China fortune hard to read in Luckin Coffee beans 5 Feb 2020 Short-seller Muddy Waters targeted the $9 bln Starbucks wannabe, briefly stinging the shares. Erstwhile China bear Citron is defending the unprofitable company. Luckin has focused U.S. exuberance, and suspicion, over mainland consumer tech. The verdict remains oddly optimistic.
Elliott’s friendly tech bet faces tough second act 28 Jan 2020 Shares in SAP are up 19% since the activist unveiled a stake. Investors seem to believe the $160 billion company will hit ambitious targets endorsed by Paul Singer’s fund. But tough competition and increasingly muddy governance mean there is limited scope for further quick wins.
Inequality extends to hedge fund elite 20 Jan 2020 The top 20 managers like Ray Dalio and George Soros have made over $550 bln for investors over time. In part that’s longevity, but the group also raked in a third of industry gains in 2019 on under a fifth of assets. Most hedgies are still struggling to outrun cheap index funds.
Osram M&A traps hedge funds in prisoner’s dilemma 3 Dec 2019 Speculators now own up to 45% of the German lighting group. If they can be enlightened enough to work together, there’s a way to make would-be acquirer AMS pay more than $5 bln. But if they revert to self-interested type, the deal will fall through and they will all lose money.
TCI plays outrider to Mark Carney’s climate drive 2 Dec 2019 Chris Hohn’s hedge fund plans to penalise directors at companies who don’t publish climate change data. If others follow suit, it could boost the Bank of England governor’s push for transparency. What’s less clear is whether greater disclosure delivers investment rewards.
Review: Math steals the show in quant legend’s bio 22 Nov 2019 Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies is one of the most successful investors of all time, yet most people know little about the cagey mathematician. Gregory Zuckerman tries to change this in “The Man Who Solved the Market”. But algorithms are the real stars of this story.
Bacon exit offers veiled short on hedgie revival 21 Nov 2019 Louis Bacon is returning investors’ money in his firm Moore Capital. He’s the latest big hedge fund manager to step back, but the decision jars with a good year for traders who make bets on economic shifts. Bacon has his reasons, but it’s hardly a signal that recovery will last.
Emerson settlement with Shaw would be win for both 30 Oct 2019 The clock is ticking for the hedge fund to start a proxy battle at the $44 bln conglomerate. Emerson needs a makeover, and D.E. Shaw wants to burnish its activist cred. A deal that shakes up the board and slashes fat without an immediate bust-up would be a victory for everyone.
Emerson Electric is only half as bad as Shaw says 16 Oct 2019 The $42 bln conglomerate sports crummy governance, excess fat and a retro penchant for private jets. But there are good reasons the market hasn’t bought into relative newcomer to activism D.E. Shaw’s argument that a breakup would unlock $20 bln of value.
Hadas: Passive funds help, and hurt, stock markets 2 Oct 2019 More than half the dollars in U.S. equity funds now mimic indexes. The trend to thought-free investing lowers fees and may limit the supply of dumb money. But it adds to the economic irrelevance of public markets and gives poor incentives to both boards and politicians.
BNP tests boundaries of Wall Street’s land grab 23 Sep 2019 The Parisian lender formally agreed to take on Deutsche Bank’s prime brokerage arm and up to 1,000 staff. The hope is that hedge funds already dependent on U.S. firms are wary about handing them even more business, giving European players a chance to win back some market share.
The Exchange: White House hopeful Tom Steyer 3 Sep 2019 The hedge fund founder has already spent millions to impeach Donald Trump. He’s now trying to replace the U.S. president, joining a crowded Democratic field. The Exchange went to his campaign office to discuss why he is running and what he thinks of businessmen as politicians.
Hedge funds just can’t cope with rising markets 22 Jul 2019 The industry has become a chronic investing laggard as most assets rise. Even the flagship fund of Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater was down some 5% this year. Ex-Harvard whiz Jack Meyer is closing shop after years of bad results. Hedge funds’ $3.2 trln of money looks under threat.
Bill Ackman finds activist attention unappealing 18 Jul 2019 The hedge fund boss’s $4 bln London-listed fund has incurred investor wrath over its low price and a bond issue. The prescription is activism 101: buy back stock and shake up the board. Ackman, for once a target, may find new sympathy for the defence that he just needs more time.
Perot showed even also-rans have their day 9 Jul 2019 The late Ross Perot twice failed to become U.S. president, but some of his controversial views on globalization are now mainstream. That should comfort long-shot 2020 hopefuls like billionaire Tom Steyer, who bring punchy ideas that other contenders might be better at selling.
Elliott tries to rip up the retail history books 7 Jun 2019 The investment firm could make a handsome return buying U.S. bookseller Barnes & Noble for about $500 mln and copying the formula that revived its UK chain Waterstones. The challenge is that Barnes & Noble is far bigger, while retail has a habit of getting lost in translation.
Hedge fund have-mores lord it over the rest 22 Apr 2019 Subdued returns and cheap index trackers have squeezed hedge fund fees well below the once-typical 2 pct of assets and 20 pct of gains. Yet D.E. Shaw is raising the cost of its flagship fund to 3-and-30. A handful of firms can still produce performance investors will pay for.
Toxic U.S. tabloid sale talk sounds like a whopper 11 Apr 2019 The hedge fund behind the Trump-friendly National Enquirer may want to sell the controversial title. Yet if heavy debt, a brush with federal prosecutors and an alleged attempt to blackmail Jeff Bezos are scary to the owner, they’ll have the same effect on any credible buyer.
News M&A battle prints one farce after another 9 Apr 2019 After waving around a toothless credit commitment in its $1.4 bln pursuit of Gannett, Denver Post publisher MNG is going after the board. But its six nominees have ties to either the bidder or its hedge-fund owner. Investors should throw the slate straight into the recycling.
Loeb’s Sony sequel has makings of a blockbuster 8 Apr 2019 The activist behind Third Point is building a stake in Sony and getting the Japanese group to sell its movie studio could be part of the plan, Reuters reported. The media landscape has changed since Dan Loeb last tried to break Sony up. The idea looks ready for prime time.