ExodusPoint Hedge Fund Reopening to Raise Over $2 Billion (Bloomberg)
ExodusPoint Capital Management, which launched last year with a record $8 billion in assets, is setting out to collect billions more. The hedge fund, co-founded by Michael Gelband and Hyung Lee, aims to gather more than $2 billion starting in the second quarter of 2020, according to people familiar with the matter.
Fortress Plays Long Game in Bidding War for Unizo, Lifts Offer Just a Bit (Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) – Fortress Investment Group on Friday raised its bid for Japan’s Unizo Holdings (3258.T) by just 2.5%, still far below an offer from rival suitor Blackstone Group (BX.N) but keeping its hand in what could become a long fight for the hotel operator. Unizo had at one stage turned to SoftBank Group-owned (9984.T) Fortress for help in fending off an offer from domestic travel firm H.I.S. Co Ltd (9603.T). But the hotel operator is currently spurning all approaches, asking for control in how any potential owner would exit its investment.
Ray Dalio Says ‘Capital Wars’ will be the Next Front in the US-China Economic Conflict (CNBC)
The economic fight between the U.S. and China that has roiled financial markets over the last two years could next blossom into a full-blown war for investing capital and ultimately, for the prestige of the globe’s reserve currency, hedge fund magnate Ray Dalio said Thursday. The power struggle between the world’s two largest economies – in the form of a tit-for-tat trade war at present – may soon mushroom into a melee over the dollar’s longheld place as world’s preferred form of exchange, the Bridgewater Associates founder said.
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Hedge Funds Are Dying, Vol. 873,921: ‘Twas The P.E. Firms With Their SRI Products In The Institutional Allocations Room (Deal Breaker)
Leon Cooperman is in a bad mood these days. “I know,” you might thinking or screaming aloud at your screen right now. “You goddamn people are keeping me up-to-the-minute on Coop’s meltdowns vis-à-vis Elizabeth Warren. Do not patronize me with such an obvious statement.” Alas, dear reader, there is more to Cooperman’s unusual grumpiness than the ascent of the senior senator from Massachusetts. There’s also the ascent of private equity, which he’d like to remind you is pure bullshit, over his former industry, that of the hedge fund.
From Warren Buffett to Chase Coleman: The Biggest Bets of the Third Quarter (Bloomberg)
In a tumultuous third quarter, stirred by an escalating U.S. trade war with China, hedge funds made Alibaba Group Holding, the largest Chinese company traded in New York, a top buy. Managers also placed bets on the broader market, spending big on a fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For the second straight quarter, Uber Technologies was among the most favored stocks, while Disney and Microsoft shares saw heavy selling. Tiger Global Management was the biggest hedge fund buyer of Alibaba in the quarter. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is considering forcing a delisting of Chinese companies from U.S. exchanges, a move that could put Alibaba stock holdings into disarray.
Concentrate. Focus. Engage. (Hedge Nordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Accendo Capital’s activist approach to investing reflects a mix of diplomacy, entrepreneurial authority, and sometimes even aggressiveness in the pursuit of creating value for shareholders and investors. “We are an activist fund maintaining a focused portfolio with our absolute best ideas,” explains Henri Österlund, who manages the fund alongside Mark H. Shay and Kai Tavakka. How many ideas make the portfolio? Currently six. Sometimes less, sometimes more, but no more than ten at any given point.
A Fund manager Who’s Crushing Nearly all of his Peers Breaks Down his Unique Strategy for Continuing to Outperform During a Market Crash (Business Insider)
Sectors of the market including utilities and telecommunications are widely considered the default places to seek refuge in times of market turmoil. These defensive sectors provide some cushion during sell-offs. But investors who overweight them tend to lose out in the long term, according to Joshua Bennett, a portfolio manager of Alger subsidiary Weatherbie Capital. He told Business Insider how his alternative approach proved to be superior during the financial crisis, and explained how it continues to outperform today.
Hedge Funds Bought Netflix, Facebook in Rough Third Quarter (Bloomberg)
U.S. hedge funds bought shares of Facebook Inc. and Netflix Inc. despite steep declines in the technology darlings during a volatile third quarter. Chase Coleman and David Tepper were among the money managers who increased their Facebook holdings during the three-month stretch that saw the social-media giant fall nearly 8%. Netflix was favored by firms including Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital Ltd. and Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners despite a 27% drop in the three months ending Sept. 30.
Minimum Investment in Hedge Funds to Be Raised to 300 Mil. Won (BusinessKorea.co.kr)
Individual investors’ minimum investment in hedge funds will be raised from the current 100 million won to 300 million won. Eun Sung-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, announced on Nov. 14 a set of measures designed to protect investors in high-risk financial products. The FSC’s move was prompted by the recent derivatives linked securities (DLF) scandal. “General investors currently need at least 100 million won to invest in a hedge fund, but the amount will be raised to 300 million won,” Eun said. In 2015, the government lowered the minimum investment from 500 million won to 100 million to promote private equity funds. But it decided to raise the amount in four years as problems arose.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Adds 2 Stocks To Portfolio In 3rd Quarter (Forbes)
Warren Buffett’s $486 billion conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B), disclosed its equity portfolio for the third quarter on Thursday, listing new positions in Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY), which had been previously announced, and furniture retailer RH (NYSE:RH). Despite having a record $128 billion to spend on stocks, neither the renowned value guru nor either of his portfolio managers, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs, added to any of the company’s other positions during the quarter.
The Scotts Miracle Gro Co (SMG) President and COO Michael C Lukemire Sold $1 million of Shares (Guru Focus)
President and COO of The Scotts Miracle Gro Co., Michael C Lukemire, sold 9,788 shares of SMG on 11/13/2019 at an average price of $106.26 a share. The total sale was $1 million. The Scotts Miracle Gro Co is operative in the agricultural industry. It manufactures and sells dry, granular slow-release lawn fertilizers, combination lawn fertilizer and control products.
The VP & CFO of Encore Wire (NASDAQ: WIRE) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the VP & CFO of Encore Wire (WIRE), Frank Bilban, sold shares of WIRE for $592.4K. Following Frank Bilban’s last WIRE Sell transaction on October 01, 2018, the stock climbed by 9.4%. The company has a one-year high of $62.08 and a one-year low of $45.05. Currently, Encore Wire has an average volume of 84.74K. WIRE’s market cap is $1.23B and the company has a P/E ratio of 16.91.
DOJ Drops Insider Trading Charges After Guilty Plea Found Insufficient (NatLawReview.com)
Last week, the Southern District of New York dropped its prosecution of Richard Lee, a former portfolio manager at SAC Capital who, in 2013, entered a guilty plea to trading on material nonpublic information that he gained from corporate insiders. The court recently ruled that Mr. Lee’s guilty plea must be vacated to conform with the ruling in United States v. Newman, 773 F.3d 438, 450-51 (2d Cir. 2014), abrogated on other grounds by Salman v. United States, 137 S. Ct. 420 (2016). Newman held that a tippee who traded on material nonpublic information must have knowledge that the insider acted for personal benefit in disclosing the information.
180 Degree Capital Corp (TURN) Chairman and CEO Kevin Rendino Bought $108,000 of Shares (Guru Focus)
Chairman and CEO of 180 Degree Capital Corp., Kevin Rendino, bought 50,000 shares of TURN on 11/14/2019 at an average price of $2.16 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $108,000. 180 Degree Capital Corp is a non-diversified management investment company operating as a business development company. It invests in companies commercializing and integrating products enabled by disruptive technologies in the life sciences.
The EVP, GC, Corp Secretary & CCO of Air Lease (NYSE: AL) is Selling Shares (Analyst Ratings)
Yesterday, the EVP, GC, Corp Secretary & CCO of Air Lease (AL), Carol Hyland Forsyte, sold shares of AL for $487.8K. In addition to Carol Hyland Forsyte, 2 other AL executives reported Sell trades in the last month. Based on Air Lease’s latest earnings report for the quarter ending September 30, the company posted quarterly revenue of $531 million and quarterly net profit of $156 million.
