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.
Explore the most informative hedge fund articles and take the news with you, using HedgeCo RSS.
Still want more? Browse the hedge fund blogs, authored by hedge fund industry experts.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Pharos Financial Advisors Limited, a specialist emerging markets fund manager, announced that it has been granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an authorised firm within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Founded in 1997 by US national, Peter M. Halloran, with seed capital from Soros Fund Management and CS First Boston, Pharos Financial Group currently runs three funds - the Pharos Russia Fund, the Pharos Small Cap Fund, and the Pharos Gas Investment Fund.
"We are delighted to receive a license from DFSA, particularly as the first ever fund manager with a Russian/CIS focus to join DIFC," Halloran said, "Pharos intends to fill the niche as the market leader in emerging markets fund management. Already we have seen tremendous appetite from GCC investors for our Russian-focused investment opportunities."
Prior to founding Pharos Financial Group, Halloran was the principal contributor toward building the #1 ranked CS First Boston equity and fixed income brokerage businesses in Russia and the CIS. He has been a leader in the development of the Russian capital markets since their inception in 1994, bringing more than $8 billion to the markets through debt, equity and private placements including Russia’s first local IPO and more than $2 billion of privatisation initiatives.
Welcoming Pharos to DIFC, Nasser Al Shaali, CEO, commented, "We welcome Pharos Financial Group to the Dubai International Financial Centre. DIFC will provide Pharos with a supportive environment to advance their business growth in the Middle East. The world-class regulatory framework in DIFC will give them additional credibility as a specialist emerging market fund manager."
The Pharos investment team brings more than 90 years of combined expertise in emerging markets to its new operations in DIFC. Moreover, Pharos has sat on 40 seats of Russian company boards. Two Pharos Funds were ranked among the top 15 hedge funds globally by Bloomberg and Eurohedge. Currently, the three Pharos funds are ranked 1-2-3 among best performers in Russia this year.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services. In just three years, over 700 firms have registered at the DIFC.
Pharos Financial Group ranks as the world’s leading fund manager having a focus on Russia and the CIS with a successful track record of over 11 years. With offices in Moscow and now Dubai, Pharos Financial Group has produced superior absolute returns over the years while providing institutions and private investors an opportunity to gain exposure in the emerging markets of Russia and the CIS.
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Petroleumworld.com - The hedge fund of billionaire investor George Soros increased its stake in Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro ( Petrobras) to 21.1 million American Depositary Receipts as of Sept. 30 from 11.5 million at June 30.
Soros Fund Management LLC made the move as the ADRs tumbled during the quarter to about $44 from about $71 each. Although the fund added nearly 10 million ADRs to its Petrobras stake, the value of the holding only rose to $930.7 million from $811.5 million.
Since the end of the quarter, Petrobras ADRs have fallen further, closing on Friday at $21.45.
Bloomberg - Hedge-fund managers including George Soros and Philip Falcone, in an unprecedented appearance before Congress, defended their practices and profits while splitting over whether the U.S. should impose stricter regulations.
"This is not a case where management takes huge bonuses or stock options while the company is failing,” said Falcone, one of five billionaire investors who testified today before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in Washington.
Falcone, senior managing director of New York-based Harbinger Capital Partners, urged Congress to require more disclosure by hedge funds, which oversee $1.7 trillion of investments. Soros, founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, cautioned against “ill-considered” rules because this industry is reeling from market losses and client defections.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) - Five billionaire hedge fund managers stood up before Congress yesterday and shared their differing views on the hedge fund industry.
George Soros, Philip Falcone, John Paulson, James Simons and Ken Griffin all took turns defending hedge funds at the House hearing yesterday, though they clearly weren’t on the same page regarding opinions on regulation.
The hearing was called by democratic committee Chairman Henry Waxman of California, as part of a much larger attempt by Congress to delve deeper into the cause of the credit crisis and to see whether or not hedge funds have had a hand in driving down the values of certain markets.
While Harbinger Capital head Falcone was all about greater regulations, saying that investors "have a right to know what assets companies have an interest in," Soros disagreed. The founder of Soros Fund Management warned against "ill-considered" rules and guidelines if they were merely a product of the recent turmoil in the economy.
Griffin of Citadel Investments agreed saying, "We do not need greater regulation of hedge funds. We’ve not seen hedge funds as a focal point of the carnage."
The issue of taxes was also raised, with a slew democratic representatives firing accusations that the fund managers enjoy special tax breaks.
Paulson & Co. head John Paulson came to the defense saying, "If your constituents, whether a plumber or a teacher, bought a stock and if they held that stock for more than a year they would pay a long-term capital gains rate."
Waxman suggested the hedge fund industry faces increased regulation and transparency when President-elect Barack Obama, who has also been vocal on wanting to raise the capital gains tax, takes office in Janary.
All five hedge fund managers who testified have enjoyed extreme success in the hedge fund industry. George Soros, who is best known for his infamous bet against the British Pound in which he pocketed $1 billion overnight, manages over $19 billion through his company.
Phil Falcone and John Paulson both predicted the subprime crisis before it happened. Paulson took home an estimated $3 billion in 2007, the largest single-year profit by a fund manager to date.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
Reuters UK - The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers is another blow for the hedge fund industry, but at least the damage is limited from here for funds exposed the U.S. investment bank.
Even legendary fund manager George Soros, who runs around $18 billion (10 billion pounds) in assets, is likely to have been affected after raising his stake in the investment bank to 9.5 million shares in the second quarter.
A spokesman for Soros Fund Management declined to comment on the composition of their portfolio.
British activist hedge fund Algebris is also likely to have been hit by the fall in the share price of Lehman, once the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank.
The hedge fund firm owned just over 4.45 million shares at end-June, Thomson Reuters data show. Algebris sold its stake this year, a spokesman said, declining to give further details.
West Palm Beach - Billionaire investor George Soros bought an $811 million stake in Petroleo Brasileiro SA in the second quarter, making the Brazilian state-controlled oil company his investment fund’s largest holding.
As of June 30, the stake in Petrobras, as the Rio de Janeiro-based oil producer is known, made up 22 percent of the $3.68 billion of stocks and American depositary receipts held by Soros Fund Management LLC, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Petrobras has since slumped 28 percent.
Soros has increased his mining and commodities holdings, a move that accelerated in the first quarter with purchases of such companies as Cia. Vale do Rio Doce , the world’s largest iron-ore producer, and Talisman Energy Inc. , a Canadian oil and gas company. In November, Petrobras announced the discovery of Tupi, a field with as much as 8 billion barrels of reserves, making it the largest find in the Americas since 1976.
“Petrobras has something that other oil companies don’t have: oil — lots of it and they’re going to find more,” said Ricardo Kobayashi , equity fund manager with UBS Pactual SA in Rio de Janeiro, which manages about $5 billion of stocks, including shares in Petrobras. “If you can buy now and hang on, if you have the staying power, it’s great.”
Tupi is part of a new deepwater offshore region known as the pre-salt that may contain as much as 50 billion barrels, according to Peter Wells , oil analyst with the U.K.’s Neftex Petroleum Consultants Ltd.