Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Morgan Stanley Said to Move Asia Hedge-Fund Event to New York (Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will hold a gathering in New York to showcase Asian hedge funds to investors after pulling its capital introductions event in China because of the bird flu, said three people with knowledge of the matter. Morgan Stanley told managers and investors last month the annual forum scheduled for Shanghai between May 21 and May 23 would be postponed and relocated to New York in July because of health concerns after the avian flu outbreak earlier this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Xu Li, a Beijing-based spokeswoman of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), declined to comment on the delay.
We also like to see what top fund managers such as billionaire David Shaw of D.E. Shaw are doing- their picks can serve as initial investment ideas. Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) – which we’d previously mentioned as one of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.B)’s largest holdings- rounds out our list as D.E. Shaw had 8.7 million shares in its portfolio. Investors are confident in Wells Fargo & Co’s own assets, giving it a premium to book at a P/B ratio of 1.4. However, the bank is valued very much in line with its peers in earnings terms with trailing and forward earnings multiples of 11.
Destructive attitudes about women remain too common (Washington Post)
Paul Tudor Jones’ comments about women nursing babies and their resulting inability to focus in the fast-paced world of hedge fund trading were striking but, sadly, not unusual. I suspect that many people in fields beyond hedge funds may share similar “concerns” about the commitment and abilities of women in the workplace, particularly working mothers. When I informed my boss in 1988 that I was pregnant and intended to return to work after a brief maternity leave, he said his wife told him that women who love their children stay home with them. I laughed, because I truly thought he couldn’t be serious. But I returned from a three-week leave to find my responsibilities reduced. Prejudices toward women existed then and exist now, despite what appear to be sufficient legal protections.
Hedge funds call for break-up of Kleinwort owner (Financial Times)
A group of hedge funds have called for the break-up of RHJI, the investment company founded by Timothy Collins, in a move that would pave the way for a sale or possible relisting of one of the City of London’s oldest private banks, Kleinwort Benson. In a letter sent to the board of RHJI on Monday, the hedge funds, led by Geneva-based Equilibria Capital, say RHJI’s management have presided over “very clear value destruction” through “poor investments” and “weak execution”. The letter was accompanied by a series of resolutions, for inclusion on the agenda of RHJI’s forthcoming AGM in June, which would oust the company’s board and replace them with the hedge funds’ own nominees, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Fund’s Bright Packaging buildup ‘a surprise’ (Business Times)
Luxembourg-based Halley Sicav-Halley Asian Prosperity hedge fund has emerged as Bright Packaging Industry Bhd’s third largest shareholder, a development that has surprised some analysts. The fund has been accumulating the Bright Packaging stocks since early this month, claiming that the move is a long-term investment. Formed in November 2012, Halley Sicav-Halley Asian Prosperity is a sub-fund under Halley Sicay, an open-ended investment company with a total of nine sub-funds. The company said it aims to maximise “returns offered by the capital market in positive trend and consistent reduction of volatility and possible drawdown in negative phase”.
Towers Watson stages a fund-of-funds rethink (Financial News)
Towers Watson, a critic of the fund of hedge funds industry, is planning to enter the sector, according to two people familiar with the situation. The investment consultant is targeting smaller institutional clients for whom investing directly in hedge funds can prove challenging. The company is seeking…
