SkyBridge Goes All in on Crypto, Betting on ‘Tremendous Growth’ Ahead (Coin Telegraph)
“For us, we think the cryptocurrency markets represent tremendous growth,” said SkyBridge founder Anthony Scarramucci. SkyBridge Capital is working on pivoting the majority of its assets under management (AUM) to digital assets, as the sector represents “tremendous growth” for the firm. The hedge fund was founded by former United States politician Anthony Scaramucci in 2005 and first delved into Bitcoin (BTC) in late 2020. The firm also has money deployed in other hedge funds, late-stage private tech companies and real estate, with its total AUM reported being around $7.3 billion.
Warren Buffett to Host Final Charity Lunch for San Francisco Nonprofit (Reuters)
April 25 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett plans to hold his 21st, and final, charity lunch to raise money for Glide, a San Francisco nonprofit that serves the poor, homeless, and people battling substance abuse. Glide said on Monday that the auction begins on June 12 on eBay and will conclude on June 17. The winner and as many as seven guests will dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan.
Melvin Capital Management Scraps Plan to Start Charging Performance Fees Again (The Wall Street Journal)
Gabe Plotkin scrapped a plan to start charging performance fees again at his beleaguered hedge fund, Melvin Capital Management, after encountering backlash from investors. Mr. Plotkin on Thursday told clients he planned to shrink the size of Melvin’s hedge fund by several billion, to $5 billion, and resume charging performance fees even though his investors are still sitting on steep losses. Those who had been invested at the start of 2021 have lost 51.8% through March, after a big hit Melvin suffered in January of last year due to the meme-stock rally.
Anomaly Capital Management Is Once Again Accepting New Capital (Institutional Investor)
Ex-Viking CIO Ben Jacobs has been on a roll since early 2021. A Tiger Grandcub who recently enjoyed a successful hedge fund launch is opening his fund up to new capital. Anomaly Capital Management, headed by Ben Jacobs, the former co-CIO of Viking Global Investors, is once again accepting capital from existing and new investors.
Hedge Fund Verition Moves Its New York Office in a Major Expansion (Bloomberg)
Verition Fund Management has moved to new Manhattan offices in a major expansion for the fast-growing hedge fund. The firm relocated to 245 Park Ave., where it has 38,000 square feet (3,530 square meters) on the 35th floor, according to people familiar with the matter. That’s more than four times its old space at nearby 230 Park Ave., where it occupied 8,500 square feet.
Case Acquires Celina’s Funds (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Asset manager Case Group has acquired Celina Fondförvaltning’s fund operations for SEK 365 million. The publicly listed asset manager is bringing under its umbrella Celina’s seven active funds – including three members of the Nordic Hedge Index – and three fund management agreements that oversee a combined SEK 14.1 billion in assets under management. The purchase price of SEK 365 million consists of a cash portion of SEK 100 million obtained from own capital and bank loans, and a convertible loan of SEK 265 million with a maturity date of December 31, 2026.
Preqin Territory Guide: Greater China 2022 (Preqin)
Despite 2021’s regulatory changes, Greater China’s private equity & venture capital (PEVC) industry continues to expand and present opportunities. PEVC assets under management (AUM) grew by 25% year-on-year to $1.78tn in 2021. PEVC fundraising also remains buoyant despite a lower number of funds, with more capital raised by USD-denominated funds compared to RMB-denominated funds in 2021. Venture capital continues to expand, with AUM at $675bn as of June 2021, an increase of 34% since December 2020. Deals also rose, achieving an aggregate value of $133bn – 48% more than the previous year and more than double that of 2019.
Hedge Fund Premium Point Co-Founder and Former Trader Plead Guilty to Fraud (Hedge Week)
Anilesh Ahuja, the co-founder of hedge fund Premium Point Investments and a former trader Jeremy Shor at the firm have pleaded guilty to fraud while working at the the now-defunct business, according to a report by Bloomberg. Neither will serve time in prison though, despite admitting that they overstated the fund’s asset values by more than $100 million and having been sentenced to a jail term in 2019.
Hedge Fund Cuts China Stocks to Zero in Year Worse Than 2008 (Bloomberg)
As China’s markets gyrate following Covid outbreaks and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the nation’s best-performing macro hedge funds is bracing for more pain. Shanghai Banxia Investment Management Center, which topped local rankings in 2020, has cut its stock exposure to zero in anticipation of a worsening economy and further declines in equities, founder Li Bei said. The fund, which manages more than 5 billion yuan ($785 million), has also closed almost all short positions in commodities after rising prices led to losses.
Monday 4/25 Insider Buying Report: CBL, EYEN (Nasdaq.com)
At CBL & Associates Properties, a filing with the SEC revealed that on Wednesday, Director Jonathan M. Heller bought 100,000 shares of CBL, for a cost of $32.25 each, for a total investment of $3.23M. Investors can bag CBL at a price even lower than Heller did, with shares changing hands as low as $28.49 in trading on Monday — that’s 11.7% under Heller’s purchase price. CBL & Associates Properties is trading off about 2.1% on the day Monday. And at Eyenovia, there was insider buying on Friday, by Stuart M. Grant who purchased 58,800 shares at a cost of $2.58 each, for a total investment of $151,492. Before this latest buy, Grant bought EYEN at 8 other times during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $1.85M at an average of $3.61 per share. Eyenovia is trading up about 1.2% on the day Monday.
Executives Sell Around $165M Of 5 Stocks (Benzinga)
Target: The Trade: Target Corporation (TGT) Executive Officer Melissa Kremer sold a total of 8,602 shares at an average price of $250.00. The insider received around $2.15 million from selling those shares. Par Pacific: The Trade: Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (PARR) 10% owner Zell Credit Opportunities Master Fund Lp sold a total of 783,609 shares at an average price of $15.59. The insider received around $12.21 million from selling those shares.
Insider Trading: April 25, 2022 (BIV)
Insider Larry Taddei, officer. Company: MAG Silver Corp. (TSX:MAG). Shares owned: 46,501. Trade date: April 8. Trade total: $399,370. Trade: Sale of 18,800 shares at a price of $21.15 to $21.50 per share. Insider Oleksandr Shulga, officer. Company: Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX:LAC). Shares owned: 0. Trade date: April 7. Trade total: $342,563. Trade: Sale of 7,875 shares at a price of $43.50 per share.
Former Domino’s Pizza Accountant to Pay Nearly $2 Million Penalty for Insider Trading (HedgeCo.net)
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a final judgment requiring a Michigan-based former accountant at Domino’s Pizza Inc. to pay a penalty of nearly $2 million for insider trading in the company’s stock. The SEC’s complaint, filed April 13, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleged that Bernard L. Compton used confidential financial data he obtained through his role as an accountant at the corporate office of Domino’s to trade ahead of 12 of the company’s earnings announcements between 2015 and 2020. The SEC further alleged that Compton spread these trades across seven different brokerage accounts belonging to himself and various members of his family, which led to illicit profits of more than $960,000.
