Activist Investor Starboard Seeks Changes at Dollar Tree (The Wall Street Journal)
Activist investor Starboard Value LP has taken a stake in Dollar Tree Inc. and is pushing the retailer to sell its Family Dollar business and tweak its pricing model. The New York hedge fund has a 1.7% stake in Dollar Tree worth roughly $370 million and is also seeking majority control of the company’s 12-person board, it said in a letter Monday.
The World’s Largest Hedge Fund Posted a 15% Gain Last Year After Calling Global Economic Slowdown (CNBC)
Bridgewater Associate, the world’s largest hedge fund, posted returns for 2018 that not only outperformed benchmark indexes for various asset classes, but also many of its peers. The firm’s flagship Pure Alpha fund finished the year returning 14.6 percent net of fees, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The average hedge fund lost 2 percent in the year through November, according to Hedge Fund Research. Full-year numbers from HFR are expected this week.
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Elliott Management Proposes Buying Oil-and-Gas Producer QEP Resources (The Wall Street Journal)
Elliott Management Corp. has proposed to buy QEP Resources Inc., as the activist investor said QEP’s turnaround efforts haven’t done enough to lift the oil-and-gas company’s share price. Elliott on Monday proposed to pay $8.75 for each outstanding share in Colorado-based QEP, a 44% premium over QEP’s Friday closing price. Elliott’s offer values QEP at roughly $2.07 billion.
Quant Hedge Funds Like Renaissance Scored Big Returns in 2018 While Most of the Industry Struggled (CNBC)
Large and Diversified: For the most part, many of the established names with billions of dollars in assets were the stellar performers of 2018. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund, posted gains in its flagship Pure Alpha strategy of 14.6 percent net of fees. Citadel founder Ken Griffin’s Wellington Fund is expected to be up more than 9 percent in the year, while its global equities fund generated returns of nearly 6 percent, estimated returns show. D.E. Shaw produced similar returns for its Composite Fund, returning 11.2 percent in the year. Renaissance Technologies’ RIDGE Fund gained upward of 10 percent on the year, while its equities fund jumped 8.5 percent. All of these funds utilize some sort of algorithmic trading, although some employ it more than others.
York Capital Raises $150 Million So Far for New Energy Fund (The Wall Street Journal)
York Capital Management has raised about $150 million so far for a new fund that will look to capitalize on distress in the energy sector. The New York investment firm in December held a first closing of York Tactical Energy Fund LP and is now in a position to begin investing the capital, according to a person familiar with the matter. The fund’s target couldn’t be known as of press time.
Brevan Howard Hedge Fund Rebounds With Best Run Since Crisis (Bloomberg)
Brevan Howard Asset Management’s main hedge fund posted its best year since the end of the global financial crisis as the investment firm led by billionaire Alan Howard joined a number of macro managers in profiting from volatile markets. The $2.7 billion Brevan Howard Master Fund gained 0.3 percent in December, bringing the return for the year to 12.3 percent, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg News.
