Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
Reuters Shanghai – The investment banking arm of China Construction Bank plans to launch a 5 billion yuan ($731.3 million) fund to focus on investments in the country’s rapidly growing heathcare sector, state media reported on Tuesday.
Hong Kong-based CCB International is leading the fundraising but has not yet reached the initial target of 5 billion yuan, the online edition of the official Xinhua News Agency (www.xinhuanet.com) said.
Once launched, the fund would focus on investments in healthcare-related sectors including pharmacy, medical equipment manufacturing, medical institutions and services, Xinhua quoted CCB International’s chief executive, Hu Zhanghong, as saying.
Reuters – Goldman Sachs could post its first ever quarterly loss as a public company in December, as market turmoil weighs on revenue for investment banking businesses and forces asset writedowns.
One Wall Street analyst, Glenn Schorr at UBS, predicted a loss for the bank on Friday. The potential for a quarterly loss, combined with the generally weaker environment for financial institutions, has some investors wondering if Goldman Sachs really deserves to trade at a higher valuation than Morgan Stanley, the other major independent investment bank that is now a commercial bank.
Goldman’s shares trade at about 1.1 times their tangible book value, while Morgan Stanley’s shares trade at less than half their tangible book value. A spokesman for Goldman declined to comment.
Goldman Sachs is legendary for its risk management expertise. In early 2007, it saw the storm clouds gathering above the subprime mortgage market and positioned itself to profit from the expected home loan downturn.
Reuters – John Thain, the Merrill Lynch & Co Inc chief executive who engineered the firm’s sale to Bank of America Corp, will head investment banking, securities and wealth management at the new company — at least for now.
But analysts don’t expect Thain, who has now led two major Wall Street companies, to remain in his new job for long. They expect him to aim to succeed Bank of America (BAC.N) Chief Executive Ken Lewis, 61, or seek a CEO job elsewhere.
"The fact is that he’s a CEO — he’s not going to stay long," said Greg Donaldson, director of portfolio strategy at Donaldson Capital Management in Evansville, Indiana.
Thain, 53, was previously CEO at NYSE Euronext Inc (NYX.N) and before that was president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N).
Politico.com – Even as the storied financial names vanish — Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns — they’re being quietly replaced by less familiar ones: Cerberus Capital Management, Citadel Investment Group, SAC Capital Partners and the other biggest hedge funds and private equity shops in the world.
The consensus in Washington is that the Wall Street meltdown means an inevitable resurgence of regulatory authority over the financial sector. But what it may actually portend is just the opposite: the emergence of an almost entirely unregulated financial sector that replaces investment banks that were more rigorously regulated.
It has now become very clear to market insiders that the $2.1 trillion hedge fund industry is larger in terms of capital than the remnants of the investment banking sector.
San Francisco – Hall Capital Partners LLC, an independent investment advisor overseeing $22 billion in global multi-asset class strategies for high-net-worth and institutional investors, is pleased to announce the expansion of the firm’s marketing efforts with the appointment of Richard L. Grand-Jean, as principal and director of business development for the Eastern United States.
In this new role, Mr. Grand-Jean, 66, will offer Hall Capital Partners’ expertise in building and managing customized global multi-asset portfolios, specialized mandates, and the firm’s fund of funds program. Mr. Grand-Jean will focus on the Eastern U.S. institutional market segment, including consultants, endowments, foundations, family offices, and registered investment advisors. Jeff L. Shields maintains his role as director of business development, and will concentrate on the Western U.S. Mr. Shields and Mr. Grand-Jean, who began his assignment in August and is based in Hall Capital’s New York office, both report to John F. Boneparth, president of the San Francisco-based firm.
“We’re delighted to recruit Rick, with his extensive background and expertise, as we ramp up our marketing focus on the institutional market,” said John Boneparth. “With Rick’s appointment to cover the Eastern United States, the key elements of our distribution strategy are now in place.”
Before joining Hall Capital Partners, Mr. Grand-Jean served as president of Abel’s Hill Capital Corp. and Global Film Equity Corp., firms specializing in capital raising, M&A, and advisory services largely focused on the media and entertainment industries. Previously, Mr. Grand-Jean was an executive from 1971 to 1992 at Salomon Brothers, where he served in various senior roles in New York, London, and Tokyo, including managing director in the firm’s investment banking media group, head of global capital markets, and head of the capital markets group.
Mr. Grand-Jean earned a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
About Hall Capital Partners
Established in 1994, Hall Capital Partners LLC is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor that builds and manages customized global multi-asset class portfolios for individuals, families, and institutions. Hall Capital Partners oversees $22 billion in traditional and alternative assets for its portfolio management clients and funds of funds investors. The firm employs more than 100 people in San Francisco and New York. For more information please visit our website at www.hallcapital.com.
The Money Times – Last year, I read an article in which David Herro outlined his rationale for owning shares of UBS in his Oakmark International fund. He focused on the value of its wealth management unit, which delivers stable earnings and benefits from the spread of wealth across the globe. Fair enough, but UBS’ most recent quarterly results show the bank’s abysmal performance in other areas is now tarnishing its crown jewel.
After a fourth straight quarterly loss due to subprime writedowns, UBS’ Wealth Management unit suffered net outflows of 19.3 billion Swiss francs ($18.8 billion) — its first net outflows since the fourth quarter of 2000.
In response, the bank is reversing its "one bank" strategy by giving increased autonomy to its three businesses: Investment Banking, Wealth Management, and Asset Management. The initiative could pave the way to a spinoff or sale of the investment banking business.
Bloomberg – Dow Kim, the former head of trading and investment banking at Merrill Lynch & Co., dropped plans to start a hedge fund after investors backed out, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Kim had been in discussions with institutions that had agreed to invest about $1 billion combined in his Diamond Lake Investment Group LP, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. The New York-based firm had hired 30 people based on the commitments.
The evaporation of credit and declines surpassing 20 percent in some stock markets caused the initial investors to change their minds, said the people. Kim had planned a multistrategy hedge fund that would trade everything from equities to bonds to currencies.
CNBC- For the first time, more hedge funds will fail this year than are originated, according to Philip Duff, of Duff Capital Advisors.
In a rare interview with CNBC, Duff said the difficulty in gauging the health of banks has made it a challenging year for the fund industry.
"The dream of starting a hedge fund has been an enormous pull for people coming in off the streets," he said. "At the same time, delivering a consistent risk-adjusted return … is not an easy thing to do."
Yet Duff said the future continues to be strong for hedge funds. He welcomed more government regulation and predicted that as investment banks continue to experience problems funds will continue to grow.
"I think the hedge funds will take over a lot of the roles of investment banking in the basic function of intermediating capital and intermediating risk in the marketplace," he said. "I do think there will be more regulation, and I view that as a good thing."
Times Online- They may be partly responsible for the mess the banks are in but bankers are not sticking around for the clean-up. Many top bankers have lost confidence in their institutions and are quietly heading for the exit. The smart ones, it seems, are going to hedge funds.
GLG, Europe’s largest hedge fund, recently poached Goldman Sachs partner and top trader Driss Ben-Brahim. The bank was “not amused” by Ben-Brahim’s defection, according to one source.
Karim Abdel-Motaal and Bart Turtelboom, the global co-heads of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley, were also snapped up by GLG.
Last week, Fauchier Partners, a fund of hedge funds, announced the appointment of Jamie Kermisch. Also from Morgan Stanley, he has been in investment banking for 19 years. This follows high-level recruitment by Citadel, Tudor Investment and CQS, which has already drafted in some 45 people this year.
