Hennessee dragged to court over Bayou 18 Oct 2005 A university claims the hedge fund advisor failed in its duty to vet the credentials of the defunct Bayou. Hennessee paid by both Bayou and the investor was conflicted. But this was made clear in the fine print. It should have been read.
Bawag must answer questions on Refco loan 17 Oct 2005 How did the small Austrian bank come to have a E425m exposure to the brokerage? And to whom precisely did it lend the money? These are questions Bawag has yet satisfactorily to answer. It needs to do so soon.
Goldman gets controversial Refco role 14 Oct 2005 Wall Street is abuzz with talk of Goldman s conflicts again: it s advising Refco on averting a meltdown two months after handling its IPO. Goldman can point to many past instances where it has managed conflicts of interest, but that may not comfort investors.
Scandals show hedge funds are too keen on risk 14 Oct 2005 Wood River and Durus Capital both got into trouble for taking big bets on illiquid smallcap stocks. Why were they prepared to take such risky punts? Because of the bizarre incentives in the hedge fund industry.
Man Group unfairly hit by Refco fallout 13 Oct 2005 The hedge fund group owns a broker that competes with the disgraced US futures firm. It also faces questions over a collapsed hedge fund. But its shares have overreacted. Man has become a trading stock driven by sentiment. Unfortunately, there s no quick fix for that.
Refco glares harsh light on hedge funds 12 Oct 2005 There are many unanswered questions stemming from the hidden loan the US futures broker extended to its nowarrested boss Phillip Bennett. For those trying to deflect further hedge fund regulation, most troubling is the apparent role of a hedge fund in helping with the coverup.
Not everyone did poorly in Wood River affair 12 Oct 2005 The fund itself appears to have imploded. Lehman has taken a $9m bath. Even famed Millennium Partners barely escaped. But Northrop Grumman made out handsomely. It sold Endwave as the hedge fund loaded up. Not bad for a stodgy manufacturer.
Cevian should stick to its guns on Skandia 12 Oct 2005 The Swedish investment fund thinks the insurer should sell up to Old Mutual. But one of its investors, a state pension fund, disagrees. Cevian shouldn t buckle. It has a duty to all its investors to put value before nationalism.
Hedge funds muscle in on buyouts 18 Sep 2005 Bids for the UK s Drax power station and retailer Peacocks have confirmed private equity s fears about growing competition from hedge funds. Private equity firms may have to become more amenable to sellers, and settle for lower returns, if they don t want to lose more deals.
Macquarie Bank reveals interest in LSE 15 Aug 2005 That's good news for the UK exchange's investors: the Australian investment bank has a reputation for paying high prices for businesses. But it's bad news for rival bidder, Euronext. It makes it more likely that it will have to pay up if it is to win the LSE's hand.
De Benedetti leaps on new bandwagon 5 Aug 2005 The veteran Italian financier is launching a E500m fund with Berlusconi to invest in distressed companies. The similarities with his previous wheeze a tech company at the top of the bubble are uncanny. But this may be a smarter bet.
CI ditches Amvescap ambitions 4 Aug 2005 The Canadian fund manager was right to shelve plans to buy its AngloUS peer. Without board agreement, such bids rarely succeed. The withdrawal leaves CI with egg on its face. But it also places pressure on Amvescap s new chief executive to deliver.
UK regulator erects hurdles to LSE deal 29 Jul 2005 It's not a killer blow for Euronext. The Competition Commission is worried about clearing not competition in trading services. But while a full merger is still doable, pulling it together will be a long process. Meanwhile, the LSE is outperforming Euronext.
Hedge funds bounce back in June 27 Jul 2005 In May, critics were writing off the asset class. But it bounced back in June with one of its best monthly performances in five years. But don't read too much into one month s figures. Hedge funds have yet to prove they can deliver over the longterm.
Now China bashes hedge funds too 26 Jul 2005 China says it s moving slowly on forex reform because it fears a hedge fund attack on the renminbi would cause a repeat of the 1997 crisis. Hedge funds are handy scapegoats. But they couldn t cause a Chinese crisis now, just as they didn t cause the Asian crisis eight years ago.
Asset managers break M&A logjam 17 Jul 2005 Deutsche Bank and Citi have offloaded fund management assets, and Amvescap has rebuffed a bid all in the space of a month. Under pressure from hedge funds, the industry must restructure. And fund managers tend to do better as independent, and focused, businesses.
Pru should get rid of egg 12 Jul 2005 There s no strategic benefit to the UK insurer in owning the internet bank it failed to sell in 2004. Selling egg to Citigroup would be nice. But if no purchaser can be found, chief executive Mark Tucker should consider demerging it.
Euronext in a bind over buying the LSE 10 Jul 2005 If the FrancoDutch exchange wins regulatory approval for a bid, it will be the only show in town as far as the LSE is concerned. The snag is that the LSE has done rather well this year. And that may have hardened the LSE s idea of its own value.
Amvescap snubs Canadian bid approach 6 Jul 2005 The AngloUS fund manager is vulnerable to an opportunistic bid. It has a history of disappointing. And it s still looking for a new CEO. If the mooted £3.2bn offer price is genuine, Amvescap has its work cut out cobbling together a decent defence.
Is hedge fund activism out of control? 28 Jun 2005 First there was the Deutsche Boerse saga. Now a US hedge fund is taking on an underperforming longonly asset manager. Is nothing sacred? Even the boss of Man Group is worried. But he shouldn t be. Hedge funds have just as much right to be activist as any other investor.