Rengan Rajaratnam Judge Won’t Dismiss Conspiracy Charge (BusinessWeek)
The judge overseeing Rengan Rajaratnam’s insider-trading trial rejected a defense request to dismiss the last remaining charge of conspiracy, a day after she narrowed the case by rejecting two fraud counts. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan said today that the trial of the younger brother of jailed hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam would go forward. Yesterday, at the end of the government’s direct case, she dismissed two securities fraud counts related to 2008 trades in Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ:CLWR). The defense will now present its case.
Hedge Fund Replication Index Adds 0.62% In June, 2.22% In First Half (Finalternatives)
Hedge funds posted another month of pedestrian returns to close out the first half, according to an industry replication index. The Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Beta Index returned just 0.62% in June to pad its 2.22% return for the first half. By contrast, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose about 2% in June alone, and is up over 6% on the year. Long/short equity was the best-performing LAB subindex with a 0.91% rise (3.75% year-to-date). Event-driven returned 0.62% (3.11% YTD) and global strategies 0.54% (1.42% YTD). Managed futures were flat (down 4.4% YTD), and merger arbitrage inched down 0.05% (down 2.53% YTD).
Daniel Benton’s Andor Gives New Meaning to Volatility (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
Talk about volatility. Daniel Benton’s Andor Opportunity Fund, run out of Rye Brook, New York-based Andor Capital Management, was up 19.5 percent in June – yes, in June alone. But believe it or not, the technology stock-heavy long-short equity fund is not in positive territory for the year. This is because it was down 21 percent through May and off 12 percent through April. Benton, a co-founder of the once high-flying but now defunct hedge fund Pequot Capital Management, has always lived and died on the fortunes of…
UK hedge fund Oceanwood wins $50 million from Ohio pension fund (Reuters)
Europe-focused hedge fund Oceanwood Capital Management has won a $50 million investment from School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS), a nearly 3 percent boost to its $1.85 billion assets under management. The investment marks a significant institutional backing for Oceanwood and is part of a combined $160 million commitment by SERS to three funds, including Redwood Offshore Fund and real estate fund PRISA II, a statement on the SERS website said. Oceanwood, a multi-strategy hedge fund spinout from Tudor Group, is led by Chief Investment Officer Christopher Gate, a former Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) executive.
Economist Roubini warns VF should not be allowed to ‘block’ country’s restructurings (BuenosAiresHerald)
The economist famous for predicting the 2008 financial crisis has analyzed Argentina’s current dispute against vulture funds warning “holdouts must not be permitted to block orderly restructurings that benefit debtors and creditors.” In an article published on Project Syndicate, Nouriel Roubini considered “the legal saga of Argentina’s fight with holdout creditors shows that the international system for orderly sovereign-debt restructuring may be broken” and questions a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court refusing to hear the case.
Investors Seek Final Approval For $15M Balboa Settlement (Law360)
Investors in a now-defunct hedge fund asked the court on Tuesday for final approval of a $14.75 million settlement with the fund’s parent company and other defendants to resolve claims that the fund’s manager Michael Balboa defrauded investors during the 2008 global credit crisis. The request comes less than two weeks after the hedge fund manager behind the fraud was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay more than $390 million in restitution to victims of his scheme, and following the settlement’s opt-out…
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