Backstabbing, Patronage And Squabbles in French Billionaire Class (Bloomberg)
Arnaud Lagardere is learning the hard way that marriages of convenience in the business world can work for you, and against you. The hedge fund Amber Capital U.K. LLP has for two years been targeting the eponymous Lagardere SCA – a media and retail company founded by Arnaud’s late father, which is now run by the son – for sweeping governance changes. To fend off the activist attack, Lagardere turned to the French establishment for support earlier this year.
Warren Buffett’s Favorite Market Indicator Soars to Record High, Signaling Stocks are Overvalued and a Crash May be Coming (Business Insider)
Warren Buffett’s favorite market indicator surged to a record high on Wednesday, signaling stocks are overvalued and a crash could be around the corner. The so-called Buffett indicator is used to gauge whether the stock market is overvalued or undervalued relative to the size of the economy. It’s calculated by dividing the combined market capitalizations of a country’s publicly traded stocks by its quarterly gross domestic product, and expressed in percentage terms. The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index was valued at about $35.5 trillion as of Wednesday’s close, while the latest official estimate for second-quarter US GDP is $19.4 trillion.
J4 Capital Reinvents AI-Backed Investing (Opalesque.com)
A new fund is using so-called “superintelligence” to make trading decisions. J4 Capital launched in January, running a unique fund backed by a self-programming computer. J4 is led by Jeff Glickman and Steven Jacobs. Glickman holds foundational patents for machine learning developed in the late 1990s and is the developer of the only known artificial superintelligence (ASI). He previously worked with the Department of Defense, where he worked on artificial intelligence. Steven Jacobs is the youngest MBA in US history, getting his degree at age 19 from Chicago Booth and going on to a lengthy career in securities trading and software development. J4 grew out of the team’s desire to test the limits of artificial intelligence and investing.
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Citadel Hires Ex-Glencore Trader to Head Asia Commodities Trading Team (Reuters)
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Citadel, one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, said on Thursday it had hired a former Glencore energy derivatives trader to head its first commodities trading team in Asia. Daniel Liu will join Citadel’s commodities business in November as a portfolio manager, initially focused on oil and refined products, a company spokesman said.
Neiman Marcus Asks Judge to Stop Marble Ridge From Disbanding (Bloomberg)
Neiman Marcus Group Inc. asked a judge to prevent hedge fund Marble Ridge Capital from disbanding until the firm guarantees it can pay as much as $55 million in potential damages related to the actions of its founder. The retailer requested a temporary restraining order against the firm and is seeking punitive damages after Marble Ridge’s founder Dan Kamensky was accused of trying to manipulate the bidding process in its bankruptcy case.
Time to Share the Upside (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – In early 2016, Swedish asset manager Atlant Fonder launched three new hedge funds charging investors zero performance fees. After meeting their risk-return expectations over the subsequent years, Atlant Fonder has now introduced a performance-based fee of ten percent on returns exceeding the 90-day Swedish treasury bills. Atlant Fonder has also decided to merge two hedge funds employing similar investment strategies. In January 2016, Atlant Fonder launched Atlant Opportunity, Atlant Protect and Atlant Multi-Strategy.
Emerging Markets Hedge Funds Surge as Equities Gain Through Global Pandemic (Reuters)
Emerging Markets and Asian hedge funds surged in Q2 2020, recovering from steep losses experienced in late 1Q, with many indices posting gains for YTD 2020 through July. The HFRI China Index gained 6.8 per cent in July, which followed a 14.5 per cent gain in Q2, the best quarterly performance since Q1 2019, to bring YTD performance to +13.1 per cent, as reported in the HFR Asian Hedge Fund Industry Report and the HFR Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Industry Report. Hedge fund capital invested in Emerging Markets also surged concurrent with the record performance gains, ending Q2 at USD244.4 billion (CNY1.55 trillion, BRL1.24 trillion, INR16.6 trillion, RUB16.9 trillion, SAR842 billion), an increase of nearly USD13 billion from the prior quarter. Hedge fund capital invested in Asian markets also increased to USD115.5 billion (CNY798 billion, INR8.57 trillion, JPY12.28 trillion, KRW1.09 trillion).
Entity Tied to Billionaire Ken Griffin Snaps Up Miami Lots for $37 Million (Barron’s)
The pandemic has done little to slow down billionaire hedge funder – and avid trophy-home collector – Ken Griffin. An entity tied to Mr. Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel Securities has snapped up two vacant lots on Star Island – a tiny floating enclave off of Miami Beach studded with celebrities and financial titans – for $37 million, according to documents filed Monday with Miami-Dade County. That’s chump change compared to the $238 million pied-a-terre Mr. Griffin, 51, acquired last year on New York City’s Billionaires’ Row. And the oceanfront spread is a drop in the bucket relative to his global property portfolio, which ranges from a sprawling assemblage in nearby Palm Beach, Florida, to a historic London mansion he bought last year for the equivalent of $122 million. An email sent to Mr. Griffin’s hedge fund was not immediately returned.
Q2 2020 Hedge Fund Asset Flows (Preqin.com)
Hedge fund assets under management have risen in the past quarter. In Q1 2020 industry AUM dipped below $3.5tn for the first time since Q4 2018; fast-forward three months and a recovery in performance in Q2 (+11.48%) has offset Q1’s net outflows, returning AUM above this threshold to stand at $3.58tn. In this factsheet, we present hedge fund asset flow data for Q2 2020, including breakdowns by strategy, region, past performance, and fund size.
Nicolai Tangen Pays a Big Price for His New Gig (Economist.com)
The biggest crisis in the 24-year history of the world’s biggest sovereign-wealth fund was defused at the very last minute. On August 24th Norges Bank Investment Management (nbim) announced that Nicolai Tangen, its incoming boss, would liquidate his entire stake in ako Capital, the $20bn hedge fund he founded. He will transfer it to ako Foundation, a charity he set up in 2013. He will also sell his personal investments and park the proceeds in a bank account. Although Mr Tangen had previously ruled out selling up, he gave in to mounting political pressure in order to begin what he has called his “dream job” on September 1st.
An Insider at Diodes (NASDAQ: DIOD) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, an Insider at Diodes (DIOD), Raymond Soong, sold shares of DIOD for $1.85M. In addition to Raymond Soong, 4 other DIOD executives reported Sell trades in the last month. The company has a one-year high of $59.70 and a one-year low of $31.51. DIOD’s market cap is $2.63 billion and the company has a P/E ratio of 20.50. Currently, Diodes has an average volume of 201.29K.
Thursday 8/27 Insider Buying Report: FTK (Nasdaq.com)
On Monday, Flotek Industries’ Director, David Nierenberg, made a $1.38M buy of FTK, purchasing 690,147 shares at a cost of $2.00 a piece. So far Nierenberg is in the green, up about 17.7% on their buy based on today’s trading high of $2.35. Flotek Industries is trading up about 1.8% on the day Thursday. Before this latest buy, Nierenberg bought FTK on 2 other occasions during the past twelve months, for a total cost of $926,748 at an average of $2.43 per share.
Salesforce.com Inc (CRM) Chair of the Board & CEO Marc Benioff Sold $3.6 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chair of the Board & CEO of Salesforce.com Inc., Marc Benioff, sold 13,402 shares of CRM on 08/26/2020 at an average price of $268.1 a share. The total sale was $3.6 million. Salesforce.com Inc is a software-as-a-service company that provides enterprise cloud computing solutions, offering social and mobile cloud apps and platform services, as well as professional services to facilitate the adoption of its solutions. Salesforce.com Inc has a market cap of $245.36 billion; its shares were traded at around $272.32 with a P/E ratio of 106.38 and P/S ratio of 12.75. Salesforce.com Inc had annual average EBITDA growth of 29.10% over the past ten years. GuruFocus has detected 1 severe warning sign with Salesforce.com Inc.
Voting Groups Get $38 million Boost from Donor Funds Backed by Wealthy Democrats (CNBC)
A new group of donor funds backed by Wall Street executive Mike Novogratz and his allies has raised $38 million from prominent Democratic donors to support organizations that aim to get out the vote this fall. The group, One for Democracy, has multiple funds. Donors are encouraged to pledge 1% of their net worth or total assets toward the organization, which then sends those contributions to nonprofits across the country.
The VP Finance & HR of XBiotech (NASDAQ: XBIT) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the VP Finance & HR of XBiotech (XBIT), Queena Han, sold shares of XBIT for $1.02M. Over the last month, Queena Han has reported another 3 Sell trades on XBIT for a total of $380.8K. Following Queena Han’s last XBIT Sell transaction on August 21, 2020, the stock climbed by 0.6%. Based on XBiotech’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending March 31, the company posted quarterly revenue of $12.68 million and GAAP net loss of -$14,000. In comparison, last year the company earned revenue of $0 and had a GAAP net loss of $5.85 million.
