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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Former Pacific Investment Management Co. portfolio manager John Brynjolfsson is rumored to be starting his own hedge fund in the near future.
Ronald Solberg of Viking Asset Management will team up with Brynjolfsson to run Armored Wolf LLC, which will “vary weightings among real asset sectors and securities based on a top-down assessment of the investing environment,” according to the firm’s website.
Prior to venturing out on his own, Brynjolfsson managed the $14.4 billion Commodity Real Return Strategy Fund at Pimco and has been with the firm since 1989. The Commodity Real Return Strategy Fund employed swap agreements to gain exposure to changes in a broad index of commodity futures prices, using portfolio assets as collateral.
Brynjolfsson also ran the firm’s $15.5 billion Real Return Fund. Both funds saw impressive gains in 2007 during a year when many hedge funds were suffering.
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Reuters UK – Global macro and market neutral strategies look set to be top performers over the next 12-18 months, but it is still too early for a pick-up in distressed debt investing, top hedge fund executives said on Tuesday. Speakers at the Global Alternative Investment Management meeting in Monaco said current volatile market conditions and the prospect of the credit crisis continuing or getting worse made market neutral funds, which aim to make money in both rising and falling markets, and macro funds attractive.
"With high levels of volatility they (market neutral) should be able to get good returns for less leverage. If you’re concerned about the level of markets and the continuation of this credit crisis, equity market neutral may be a good strategy," said Peter Rigg, global head of the alternative investment bank at HSBC Private Bank (Suisse).
MANILA (Reuters) - A unit of investment fund Ashmore Group said on Friday it has offered to buy the remaining 60 percent stake in Philippine oil refiner Petron for nearly $827 million, which would give it full control of the company.
SEA Refinery Holdings B.V., a company owned by Ashmore Investment Management Limited, agreed to buy a 40 percent stake in Petron for $550 million from Saudi Aramco earlier this year.
Greenwich Time – A Greenwich-based investment management and advisory firm has launched a new hedge fund geared toward lending capital to underserved and niche businesses.
Sands Brothers Asset Management, with offices on Valley Drive in Greenwich, recently unveiled their Genesis Merchant Partners fund, an asset-based lending fund that provides capital despite the tight credit markets, fund officials said.
"It’s very difficult for companies to obtain capital post credit crunch," said Jonathan Feniak, director of marketing and business development and investment for Sands Brothers. "We’re providing loans through Genesis Merchant Partners that are ultimately much cheaper than selling equity at depressed prices."
Asset-based lending is any kind of lending that is secured by an asset. If a loan is not repaid, an asset is taken in exchange.
Genesis, which has 11 employees, will be working with businesses that may otherwise scare more traditional lending sources during the current credit crunch.
For example, according to some published reports, Genesis has been linked to providing financing for the fur trade and animal pelts.
"We look at a broad array of industries that offer up hard assets as collateral and diversification for the portfolio," Feniak said. "We’re filling a need for smaller companies. The niche markets have been the first ones to be excluded by traditional lenders."
