Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HBC), State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT), Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)
Carl Icahn Tweeting About Apple Again (WSJ)
A week after the activist investor sent the stock leaping on a tweet that he had taken a “large” position in the stock, Mr. Icahn posted that he’d had a followup conversation with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s CEO Tim Cook. The two sides both said last week’s talk was amicable and the tweet shows the CEO isn’t brushing aside Mr. Icahn. Mr. Icahn told WSJ last week that he believed Apple should issue debut to fund a stock tender buyback at a price around $525, a move that he believed could send shares to $625. While Apple has announced plans to return $100 billion to investors through 2015, Mr. Icahn seemed unimpressed with the speed of that plan given the company’s cash pile of more than $140 billion.
Lampert’s Sears marching backward (NYPost)
Eddie Lampert has been taking Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) farther down the drain since he became CEO. The hedge-fund billionaire has failed to reverse a “dangerous downward spiral” at Sears since he became its top exec in February, an analyst said yesterday after the retailer reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) had a second-quarter loss of $194 million, steeper than the year-ago loss of $132 million and far wider than analysts had expected. Investors ran for the exits on the news, pushing Sears’ stock down 8.2 percent to $39.72.
Wells Fargo Eyes 20% Annual Growth in Asia Fund-Services Clients (Bloomberg)
Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), the world’s most valuable bank, plans to expand the number of fund services clients in Asia by as much as 20 percent a year, the division’s global Chief Executive Officer Christopher Kundro said. The administrator of $30 billion of assets globally has 20 clients receiving its fund services in the region, New York-based Kundro said in a telephone interview. The majority of them are single-manager hedge funds, in addition to traditional, private-equity and hybrid funds, he said. Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is trying to gain business in a region whose economic growth and potential opportunities for investment have attracted boutique shops to compete for fund clients with the likes of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HBC) and State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) The region represents about 15 percent of its global fund services revenue at the moment, according to Kundro.
Ex-Citi Emerging Markets Research Head Plans Hedge Fund (Bloomberg)
Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)’s former global head of emerging markets equity research, Rhys Summerton, plans to start his own hedge fund in September with at least $20 million of assets. Milkwood Capital Ltd. will be a global equity long and short fund, taking bets on rising and falling stocks, according to a letter to potential investors obtained by Bloomberg News. Summerton, 36, is putting $20 million of his own money in the pool, while other investors have given “indications of interest” to invest $50 million or more, he said by e-mail.
Dan Loeb May Be A Great Activist Investor, But His Triathlon Times Are Pretty Lame (BusinessInsider)
Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, who runs Third Point LLC, is extremely fit. The 51-year-old practices yoga, surfs, and competes in triathlons. He even challenged three former Navy SEALS to compete with him in the 2011 “MightyMan” Half Iron Triathlon in Montauk. Out of curiosity, we decided to look up some of Loeb’s race results. We were surprised to find that Loeb isn’t as fast as we thought he would be. We were surprised to find that Loeb isn’t as fast as we thought he would be.
Jarcho To Lead SEC Hedge Fund Exams (Finalternatives)
The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Jane Jarcho to lead its new hedge-fund oversight program. Jarcho was appointed national associate director of the SEC’s investment adviser examination program. In the post, she’ll oversee some 450 lawyers, accountants and examiners looking through the books at hedge funds and other money managers. Jarcho has worked at the SEC since 1990, and has been acting director of the examination program since March. She formerly led exams in the SEC’s Chicago office and has also worked in the regulator’s Division of Enforcement.
Mad Money, August 22, 2013 (CNBC)
Credit Suisse Raises US$1.3B For Brazilian Hedge Fund (Finalternatives)
Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS)’s Brazilian hedge fund joint-venture has raised more than US$1 billion for its maiden vehicle. Peninsula Investimentos, a partnership between the Swiss bank and 16 executives, netted 3.25 billion reais (US$1.3 billion) for the Peninsula Hedge Master Fundo de Investimento Multimercado, it said in a filing with Brazilian regulators. The fund launched in December and is now closed to new investments. Through this week, the fund is up 7.14% on the year. The fund will invest exclusively in liquid assets, including stocks, bonds and futures.
Hedge fund trackers shooting the lights out (InvestmentNews)
A pair of funds that track hedge fund filings are turning out to be much better at producing alpha than the real McCoys, but questions remain about how they will do if stocks head south. The $117 million Global X Top Holdings ETF (GURU) and the $74.8 million 13D Activist Fund (DDDAX) were both up more than 23% year-to-date through Aug. 21, crushing the S&P 500’s 16% return over the same time period. They funds are also pounding the fabled investors that the funds are mimicking. Through the first six months of this year, the most recently available data, the funds were up 19% and 17%, respectively, while the Morningstar MSCI Composite Hedge Fund Index, an asset-weighted composite of almost 1,000 hedge funds, was up just 7.2%.
Ex-fund manager got help from multiple doctors, US alleges (BostonGlobe)
A former hedge fund portfolio manager charged with carrying out a record-setting insider trading scheme was accused in a rewritten indictment Thursday of trying to corrupt more than 20 doctors into providing an inside edge on a secret clinical trial. The superseding indictment in US District Court in Manhattan said Mathew Martoma succeeded in getting at least two doctors to provide illegal information in a scheme that stretched from 2006 to 2008 while he worked at SAC Capital Advisors. The Boca Raton, Fla., man has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud and is scheduled to appear in court Friday. He is free on bail.
Korea Post Savings seeks new fund of hedge fund managers (Opalesque)
The savings arm of the Korea Post has issued a new RFP seeking fund of hedge fund managers. The announcement follows a similar RFP issued in July for Korea Post Insurance, which closed on August 9. The Korea Post Savings request will close on September 14, 2013. In addition to the RFP, Korea Post has also released an initial questionnaire to guide funds through their proposal process. Within the scope of services, Korea Post is looking for bespoke portfolios for Korea Post Savings, as well as custom deal sourcing.
UBS Global Asset Management to split hedge fund business (HedgeWeek)
UBS Global Asset Management’s Alternative and Quantitative Investments (A&Q) hedge fund platform is being reorganised into two separate business areas with immediate effect. The two businesses are Alternative Investment Solutions (the multi-manager and hedge fund advisory business) and O’Connor (the single manager hedge fund business.) The Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) business will be led by Bill Ferri. Under his leadership, AIS will be expanded to include additional entrepreneurial businesses in the alternatives arena. Ferri continues to be a member of the UBS Global Asset Management executive committee.
Family Offices Are Increasingly Cautious Of Hedge Funds (Forbes)
Hedge funds as well as pretty much all investment managers are recognizing the wealth – the liquid assets – controlled by family offices. Additionally, there’s a boom in the number of family offices making this cohort all the more attractive and potentially profitable. …“Hedge funds have experienced a remarkable inflow of investment in the past few months, but family offices remain skeptical. The returns aren’t stellar and the fees are a stumbling block,” explains Steffianna Claiden, founder and editor-in-chief of Family Office Review. “The family offices want to know exactly who they are dealing with so the diligence is a bit stiffer.”
When Poison Pills Aren’t Poisonous (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) is the latest company to adopt what is called a short-term shareholder rights plan to protect itself from a hostile takeover. The company says it took this measure so shareholders can “realize the full and fair value of their investment,” the kind of statement that activist investors usually greet with snickers and disgust. The rights plan, also known as a poison pill, expires in one year and is triggered once an investor accumulates at least 10 percent of the stock. But it exempts William Ackman’s New York–based hedge fund firm Pershing Square Capital Management and real estate giant Vornado Realty Trust, its sixth-largest shareholder.
