Daily News back issues from December 2007:
SEC Files Complaint Against Jones, Azure Bay
Dec 03, 2007; ... WASHINGTON (HedgeWorld.com) - The Securities and ExchangeCommission on Friday [Nov. 30] announced that a federal districtcourt in Michigan granted it a temporary restraining order againstan unregistered investment adviser, Azure Bay Management LLC, andits principal, Daniel ...
777 Performance Shows There's Life in Japanese HFs
Dec 03, 2007; ... SINGAPORE (HedgeWorld.com) - 777 Fund, an event-driven strategythat focuses on Japanese equities, has announced that it has beenclosed to new investment with immediate effect, anticipating a pre-announced soft close from Jan. 1, 2008. In a note to investors,which was obtained by ...
TT Expands Trade Software Access
Dec 03, 2007; ... CHICAGO (HedgeWorld.com) - Trading Technologies InternationalInc. last week announced that Morgan Stanley's client listedderivatives business will distribute TT's X_Trader's order-entrysoftware to its customers and internal trading desks worldwide. Thefirm also announced that it ...
Shore Capital Launching $500 Million Fund with Lehman
Dec 03, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Boutique investment bank and fundmanager Shore Capital Group plc is linking with Lehman Brothers toraise up to $500 million for a European opportunities fund. Lehman has invested $50 million in the fund and is taking a 10%stake in the management company ...
New Fund Offers Pairs Trade with a Twist
Dec 03, 2007; ... CHICAGO (HedgeWorld.com) - The Yellow 43 Fund, which begantrading on Nov. 5, is a long/short vehicle that relies on good stockpicking skills and fundamental analysis by leading academics incorporate strategy. The fund, launched by Aaron Lopas, uses a pairs trading strategyalong ...
People Briefs
Dec 03, 2007; ... SEQA Gets New Research Head NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - SEQA Capital Advisors LP announcedthat Wolf Kohn, has joined the firm as head of research for high-speed trading. Mr. Kohn holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in electricalengineering and computer science from ...
EFG to Pay $517 Million for Marble Bar AM
Dec 04, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Rocky conditions in global marketshaven't derailed deal making in the alternative asset sector, withlisted Swiss bank EFG International agreeing to pay up to $1.3billion for British hedge fund group Marble Bar Asset ManagementLLP. The deal will see ...
Merrill Lynch Sued Over CDOs & HF Deals
Dec 04, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - A new class action lawsuit allegesthat Merrill Lynch violated securities laws by failing to discloseto investors the risks associated with its position incollateralized debt obligations. The complaint, filed Tuesday [Dec. 4] in U.S. District Court ...
North American Institutions Plan Big HF Push
Dec 04, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Over the next two years institutionalinvestors in Canada and the United States will increase theiraverage allocations to hedge funds to 8.9% of total assets from7.5%, after a slight drop during the previous two years, accordingto a recent survey by Russell ...
Dealing with Clients in Tough Markets: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Dec 04, 2007; ... Jim is the manager of a classic long/short equity fund, and he isnot having a good day. His longs are down and his shorts are up, hisprime broker is peppering him with irritating questions, and hisassistant has just handed him yet another pink phone message slipthat says, "Call Mr ....
Och-Ziff in Aussie Symbion Battle
Dec 04, 2007; ... SYDNEY, Australia (HedgeWorld.com) - In a transaction that mayhave an impact on an ongoing takeover battle, Och-Ziff CapitalManagement Group has apparently sold a large block of stock inSymbion Health, according to a report in the Australian newspaper. After the publication of ...
Are You Sure You Made a Fortune Shorting the ABX (or TABX)?
Dec 05, 2007; ... Unless you already monetized your gains, you may want to checkyour documents to make sure they reflect the trade you think youclosed. Traders are discovering that they are unsure of what theysaid some time ago when they put on trades, in which there are nowhuge gains (or losses). The ...
Some Big Hedge Funds Surge with Market Upheavals
Dec 05, 2007; ... NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many hedge funds have had a rough ride thisyear, particularly in August and November, but a number havebenefited from the market volatility to produce substantial gains,fund managers and others said. Some large firms, such as Everest Capital, MKP ...
PAAM Receiver, MF Global Announce Agreement
Dec 05, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - MF Global Ltd. and Steven Harmelin,the receiver ad litem for the defunct hedge fund PhiladelphiaAlternative Asset Management, announced a settlement agreement in anaction brought by the receiver on behalf of the investors in PAAM. The litigation, filed ...
Citadel Gets a Good Deal with E*Trade
Dec 05, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - A Securities and Exchange Commissionfiling on Tuesday [Dec. 4] by E*Trade Financial Corp. should dispelany doubt about whether Citadel Investment Group LLC got a good dealwhen it provided a $2.5 billion cash infusion for E*Trade ...
Two Directors Leave AbCap, New Chairman Sought
Dec 05, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Absolute Management Capital HoldingsLtd. is well advanced in the process of interviewing potentialcandidates to chair the firm. The appointment is most likely to bein a non-executive capacity. Although no timetable for appointing a chairman has been ...
Bear Stearns Faces New Round of Hedge Fund Claims
Dec 05, 2007; ... NEW YORK (Reuters) - The first of a new round of investor claimswas filed against Bear Stearns Cos. on Wednesday [Dec. 5] for itsrole in managing two mortgage hedge funds that collapsed earlierthis year, securities lawyers said. The claims, which will be submitted to the Financial ...
Corporate Default Rates Seen Rising in 2008
Dec 05, 2007; ... LONDON (Reuters) - Corporate default rates will go back uptowards 2002 levels next year and an investment strategy based onmerger and acquisition activity will lose allure, says a London-based fund of hedge funds. Chris Jones, chief investment officer at Key Asset Management,said ...
Automation Key for Administrators
Dec 05, 2007; ... PITTSBURGH (HedgeWorld.com) - Automating the expense managementprocess can help control costs and minimize the errors that comewith manual processes, according to a new white paper from automateddata solutions provider Confluence. According to the paper, expense management ...
Legg Mason Execs Say 2007 Crisis Unlike Any Other
Dec 05, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - This financial crisis is unlike anyother, and while the United States is currently feeling some pain inassociation with it, investment opportunities are beginning toemerge, said Bill Miller, the top equity money manager at Legg MasonCapital Management Inc., ...
Millionaires, Affluent Feeling Anxious
Dec 05, 2007; ... CHICAGO (HedgeWorld.com) - The November results for the SpectremMillionaire Investor Index show an 11-point decline, erasing all thegains the index had made in October and tying the mark for thesecond-largest decline since February 2004, when Spectrem beganpreparing this ...
Technology Briefs
Dec 06, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Alternative trading system BIDSTrading LP has established a direct connection with electronictrading platform UBS Pinpoint. As more sell-side and buy-side firms seek to anonymously tradelarge blocks of U.S. equities, BIDS ATS brings ...
Paulson Plan May Not Fly with HFs, Investors
Dec 06, 2007; ... WASHINGTON (HedgeWorld.com) - The subprime mortgage interest ratefreeze plan presented Thursday [Dec. 6] by President George W. Bushmay be a tough sale for hedge funds and bondholders who hold thesecurities backed by those loans. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsonwas the main sponsor of ...
Hedge Funds Feel November Chill
Dec 06, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - The November performance of nearlyall strategies tracked by the Dow Jones Hedge Fund Indexes reflectedthe market gloom present since the summer credit crisis began. Fiveof the six strategies in the index recorded net-of-fees losses lastmonth. Only ...
CTAs Harvest October Gains
Dec 07, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - The CASAM CISDM CTA index rosefurther in October, with all sectors posting gains for the secondstraight month. The index's broad measure of the managed futures industry, theCTA Equal Weighted Index, was up 3.4% for the month, following on a6.2% return ...
Clients Grumble on Seeing Hedge Fund AQR's Losses
Dec 07, 2007; ... BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm AQR Capital Managementsuffered more losses recently, prompting some investors to considerleaving one of the world's biggest quantitative funds. The secretive $38 billion hedge fund, which like other "quants"relies on computer models to make big ...
HSBC Launches Saudi Indexes, Funds
Dec 07, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Investors outside of the GulfCooperation Council (GCC) zone have a new route to access SaudiArabia's domestic stock market, thanks to the launch of several newindexes, funds and access products by HSBC. The Saudi market has been one of the most volatile in ...
PFPC Acquires Coates Analytics
Dec 10, 2007; ... PITTSBURGH (HedgeWorld.com) - Coates Analytics Group LP, aprovider of web-based analytic tools located in Chadds Ford, Pa.,was acquired by PNC Financial Services Group, parent company ofhedge fund accounting and administration firm PFPC InternationalLtd. Serving hedge funds, ...
Citi Buys Metalmark Capital
Dec 10, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Seeking to further boost its nascentalternative investment franchise, Citigroup Inc. bought privateequity firm Metalmark Capital LLC. New York-based Metalmark has $7billion in assets under management, and specializes in middle-market investments. Terms of the ...
UBS in $10 Billion Subprime Write-Down
Dec 10, 2007; ... BERNE, Switzerland (HedgeWorld.com) - UBS, one of the world'slargest financial firms, has announced that it is to write down itssubprime debt holdings by $10 billion. This comes in addition to the$4.4 billion write-down in its fixed-income and consumer creditportfolio announced at the ...
RAB Capital Warns Of Flat 2007 Profits
Dec 10, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - RAB Capital plc, the British hedge fundgroup, has warned that the impact from November's financial marketturmoil will lead RAB's pre-tax profit for 2007 to come in aroundthe level recorded in 2006. Analysts have been paring earnings forecasts for the group ...
Dollar May Have Hit Bottom, Analysts Say
Dec 10, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Many Wall Street analysts said theyexpect the dollar to hit bottom in the first half of 2008, if notsooner. "The story of 2008 is the story of a dollar recovery," said MarcChandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown BrothersHarriman in New ...
Fed Officials Breathe Caution into '08 Outlook
Dec 10, 2007; ... CHICAGO (HedgeWorld.com) - In separate speeches recently, U.S.Federal Reserve officials have sought to lower expectations forfourth-quarter economic growth figures, paving the way for aninterest rate cut when the Federal Reserve Board meets on Tuesday[Dec. 11]. Among the U.S ....
Hedge Funds Socked with November Losses: Hennessee
Dec 10, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Hedge fund strategies tracked by theHennessee Hedge Fund Index were pasted with losses across the boardin November, as the broad index lost 1.58% for the month and saw itsyear-to-date return decline to 11.94%. November brought a halt to what had been a ...
PCE Investors Sold to Canada's Ubequity
Dec 11, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - PCE Investors Inc., a British hedgefund platform operator, has been sold by Schneider Group to UbequityCapital Partners, a Canadian private equity group. Schneider Group a trading services firm, acquired PCE Investorsin 2004. No financial details of the ...
AMG Continues Hedge Fund Buying Spree
Dec 11, 2007; ... PRIDES CROSSING, Mass. (HedgeWorld.com) - Asset managerAffiliated Managers Group Inc. announced on Tuesday [Dec. 11] thatit has acquired an equity interest in BlueMountain CapitalManagement, a $4.8 billion credit hedge fund with offices in NewYork and London. The deal is set to ...
JP Morgan Looking for Takeover Target, Analyst Says
Dec 11, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Rumors are flying on Wall Street thatJP Morgan & Co. may be contemplating "a major acquisition" in thenear future, possibly even Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank. But Dick Bove, an analyst at Punk, Ziegel & Co., said in aresearch note published ...
Chilies, Paprika Offer Hot Investments
Dec 11, 2007; ... LONDON (Reuters) - Investors looking for an ethical twist inagriculture should consider red-hot Birds Eye chilies and paprikagrown in Malawi, U.K.-based CRU Investment Management told Reuters. The Africa Invest fund due to be launched by CRU early next yearwill invest in Malawian ...
Barings Survey Shows Rising Investment in Asia, HFs
Dec 11, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - A survey of British pension schemes byBarings Asset Management shows that far-reaching changes arecontinuing to sweep through the sector and that overall equityallocations have fallen to 64% now from 71% a year ago. One beneficiary of the evolution is the ...
Bear Hedge Fund Falls in Nov., Changes Allocations
Dec 12, 2007; ... NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Bear Stearns Europe Long/Short Fund,which invests in mostly small-cap to midcap stocks, slumped 5.5% inNovember, prompting its managers to alter the hedge fund'sinvestment emphasis, according to a note sent to investors lastweek. The fund, which is part ...
Derivatives Offer Solution to Pricing Problem
Dec 12, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - A year or two ago credit derivativeswere criticized for lacking full documentation and transparency. Soit is ironic that data from credit default swaps could be what thedoctor ordered for valuation dilemmas in the current structuredpaper ...
Moore Shuts Toronto Office, Fires Ex-Amaranth Traders
Dec 12, 2007; ... TORONTO (HedgeWorld.com) - The former Amaranth Advisors traderswho were running the Canadian office of Moore Capital Managementhave not met the firm's expectations, and are being let go. Moore announced that it is closing down the office in a statementobtained by HedgeWorld ....
Revised U.S. House AMT Fix Keeps Hedge Fund Tax Rise
Dec 12, 2007; ... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic tax writers in the U.S. Houseof Representatives still want to crack down on offshore shelters forhedge fund managers' pay, but on Tuesday [Dec. 11] they backed awayfrom raising taxes on the carried interest gains of private equityfirm ...
London, New York Step Up Competition for HFs
Dec 13, 2007; ... NEW YORK and LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Even as politicianscomplain about the predatory behavior of private equity and hedgefunds, the two biggest financial centers are in a hot contest toattract managers. The British government is going all out. "We want you to come toLondon," ...
Blackstone Launches New Distressed Fund
Dec 13, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - The Blackstone Group LP said onThursday [Dec. 13] that it has raised $1.3 billion for a newdistressed debt fund. Called Blackstone Credit Liquidity Partners LP, the fund willinvest in corporate debt, bank debt, securities issued bycollateralized debt ...
A Mere Nugget of Reality
Dec 13, 2007; ... Book ReviewRigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the Worldof Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai by Ben Mezrich, HarperCollinsPublishers, New York, N.Y., 2007, 295 pp., $29.95 (cloth). Here's the "true story," the nugget of reality behind this book. In ...
House Concedes Carried Interest Point in AMT Tussle
Dec 13, 2007; ... WASHINGTON (HedgeWorld.com) - The U.S. House of Representativeshas passed another bill designed to provide middle-class taxpayersrelief from the effects of the alternative minimum tax, whileabiding by the pay-as-you-go principle the majority Democrats haveimposed upon ...
Hedge Funds Outperform Global Equities in '07
Dec 13, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - In a year marked by unusually highvolatility in the financial markets, the 10 strategies tracked bythe Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index outperformed major globalequity indexes and experienced lower volatility than the overallmarkets. According ...
D.C. Court Tells FERC to Proceed on Amaranth, Hunter
Dec 13, 2007; ... WASHINGTON (HedgeWorld.com) - Brian Hunter, the former AmaranthAdvisors natural gas trader whose trades caused that hedge fund tofail spectacularly in September 2006, was dealt a setback Monday[Dec. 10] in his effort to persuade a federal district court toenjoin enforcement proceedings ...
Dubai FSA Brings In Hedge Fund Code
Dec 13, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - Just as the physical rise of Dubaitestifies to the will of the United Arab Emirates to build a MiddleEast commercial and financial hub, so too does the creation of aHedge Fund Code of Practice signify Dubai's ambition to develop anabsolute return investment ...
RBC Hedge 250 Index Drops 1.46% in November
Dec 13, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - The turbulent conditions experienced inglobal financial markets in November have taken a toll acrossvirtually all hedge fund strategies, new data shows. The RBC Hedge 250 Index fell 1.46% in November, cutting year-to-date performance to 7.78%, as eight of ...
People Briefs
Dec 13, 2007; ... Seth Joins GlobeOp Board LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - The board at GlobeOp Financial ServicesSA appointed Arun Seth as a non-executive director, effective Jan.1, 2008. Mr. Seth is the chairman of British Telecom Group India. Mr. Seth will replace Brian Conway, managing director of ...
Central Banks Take Up Santa Mantle - Salus Alpha
Dec 14, 2007; ... VIENNA, Austria (HedgeWorld.com) - As far as markets areconcerned, Father Christmas has arrived a touch early this year, inthe most improbable multiple disguise of the U.S. Federal Reserve,the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Swiss NationalBank and the Bank of Canada ....
HF Working Group Told to Focus on Investor Protection
Dec 14, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - The CFA Institute Centre has toldBritain's Hedge Fund Working Group to focus on investor protectionin its review of best practice and standards in the industry. In aletter to the HFWG, it argued that this is the key concern ofinvestors. One area of which ...
Citi Bailout May Signal End of 'Super' SIV Fund
Dec 14, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - With Citi's decision on Thursday[Dec. 13] to consolidate its $49 billion structured investmentvehicle assets onto its balance sheet, industry analysts arewondering whether a giant SIV bailout fund proposed in October isstill relevant. "I think it's the ...
Proxy Briefs
Dec 14, 2007; ... Proxy Services Weigh in on Datascope Election VIENNA, Va. (HedgeWorld.com) - Proxy Governance Inc. said onThursday [Dec. 13] that it supports a change on the board ofdirectors of Datascope Corp., at the medical device company'supcoming shareholders meeting, slated for Dec ....
Gilabert's Defense Counsel Says System Worked
Dec 14, 2007; ... LOS ANGELES (HedgeWorld.com) - In the end, the prosecution's caseagainst former hedge fund manager Keith Gary Gilabert didn't evenmake it to a jury. Mr. Gilabert still awaits sentencing on other charges, to whichhe has pleaded guilty, arising from Mr. Gilabert's activities ...
BlackRock's Fink Not Worried About the Future
Dec 14, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - The credit crunch will get worsebefore it gets better next year but this does not mean that the U.S.economy is heading into a recession. In fact, the continued creditsqueeze is creating new opportunities and investors should have anopen mind as cash is still ...
More Flexibility for Italian Pension Funds?
Dec 14, 2007; ... MILAN, Italy (HedgeWorld.com) - By the end of 2006, pension fundinvestments made up 11% of global hedge fund assets, according toHennessee Group. However, the contribution from Italy's pensionfunds was negligible, partly because the country's pension fundindustry was still nascent ...
Goldman Success Brings Unwanted Attention
Dec 17, 2007; ... NEW YORK (Reuters) - At Goldman Sachs Group success has becomesomething of a liability. For years the investment bank has inspiredpraise and more than a little envy for its perennial dominance ofinvestment banking, exceptional profits and its Who's Who ofinfluential ...
Tudor's Raptor Fund Struggling
Dec 17, 2007; ... BOSTON (HedgeWorld.com) - Tudor Investment Corp.'s long/shortequity Raptor Global Fund was down 3.11% last month, and JamesPallotta, the Tudor trader who runs Raptor out of Boston, has postedan 8.6% loss for the year through Dec. 5. Investors in Raptor vehicle are said to have ...
Technology Briefs
Dec 17, 2007; ... RiskMetrics Tackles Structured Credit NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - RiskMetrics Group announced it hasembedded a new structured credit solution in its flagship product,RiskManager. The new product will measure the risk of advancedstructured credit trading strategies, such as ...
Shorts Give Thanks for November Stock Woes
Dec 17, 2007; ... NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com) - Short-selling hedge funds tracked bythe Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index cleaned up in November asequity markets slackened and nearly all other hedge fund strategieslost ground. The broad index, maintained by the Credit Suisse Index Co ....
Dadante Sentenced to 13 Years in IPOF Fraud
Dec 17, 2007; ... CLEVELAND (HedgeWorld.com) - David A. Dadante, a former hedgefund manager based in South Euclid, Ohio, was sentenced on Friday[Dec. 14] to 13 years in federal prison after pleading guilty todefrauding his investors in his long/short IPOF Fund andmanipulating stock prices. The day before, ...
Philips Promoted to RAB Board
Dec 17, 2007; ... LONDON (HedgeWorld.com) - The priority of growing its Asiabusiness has seen British hedge fund operator RAB Capital plcpromote George Philips, the co-founder of Northwest AssetManagement, to its main board as an executive director. RAB boughtNorthwest, an Asian hedge fund specialist, in ...