03/09/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
David Einhorn, the US hedge fund manager who publicly questioned the health of Lehman Brothers before its collapse, has offloaded the majority of his stake in F&C, reports Investment Week. Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, which manages $6.5bn of assets, had a 3.4% stake in the UK asset manager, but has cut this back to just 0.4% over the past week. News of Einhorn's disposal comes as activist investor Sherborne Investors increased its stake in the group 14.6% from 11.3%. Einhorn, who set up his hedge fund with under $1m of capital in 1996, was heavily criticised in
02/09/2010
The $1.48bn (£960m) pension fund for Flintshire County Council has issued two tenders for absolute return pooled vehicles today.
The Clwyd Pension Fund, which currently allocates 5% of its investment portfolio to two funds of hedge fund managers, is looking to add a further 6% to one or more multi-asset investment funds and will consider “dynamic asset allocation, global macro and macro fund of funds products or appropriate absolute return strategies,” as part of the mandate.
The fund is also preparing to invest £45m (5% of the portfolio) into unconstrained global equity, which could be
02/09/2010
An investment fund backed by three of Brazil’s foremost businessmen is in advanced talks to buy Burger King, in a deal that would see the US burger chain return to private ownership for the second time in less than a decade, reports the FT. A deal to sell Burger King to 3G, a little-known investment vehicle based in New York, could be agreed within days, according to people familiar with the matter. However, as the deal has yet to be finalised, the talks could still collapse, they added.
A former hedge fund manager and a pharmaceutical executive have
02/09/2010
Emmanuel Roman has been appointed to the newly-created role of chief operating officer of Man Group following the approval of the acquisition of GLG by the firm’s shareholders.
Prior to the appointment, Roman held the role of co-CEO at GLG, focussing primarily on expanding the business, marketing, risk management, operations, technology and compliance.
“Since joining GLG in 2005, after 18 years with Goldman Sachs, Manny Roman has done a fantastic job in developing its business, alongside Noam and Pierre and the GLG Senior Advisory Group,” said Peter Clarke, chief executive of Man.
“I am
02/09/2010
F&C Asset Management has appointed two new figures to its executive committee following the completion of its acquisition of fund of hedge funds firm Thames River.
The London Stock Exchange listed asset management firm has appointed both Charlie Porter, founder and chief executive of Thames River, and chief operating officer Jeremy Charles to the Committee, with the former given overall responsibility for the F&C group's retail and wholesale fund business, while the latter is charged with improving the flexibility of the enlarged group's business model.
"Enhancing our distribution is key priority and I am delighted
01/09/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Fidelity and London-based hedge fund CQS have launched legal action against Numis Securities on the grounds of 'fraudulent misrepresentations' during a fund raising back in 2007, reports Citywire. The stock in question, the now insolvent Canadian oil company Rock Well Petroleum, used Numis to raise in $150m (£97m) from investors. Fidelity and CQS, alongside Oceanic and St Peter Port Capital, are said to have invested a combined $95m in Rock Well. However, according to Fidelity and CQS, Numis failed to mention in its investor briefing at the time that US-based oil rival, Omega Oil, had launched a legal action against Rock Well,
01/09/2010
Hedge fund firm Gartmore have appointed Robert Kyprianou, formerly CEO of AXA Framlington, as an independent non-executive director.
Kyprianou has previously held the positions of global head of fixed income and deputy CEO and global head of securities at AXA Investment Managers, as well as business head and global head of fixed income at ABN AMRO Asset Management.
“I am looking forward to joining the board of Gartmore, one of the pre-eminent asset managers in the London market,” said Kyprianou. “The company has a broad range of excellent products and managers and is well-positioned to
31/08/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
A group of hedge funds and investment firms that hold debt insured by a business of Ambac Financial Group sought in court Monday to stop cash from flowing out of the beleaguered bond insurer to its parent, reports the Wall Street Journal. The plaintiffs, including Aurelius Capital Management, Fir Tree, King Street Capital, Monarch Alternative Capital and Stonehill Capital Management, hold more than $1bn in mortgage securities or other debt insured by Ambac Assurance Corp, the main operating business of Ambac Financial, they said in a statement. On Monday, the funds filed a motion in a state court in Wisconsin seeking to clarify they
27/08/2010
The Alternative Investment Management Association (Aima), a global body representing hedge funds, announced it will meet US policymakers and supervisors in September over the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, reveals Dow Jones Newswires. Aima Chairman Todd Groome said in a statement. The London-based association, which represents over 1,000 corporate members in 40 countries managing over 75% of global hedge fund assets, didn't specify which organisations it will meet with in September.
Anthony Ward's huge cocoa bet could be melting away according to the Wall Street Journal. Ward's Armajaro Holdings shook up the commodities market in July by
26/08/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
The Alternative Investment Management Association (Aima), a global body representing hedge funds, said Thursday it will meet US policymakers and supervisors in September over the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Many of the measures that feature in the Dodd-Frank Act are being discussed in other jurisdictions, and it is desirable that there is a large degree of consistency in terms of approach and implementation," said Aima chairman Todd Groome in a statement. "If that consistency is not achieved it could lead to unnecessary duplication and increased costs." The London-based association, which
