Miller: No ‘extraordinary value’ left in US markets (InvestmentWeek)
Legg Mason’s Bill Miller is struggling to find the ‘extraordinary’ value in the US he did last year, and said equity markets could rise even higher in 2014. A number of stocks Miller added to his Opportunity fund last year have tripled or quadrupled in value, but he does not expect to see opportunities for these kinds of returns moving in to 2014. “A year ago, you could have bought Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) at $60, and we did, and now it is up at $300. You cannot do that anymore,” he said. “Overall, the market is approaching fair value for the first time in five years. It is unusual for markets to remain fair value for a long time, they usually either drop to undervaluation or become overvalued.”
Malta is ‘most favoured European domicile’ in hedge fund awards (MaltaToday)
For the first time, Malta has won the coveted award of Europe’s favoured domicile in the Hedge Fund Service Provider rankings 2013, a significant change to the old guard in this category. The choice of most favoured domicile was selected as the biggest change over 2012 results by Hedge Funds Review, the leading publication for the alternative investment industry. Malta rose from third position in 2012 to first place this year. Voting in the survey was conducted online between August 27 and October 14. Eligible to vote were individuals from single-manager hedge funds or FoHF organisations and investors, such as family offices, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and asset allocators, underlining Malta’s popularity with a broad range of hedge fund formats and professionals.
New hedge fund managers can score big gains, or losses: survey (Reuters)
Wealthy investors may get more bang for their buck if they invest with brand new hedge fund managers, but they must also have a strong stomach to tolerate potential losses, a study released on Wednesday shows. Data from research firm Preqin shows that the average new hedge fund manager who set up a firm within the last six years delivered average annualized returns of 8.80 percent in the first three years of trading. That compares with a gain of 5.38 percent for the new funds launched by established firms.
Traders assure bitcoin boosts ‘the best performing hedge-fund in history’ (VoiceOfRussia)
Today, Japanese Mt. Gox, the highest profile cryptocurrency exchange, the once-obscure online money, traded at $1,020—and the rate is still climbing. One bitcoin is worth over a thousand dollars. And at least one financial institution – crypto-hedge fund, Exante Ltd, claims it’s gotten filthy rich due to its rise. The rapid rise in bitcoin’s value has been abetted by a fast-growing number of vendors who accept this cryptocurrency—its days as illegal drug money are over. Bitcoin may be used to pay for college or sandwiches or reserve a seat on a spaceship.
Once giant FX Concepts’ assets now just $2 million: court filings (BRecorder)
FX Concepts, once the largest currency hedge fund in the world, has less than $2 million in assets now and $79 million in liabilities, according to the latest court filings on Monday. The fund filed for bankruptcy protection more than a month ago as its assets dwindled due to market losses and redemptions from major clients. At its peak in 2007, the $14 billion that FX Concepts had in assets under management made it the largest currency hedge fund in the world. The latest court filings showed FX Concepts has $1.62 million in assets and about $79.2 million in liabilities. The biggest part of those assets is a $1.61 million loan note from FX Concepts Chairman and Chief Investment Officer John Taylor.
US hedge fund sold stake in Britain’s Co-op Bank after Paul Flowers scandal (VCPost)
Aurelius Capital Management, the biggest hedge fund investor in the Co-op Bank, offloaded almost all of its stake in the London bank to hedge fund firm Perry Capital. The stake sale was made last week, just days after the scandal about the bank’s former chairman Reverend Paul Flowers erupted. This was according to a report published by This Is Money. The sale was thought to be executed because of economic reasons. Co-op bond prices have increased since a GBP1.5 billion funding black hole was revealed this month, the report said. A rescue package for the funding black hole will be voted on by bond holders. If approved, the investment will be converted to bank shares when it is floated on the stock market in 2014…
A Hedge Fund is Buying Shares in These 2 Biotech Stocks (WallstCheatSheet)
One of the best ways that investors can try to decide which stocks will make for a good investment is to look at what the pros are doing. This can be done by examining a few official filings such as 13F, 13D, and 13G reports. 13F filings are done quarterly and show which positions hedge funds have taken. Reports of 13D and 13G are done more often but only when a fund has taken a position of at least 5 percent. One of the best performing biotech groups over the past few years has undoubtedly been Baker Brother Advisors. The Baker Brothers are well known for their early investments in ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD), Pharmacyclics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCYC), and Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN).
Hedge fund ‘VIP’ list (CNBC)
Bankruptcy Trustee Says Fletcher Investments Inflated Through Fraud (WSJ)
In a prospectus to investors, hedge-fund manager Alphonse Fletcher Jr. said he planned to achieve returns by doing deals “immediately, quantifiably worth more to the buyer than the seller.” But a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee said in a report this week that the values Mr. Fletcher placed on investments were inflated through fraud, and that his firm’s funds were likely insolvent as far back as December 2008. In the report, the trustee, Richard J. Davis, said that a network of related Fletcher hedge funds had not made a profitable investment after August 2007.
International Investor Touts Agriculture (AGWeb)
“If farmers aren’t rich yet, they will be,” predicts investor and business author Jim Rogers. “The stockbrokers are going to be the ones driving taxis in the future, and the farmers are going to be the ones driving Lamborghinis.” Individuals who can retire before they reach 40 are as rare as Olympic athletes. Jim Rogers, who was raised in Alabama and now lives in Singapore, is one of those rare individuals. As co-founder of the Quantum Fund, a global investment partnership, his career was highlighted by strong portfolio gains and smart investments.
Hedge funds play buy-and-hold, and lose (CNBC)
Hedge fund managers are riding their stock picks as long as possible, but overall returns continue to lag the market, according to a new report from Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS). The bank’s 783 hedge fund clients turned over—sold a position before holding it for a year—just 28 percent of their portfolios, according to the report. The 12-year turnover average is 35 percent. The turnover of funds’ largest holdings also fell to an all-time low of 15 percent. And the average fund holds 63 percent of long assets in just 10 top positions, In other words, top hedge fund managers believe their best ideas will continue to gain as the bull market hits new highs.
Investor activists undermine credibility with ‘greenmail’ (TheGlobeAndMail)
Activist investors assert that their cage-rattling of corporations benefits all shareholders, not just themselves. There’s some truth to this. It’s a reason they’ve been able to exert pressure on ever larger companies with relatively small investments. But selectively taking the money and running dilutes their argument. …Some of the more successful activists are able to bring along large swaths of a company’s owners to their causes. Bluster aside, an uppity fund manager like Carl Icahn or Dan Loeb can galvanize a decent minority of shareholders with stakes of as little as a few percentage points. That has allowed them to take on larger targets than just a few years ago, such as Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) or Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
Nouriel Roubini Just Identified A Ton Of Housing Markets That Look Like Bubbles To Him (BusinessInsider)
Economist Nouriel Roubini is sounding a big warning about global housing bubbles. In a new piece for Project Syndicate, he identifies at least 17: Now, five years later, signs of frothiness, if not outright bubbles, are reappearing in housing markets in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and, back for an encore, the UK (well, London). In emerging markets, bubbles are appearing in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Israel, and in major urban centres in Turkey, India, Indonesia, and Brazil.
Dell Appraisals Demanded by T. Rowe to Magnetar Capital (Bloomberg)
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) and more than 100 other Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shareholders who control a combined 47.5 million shares spurned the company’s buyout offer to seek a potentially higher payout through the Delaware court system. T. Rowe intends to pursue appraisal rights on about 30 million shares held in mutual funds and client accounts overseen by the Baltimore-based firm, according to a Nov. 25 legal filing by Dell. Other shareholders who said they plan to request an independent valuation by the Delaware Chancery Court include Magnetar Capital LLC, an Evanston, Illinois-based hedge-fund firm run by Alec Litowitz; the New York State Common Retirement Fund; and New York-based Loeb King Capital Management.
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