Hedge Fund News: Paul Singer, Robert Sanborn, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP)

Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB), Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW), Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU)

Italy Could Screw Everything Up For Hedge Fund Managers Trying To Get Money From Argentina (Business Insider Australia)
Paul Singer ELLIOTT MANAGEMENTIt’s also basically what Paul Singer and other hedge fund managers suing Argentina for $1.4 billion of sovereign debt are experiencing this week. Yes, Singer lost the naval vessel he seized from Argentina as collateral last fall, but since then things have gotten better for him. On Sunday, Singer might have even thought he’d won. His lawyers had filed a brief rejecting Argentina’s payment plan (which looked like payment plans the country had submitted before) and the ball was rolling along. Then there was Monday. As the NY Post reports, that’s when Singer and co. were forced to file a brief telling Italy to back up off their money. Apparently, Argentina owes Italy money as well, so the Italians filed a brief saying that if Singer gets his money in full, they want theirs in full too.

Lansdowne Dumps Prudential Short After Four Years (FINalternatives)
Lansdowne Partners is throwing in the towel on Prudential Financial Inc (NYSE:PRU). The hedge fund has been shorting the insurer’s shares for more than four years. The bet has proven a disaster: Pru’s shares have doubled since Lansdowne opened its position, during or before January 2009. And thing’s won’t be getting any better for Lansdowne or worse for Pru, the hedge fund told clients this month. Lansdowne said it had determined that Pru shares are unlikely to fall “any time soon.”

Hedge Funders Say It’s ‘A Badge Of Honor’ To Be Targeted By ‘Thuggish’ Teachers Unions (Business Insider)
The American Federation of Teachers, a labor union that represents teachers, is going after a bunch of hedge funders who support education reform. The AFT document explicitly states that it’s not intended for “one-time publication” and that other donors and organizations will be included in future reports. One money manager, who wished to remain anonymous, commented that the AFT’s actions may intimidate some money managers into adopting a lower profile, while others view their inclusion on the list as a “badge of honor.” Some view the AFT’s actions as being “thuggish.” Union pension funds control enormous amounts of capital, so being on their blacklist could really hit money managers in their pocketbooks.

Hedge Fund Pay Lures Bankers Amid Regulation, Deutsche Bank Says (Financial Advisor Magazine)
Hedge funds are luring bankers with prospects for better pay and will probably benefit as stricter capital rules push lenders to give up some businesses, Deutsche Bank AG (USA) (NYSE:DB) Chief Financial Officer Stefan Krause said. “There are businesses based on our capital regulation we’ll not be able to do” that “hedge funds will be able to,” Krause, 50, said today at a conference in Berlin. “If I had to bet who is going to benefit the most post-crisis from the asset appreciation you have coming, then certainly hedge funds.” Investment banks are exiting some businesses as they become unprofitable because of planned capital rules designed to avoid a repeat of the taxpayer-funded bailouts that followed the 2007 meltdown of the U.S. housing market.

More J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP) Gains To Come? Why Other Hedge Funds Could Follow This $283M Move (Insider Monkey)
J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP)A market-moving update, George Soros’s Soros Fund Management bought 17,386,361 shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) in a 13G filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, via the agency’s Edgar system. Altogether, the position in J.C. Penney is worth $282.7 million. This is a new position for Soros, and if we take the values of the hedge fund manager’s entire 13F portfolio reported heading into 2013, J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) now represents a top-three equity holding for Soros and his team.

Two Renaissance Technologies funds post declines (Financial News)
Two funds run by Renaissance Technologies, the giant hedge fund firm founded three decades ago by mathematician James Simon and now headed by two of his lieutenants, have stumbled in April, with one fund losing about 6% in the month. A $740m futures fund called the Renaissance Institutional Futures Fund dropped more than 6% in the first 12 days of April and is down about 6% for the month, said investors. The performance is among the worst…
…in the hedge fund world in that period. For the year, the fund is down about 2% after losing 3.2% last year. The Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha fund, a roughly $5.5bn fund launched last year, dropped 3.4% during the first 12 days of April and is down about 3% for the month.

Bermuda-based hedge fund wins two prestigious awards (Royal Gazette)
Equilibria Capital Management, a Bermuda-based investment management company, was awarded two prestigious awards at the Investor’s Choice Global Hedge Fund Awards gala. Its Flagship fund won both the Emerging Discretionary Global Macro Fund of 2012 award in addition to the overall Emerging Fund of the Year 2012 Award. Equilibria was founded by Daniel Tafur and Fabio Lopez Ceron, two veterans of Morgan Stanley’s London Investment Banking Division.

Mutual fund turned hedge fund manager, Robert Sanborn calls fixed income securities ‘the mother of all bubbles’ (Opalesque)
In the new era of hedge fund managers embracing the mutual fund, you don’t often hear about a manager going the other way, but that’s just what Robert Sanborn did. Until 2000, Sanborn managed the Oakmark Fund a mutual fund based in Chicago. Now, he manages Sanborn Kilcollin Partners, a $200m long-short equity fund. He recently spoke with Greg Despolberch in for an Opalesque TV interview. Since making the transition, Sanborn says he enjoys working with sophisticated investors that know what they want. His hedge fund perch also gives him different view of the market, and he says the “mother of all bubbles,” is on the horizon for fixed income securities.

Genworth Financial Inc (GNW) & More: Billionaire John Paulson Sees ‘Considerable Upside’ in 3 Stocks (Insider Monkey)
John Paulson, the New York-based hedge fund manager, is known for making bold stock market calls. The Harvard and New York University graduate, which Forbes considers the 31st richest person in America, has gained considerable media attention for his large investment in gold. On March 27, Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW) announced the sale of its wealth management business for $412.5 million, proceeds of which will be used to pay down existing liabilities. The company told reporters in February it was planning the sale for between $400 to $450 million, so the announcement values the WM business at the lower end of the range.

CICC Investment Management (USA) Partners and PineBridge to Launch the First Global Fund of Hedge Funds Targeting Qualified Chinese Investors (EON: Enhanced Online News)
CICC Investment Management (USA), Inc. and PineBridge Investments LLC (“PineBridge”) announced the launch of the first global fund of hedge funds (“Fund”) on April 1 targeting qualified Chinese investors. The launch of the global fund of hedge funds demonstrates the strategic decision of CICC Investment Management (USA)’s parent company, China International Capital Corporation Limited (“CICC”), to expand its investment management business globally. PineBridge and CICC Investment Management (USA) have both invested proprietary capital to seed the Fund and ensure alignment of interests with investors. CICC Investment Management (USA) serves as the Fund’s investment manager and PineBridge as its sub-advisor. CICC Investment Management (USA) will leverage its resources in Beijing and New York. The PineBridge Hedge Fund Solutions team is primarily based in New York, London and Hong Kong.

Laven Partners Taps Morgan To Head NYC Office (FINalternatives)
London-based Laven Partners has named Tom Morgan as managing director of the firm’s New York office. At Laven Partners, Morgan will focus on expanding the firm’s existing service offering in the United States. In addition to operational and set up consulting services in the alternative and traditional investments industry, Laven Partners provides registration and on-going compliance services for both US and non-US regulated fund businesses, including those regulated by the SEC and the CFTC.

Dutch fund of hedge funds manager Kempen hires two senior portfolio managers (Opalesque)
Kempen Capital Management (KCM) announced that Igor Puljic and Marjoleine van der Peet will join the Hedge Funds team at their firm in Amsterdam. Igor Puljic (36) will join KCM’s Hedge Funds team in May as senior portfolio manager. Igor has thirteen years of manager selection experience. Most recently, he spent eight years at London-based Key Asset Management where he was deputy CIO and portfolio manager for the firm’s flagship multi-strategy fund of hedge funds. Igor studied Banking & International Finance at the City University of London and is a CFA and FRM Charterholder.