derivatives and other options. It didn’t say in the filing what the nature of the investment was, or what changes it might be seeking.
In Taking on Toshiba, Secretive Hedge Fund Effissimo Ended Years of Silence (The Japan Times)
It was the rarest of public appearances. At Toshiba Corp.’s extraordinary general meeting in March, a lawyer, who didn’t give his name, talked for four minutes about why shareholders’ rights should never be infringed. He was speaking on behalf of Effissimo Capital Management Pte, a secretive hedge fund that had avoided the spotlight for almost 15 years. Now it was coming out into the open, if only slightly, to spearhead a campaign to bring change at the conglomerate — and, by extension, corporate Japan.
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Hedge Fund Alden’s Bid to Buy Tribune Publishing Newspaper Chain Approved by Shareholders (Chicago Tribune on MSN Money)
Tribune Publishing shareholders voted Friday to approve hedge fund Alden Global Capital’s $633 million purchase of the Chicago-based newspaper chain. The deal, which Tribune Publishing said is expected to close by Tuesday, will take the company private and add the Chicago Tribune and other major dailies to the Alden portfolio, making the New York-based hedge fund the second-largest newspaper owner in the U.S. behind Gannett.
$7.8 billion Schonfeld has Hired Former Citadel and Balyasny Macro Head Colin Lancaster and an 11-Person Team to Launch a New Division at the Hedge Fund (Business Insider)
Colin Lancaster is adding another big name to his resume. The former head of macro strategies at Citadel and Balyasny is starting a new macro investing division at Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, which was started by billionaire Steven Schonfeld. Lancaster and his team will be based across three different offices for Schonfeld in New York, Miami, and London, where Lancaster has spent the bulk of his career.
Coatue Leads $250 Million Funding for Solar Software Provider (Bloomberg)
Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management led a $250 million funding round for software provider Aurora Solar in a bet on surging rooftop-panel installations. The funding values Aurora, whose platform helps solar companies design and sell systems for homes and businesses, at about $2 billion, the San Francisco-based tech firm said. Other investors included Iconiq Capital, Energize Ventures and Fifth Wall, according to a statement.
As Bitcoin and Ether Wobble, Hedge Funds Pledge More Capital to Crypto (Hedge Week)
As cryptocurrencies continue to experience violent price shocks, new industry research shows crypto hedge funds’ assets under management have almost doubled to some USD3.8 billion, with traditional managers increasingly eyeing the sector after returns soared in 2020. The third annual ‘Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report 2021’, published jointly by PwC, Elwood Asset Management and the Alternative Investment Management Association, shows crypto hedge fund AUM boomed from USD2 billion in 2019 to USD3.8 billion last year.
Australian Private Capital Market Overview: A Preqin and Australian Investment Council Yearbook 2021 (Preqin)
The Australian private capital industry has grown to a record $77bn in total assets as of June 2020, up from $71bn at the end of 2019. Emerging from the depths of a very challenging year for the entire global economy, the Australian alternatives industry showed resilience amid the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic. Together with the Australian Investment Council, we look back at private capital in 2020 to pick apart the key attractions of a market working hard to carve a path toward long-term recovery and explore the ways industry stakeholders are adapting. We also examine the size, scale, and influence of Australian superannuation funds, which play a key role in accelerating the adoption of ESG criteria across every dimension of investment strategies.
Squarespace Inc (SQSP) CEO Anthony Casalena Sold $22 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
CEO of Squarespace Inc, Anthony Casalena, sold 430,102 shares of SQSP on 05/21/2021 at an average price of $51.07 a share. The total sale was $22 million.
Digital asset hedge Fund One River Files with SEC to Create a Carbon-Neutral Bitcoin ETF (TheBlockCrypto)
One River, the digital asset hedge fund backed by billionaire investor Alan Howard, has officially filed to create bitcoin exchange-traded fund that incorporates the purchase of carbon credits in an effort to make the product carbon-neutral. The firm’s plans for the One River Carbon Neutral Bitcoin Trust were made public in April when it partnered with carbon credit platform MOSS. Bloomberg reported on One River’s efforts earlier in April, with CEO Eric Peters telling the news outlet at the time that “There’s a lot of talk about the carbon footprint,” Peters said. “We decided it’s time to stop talking and start doing something about it.”
The Chief Legal Officer of Algonquin Power & Utilities (NYSE: AQN) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the Chief Legal Officer of Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN), Jennifer Sara Tindale, sold shares of AQN for $408.2K. Following Jennifer Sara Tindale’s last AQN Sell transaction on June 12, 2020, the stock climbed by 2.2%. Based on Algonquin Power & Utilities’ latest earnings report for the quarter ending March 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $635 million and quarterly net profit of $13.95 million.
Monday 5/24 Insider Buying Report: OPEN, T (Nasdaq.com)
On Wednesday, Opendoor Technologies’ Director, Pueo Keffer, made a $998,480 purchase of OPEN, buying 67,700 shares at a cost of $14.75 a piece. Keffer was up about 5.4% on the purchase at the high point of today’s trading session, with OPEN trading as high as $15.55 in trading on Monday. Opendoor Technologies is trading off about 0.3% on the day Monday. This buy marks the first one filed by Keffer in the past twelve months. And at AT&T, there was insider buying on Wednesday, by CEO & President John T. Stankey who purchased 34,614 shares at a cost of $28.81 each, for a total investment of $997,227. AT&T is trading off about 0.4% on the day Monday. Stankey was up about 4.7% on the buy at the high point of today’s trading session, with T trading as high as $30.16 in trading on Monday.
Kodak Stock – New York’s Attorney General to Sue Kodak for Insider Trading (FinTechZoom.com)
The attorney general’s office of New York is preparing an insider-trading lawsuit against Eastman Kodak and its top executive which focuses on stock purchases that occurred before a deal with the Trump administration to finance a pharmaceutical venture during the Coronavirus pandemic. As reported by Reuters, the case focuses on Executive Chairman Jim Continenza’s purchase of approximately 47,000 Kodak shares on June 23, 2020 which occurred just weeks before the Trump administration unveiled a tentative agreement to lend the company $765 million to jump-start the production of pharmaceutical components needed to help fight the global coronavirus pandemic.
