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.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – One month after RAB was forced to revamp their flagship fund, the British hedge fund is halting redemptions on their Energy Fund. After losing more than 50% of its value this year, RAB has informed investors that they will not be able to make withdraws in the near future.
Investors who wish to stay in the fund will be offered the same deal as those locked up in the $1.4 billion Special Situations Fund. The deal entails paying smaller management fees in exchange for keeping their money in the fund for the next three years.
Investors have until this Friday to let RAB know whether or not they want to accept the offer. The alternative would be receiving “redemption shares,” which are basically an IOU promised by RAB to pay back the investors when they start posting profits.
The Special Situations Fund, one of the largest shareholders of Northern Rock, got burned with the British Government nationalized the faltering bank. Losing almost $55 million in the first half of the year, former RAB head Phillip Richards wrote it off as “very regrettable” while outlining some new strategies for the company that involved investing in under-developed regions throughout India and the Middle East. Richards stepped down shortly after as CEO to concentrate exclusively on the Special Situations Fund.
The RAB Energy Fund is run by Gavin Wilson and Mark Redway and once managed over $1.5 billion at its peak.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citadel Investment Group resumed trading with each other on Friday, one day after the bank had cut off the hedge fund over a hiring dispute, a person familiar with the matter said.
"The dispute has been resolved," a person familiar with the hedge fund said on Friday.
Citadel’s officials could not be reached for comment at the office.
Citadel, one of the world’s largest hedge fund firms with roughly $20 billion in assets, clashed with JP Morgan because it had hired a string of executives from America’s second largest bank this year, people familiar with the matter said.
They said JP Morgan told employees to stop trading stocks, bonds and currencies with Citadel on Thursday morning, essentially prohibiting anyone from buying or selling with the hedge fund.
By Friday, the differences had been resolved and business was back to normal, the person said.
CNBC – Remember Superman the movie, where Lex Luther takes away the super hero’s powers with a Kryptonite necklace? Well we’re here again. Only this time it is the financial equivalent of the man of steel – the hedge fund manager that has met their own version of the power-draining substance.
Barely a day passes it seems without one of these masters of the universe crashing to earth with swinging losses in their fund, or non-survivable business issues.
RAB Capital star, Philip Richards, has stepped down from his role as CEO of the business in the wake of a profit warning and a plunging share price. Mr Richards has already taken some flak taking a large position in ailing UK bank Northern Rock before it was nationalized. Now he goes back to focusing on the group’s special situations fund. So at least he keeps the day job, but this is an embarrassing development for the company.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Philip Richards, head of hedge fund RAB Capital, is stepping down and will be replaced with Finance Director Stephen Couttie, according to a statement made by the company yesterday.
Richards ran the $1.4 billion Special Situations Fund, which received poor press and even worse returns when it lost millions thanks to the nationalization of Northern Rock in February.
Richards will still be employed by RAB, serving as an executive director while still managing the Global Mining and Resources funds, which holds assets of around $210 million. He made headlines recently with his controversial personal stake in Bahamas-based oil exploration company BPC, in which his Special Situations Fund along with Falkland Gold & Minerals facilitated a takeover bid that earned him a hefty paycheck.
RAB currently manages around $5.9 billion in assets, a sharp drop from the over $7 billion it managed in 2007.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Shareholders in Falkland Gold & Minerals have approved plans to buy Bahamas-based oil exploration company BPC after a unanimous vote yesterday.
Philip Richards, head of the RAB Special Situations Fund that owns a 76 percent stake in Falkland, will pocket around £1m thanks to the reverse takeover and his vast personal stake in BPC of 300,000 shares.
While there has been some question regarding a possible conflict of interest with a hedge fund manager having that kind of stake in a company, Richards has been completely transparent in his holdings long before the meeting in which shareholders overwhelmingly approved the takeover.
"This was a deal recommended by two strong independent and separate boards, both of which concluded that it was in the best interest of all their respective shareholders," said a spokesperson for RAB.
Shareholders will get six shares of Falkland for every one share of BPC.
RAB made headlines when the fund experienced sharp declines amidst the nationalization of Northern Rock, in which they amassed a significant stake. Meanwhile, Falkland has posted losses of over 90 percent over the past four years, prompting investors in the Special Situations Fund to lose an estimated £11m.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
Daily Telegraph – Ruth Keattch, the star fund manager nicknamed "Rock Hard Ruth", is to make a come-back with a move to Artemis, the activist fund manager with £14bn under management.
Mrs Keattch, who earned a fearsome reputation at Deutsche Asset Management, where she fought against private equity firms trying to snap up publicly listed companies on the cheap, has been hired by Artemis to again spot the value in companies that have been hit hard by the credit crunch.
She has been appointed to co-manage Artemis’s flagship fund, the £800m Special Situations fund with Derek Stuart.
Mr Stuart, a founder member of Artemis, said: "We want to focus on the stocks that have been hardest hit in the recent sell-off. Ruth has a formidable reputation in the area and we’re very excited that she’s joining."
Times Online- Hedge fund RAB Capital, one of the largest shareholders in Northern Rock when the bank was nationalised in February, this morning announced that its first half pre-tax profit had almost halved and assets under management had shrunk by more than $1 billion in six months.
RAB’s $1.4 billion Special Situations Fund, managed by its chief executive Philip Richards and among the best performers for some years, plunged 23.1 per cent.
The fund had an 8.18 per cent holding in Northern Rock and major positions in African Minerals, a London-based diamond miner, and Falklands Oil and Gas.
The news comes as many of the world’s activist hedge funds are suffering this year, with some posting losses of more than 20 per cent of their funds.
