Taconic Launches European Credit Hedge Fund (InstitutionalInvestorsAlpha)
New York-based multistrategy hedge fund firm Taconic Capital Advisors is raising money for a new hedge fund, a longer lock-up vehicle that will invest in illiquid situations in Europe. The new fund, called the Taconic European Credit Dislocation Fund, is intended “to fully capitalize on the less liquid opportunities we have identified in Europe, particularly in Spain, where we have a sourcing edge,” the firm tells clients in its second quarter letter, which was obtained by Alpha.
Hedge funds face true cyber-risks (Risk)
After defence firm BAE admitted that it did not thwart an unprecedented attack on a hedge fund’s high-frequency trading (HFT) system, questions remain as to the real threats posed by unidentified hackers. The falsified attack – apparently invented by a BAE employee who has now left the company (see box) – brings to light the problem that the same cyber-security companies that describe the risks of being hacked also sell clients services to protect them from the threat.
Ackman Says ‘My Bad’ on Herbalife Presentation (Bloomberg)
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has two words to sum up his Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) presentation last week: “My bad.” Investors may have missed the point because the event was long and overhyped, Ackman said in an interview. Even the private researcher who helped convince Ackman the company is an illegal pyramid scheme now says the details of a two-year investigation into Herbalife’s nutrition clubs were largely ignored. Ackman had promised to show an Enron-style fraud during the event. Instead of dumping the stock, investors sent the shares up 25 percent after the presentation, marking the biggest one-day gain in the history of the company. Ackman’s firm, Pershing Square Capital Management LP, bet $1 billion against the stock in 2012.
RBS Sales Head Jumps To Hedge Fund Element Capital (Finalternatives)
Richard Tang, the head of North America sales at Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (ADR) (NYSE:RBS)’s securities arm, is leaving the bank for hedge fund Element Capital Management LLC as the lender retrenches in capital markets, according to two people with knowledge of the move. Tang, who has spent almost two decades at the bank, is one of 16 members of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee that the U.S. government consults with on its debt sales. His departure was confirmed by Sarah Lukashok, a Stamford, Connecticut-based spokeswoman for Britain’s largest state-owned lender.
UCITS Hedge Fund Reach Record Highs (HedgeCo)
The first half of 2014 saw a new milestone reached in the alternative UCITS sector with assets under management growing by 15.6% to EU 184.2 billion, demonstrating continued demand for alternative strategies, according to the Alceda Half Yearly UCITS Review. However, Alternative UCITS strategies performed less well during the first half of 2014, advancing just 0.52%, compared to the 5.95% gains seen in 2013.
Cramer’s Stop Trading: Two oil themes (CNBC)
Malcolm Turnbull’s son said to start hedge fund in Singapore (SMH)
Alex Turnbull, son of Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, is planning a Singapore-based hedge fund, said people with knowledge of the matter. Mr Turnbull, who has been an executive director of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)‘s special situations group, will be the chief investment officer of Keshik Capital, said the people who asked not to be identified. The fund will be focused on Asia with flexibility to invest globally. It may start as early as January and will invest in equity and credit, including convertible bonds, they said.
Harbinger’s Former CEO Fined For Assisting Hedge Fund Scheme (HedgeCo)
The former chief operating officer at Capital Partners LLC has agreed to settle charges that he assisted a scheme by the firm and its owner Philip A. Falcone to misappropriate millions of dollars from a hedge fund they managed to pay Falcone’s personal taxes. Peter A. Jenson, who was charged along with Falcone and Harbinger in a 2012 enforcement action by the SEC, has agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay a $200,000 penalty…
Argentine Banks to Pitch Deal to Hedge Funds As Default Looms (WSJ)
A group of Argentine banks has sent a representative to New York to broker a last-minute deal with hedge funds to keep Argentina from defaulting Wednesday on its debt for the second time in 13 years, according to people familiar with the matter. Argentina finds itself on the verge of default after a U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Griesa said it can’t pay bonds it issued in debt restructurings unless it also settles with hedge funds that have sued to collect on debt the country stopped paying in 2001.
Blaine Tomlinson departs FRM after 23 years (eFinancialNews)
Blaine Tomlinson, 63, left FRM this month, two years after it merged with UK asset manager Man Group. A spokeswoman for Man Group confirmed his departure. South Africa-born Tomlinson set up FRM in 1991 following a spell at Nomura, after his interest in hedge funds was sparked after investing money with Mercury Asset Management and George Soros. In its early years, the firm focused on private family office and hedge fund research, becoming a fund of hedge funds manager for institutional investors in the late nineties, and gaining a reputation as an innovative firm in that sector.
Apache to Exit LNG Projects After Jana Pushes for Breakup (BusinessWeek)
Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA), the U.S. oil and gas producer that activist hedge fund Jana Partners LLC is pushing to embrace a breakup, is exiting two costly liquefied natural gas projects in Australia and Canada. Apache is no longer pursuing the Wheatstone project or the Kitimat proposal and its also weighing a sale or separation of some or all of its assets outside the U.S., the Houston-based company said today in a statement.
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