Tough times for hedge funds that bet on market tumult
NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) – Nelson Saiers, a trader and math
whiz, runs the type of hedge fund that tends to perform best
when markets are going haywire.
The $600 million Saiers Capital fund and other so-called
volatility funds use complex trading strategies to take
advantage of pricing discrepancies caused by gyrations in global
financial markets.
Avenue Capital’s Lasry will not be ambassador to France: source
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Billionaire trader Marc Lasry told investors in his $12 billion Avenue Capital that he will remain at the hedge fund and not become the next U.S. ambassador to France, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Lasry, who had been expected to get the nomination, told clients in a note on Tuesday that he would remain at the New York-based firm, according to the source, who did not want to be identified.
Paulson’s Advantage fund stung by plunge in gold
BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson’s best-known fund is down 2.4 percent in April, largely due to the sharp selloff in gold, a source familiar with the numbers said on Thursday.
The Paulson & Co Advantage fund is making money for the year, but just barely, with a 1.3 percent gain, the source said.
Paulson’s Advantage hedge fund off in April on gold -source
BOSTON, April 18 (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager John
Paulson’s Advantage Fund is losing money again this month in the
wake of a sharp selloff in gold, a source familiar with the
numbers said on Thursday.
The billionaire investor plans to update his clients next
week on how the portfolios are positioned, the source said.
Paulson’s Advantage Fund is up 1.3 percent for the year, lagging
the average hedge fund.
Ackman’s J.C. Penney bet may need a buyer to save it
BOSTON/NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) – William Ackman’s
multiyear bet that he could overhaul ailing retailer J.C. Penney
looks like it may end up being one of his $12 billion
hedge fund’s worst investment blunders.
On Monday, J.C. Penney’s board dismissed Ron Johnson, a
former Apple executive handpicked by Ackman to remake the
retailer, and
brought back Mike Ullman, whom Ackman has previously criticized.
Ackman may be eyeing exit as JC Penney bet in tatters
BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – William Ackman’s multiyear bet that he could overhaul ailing retailer JC Penney (JCP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) looks like it may end up being one of his $12 billion hedge fund’s worst investment blunders.
On Monday, JC Penney’s board dismissed Ron Johnson, a former Apple executive handpicked by Ackman to remake the retailer, and brought back Mike Ullman, whom Ackman has previously criticized.
Pacino, Papandreou, Panetta, Paulson: Welcome to SALT 2013
The SkyBridge Alternatives Conference – the annual hedge fund blowout better known as SALT, is a month away. And the official agenda for the three-day bacchanal, which sees thousands of hedge fund investors, allocators and hedge fund hangers-on descend on Las Vegas in the second week of May, has been released.
Many regular SALT-goers will tell you, of course, that as the event has grown in popularity its official agenda has become but one part of the conference. A sideshow to goings-on inside the Bellagio are the unofficial meetings going on outside, in the hotel’s poolside cabanas.
Hedge fund manager Ackman says mistakes made in JCPenney turnaround
BOSTON (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager William Ackman is turning up the heat on the man he handpicked to turn around struggling retailer JCPenney.
The “criticism is deserved,” Ackman said on Friday of Ron Johnson, the former Apple executive who has been tasked with overhauling the staid retail chain and who has come under fire as the stock price has plummeted 27.6 percent in the first quarter.
Daniel Loeb surfing to the top of the hedge fund charts again
Something must be in the water over at 399 Park Avenue, where Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point is headquartered. His Third Point Ultra fund has already gained 12.42 percent this year through the 13th of March, according to data from HSBC’s Private Bank.
The portfolio added 3.3 percent alone between March 1 and March 13. By comparison, hedge funds have returned about 4 percent year-to-date, according to HSBC.
Natural (at) selection
The answer to the moderator’s question was a resounding: yes. The question, asked to several credit hedge fund managers during a conference on Thursday, was: did you make money last year? In fact, the managers from Pine River, BlueMountain, Cerberus and Brevan Howard made a lot. But 2013 is not going to be so easy, they said.
Hedge funds that specialize in credit, especially those who focus on mortgage-backed securities (MBS), blasted past their stock market competitors in 2012. One of those traders, Steve Kuhn, was on stage for the aforementioned credit panel at Absolute Return’s Spring Symposium. Kuhn, a portfolio manager for Pine River Capital Management, saw his fixed income fund rise 35 percent last year.
-
Follow Katya
