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.
Bloomberg – Bernard Madoff’s brother, sons and niece were sued by a liquidator over claims they spent $198.7 million of victims’ money and treated the con man’s investment firm as their personal bank.
The lawsuit against the brother, Peter Madoff, sons Andrew and Mark Madoff and niece Shana Madoff Swanson, all of whom held positions at the defunct firm, was filed yesterday by trustee Irving Picard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
The Washingtom Post – Reston-based satellite firm SkyTerra said Wednesday that it has agreed to be acquired by its biggest shareholder in a roughly $280 million transaction that will return the company to private ownership.
Under the deal, New York-based investment firm Harbinger Capital Partners will pay $5 per common share of SkyTerra — a 56 percent premium over the stock’s average price in the month before the announcement. SkyTerra shares gained more than 38 percent on Wednesday, closing at $4.71.
Bloomberg – D.E. Shaw & Co., the $29 billion investment firm run by David Shaw, said the Dubai Financial Services Authority granted its Middle East unit a license to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre.
The firm aims to build on its public and private investment through regional unit D.E. Shaw & Co. MENA Ltd., the New York- based hedge fund manager said in an e-mailed statement from Dubai today. This will be D.E. Shaw’s first office in the Middle East and North Africa region and adds to its 13 across North America, Europe and Asia, it added.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Alternative investment manager and advisor, Climate Change Capital, (CCC) has been appointed to manage a climate change fund for Dublin-domiciled UCITS platform, Russell OpenWorld.
The Global Climate Change Fund will be managed by Climate Change Capital’s Global Equities’ team of Paul Udall and Ronnie Lim.
The new fund will invest globally in sectors impacted by climate change. Udall and Lim, both Managing Directors at Climate Change Capital together have over 30 years’ investment experience, and over 12 years’ experience in managing specialist environmental equities. Prior to joining Climate Change Capital in 2007, both worked in the Sustainable Investment team at Morley Fund Management (now Aviva Global Investors), a top-ranked Socially Responsible Investing team.
“Climate Change Capital is uniquely positioned globally as an investment firm to benefit from the significant investment opportunities that exist in climate change,” Shaun Mays, Chief Executive Officer at CCC, said, “Russell has a highly-regarded research and due diligence process, and we are pleased to be selected as the manager for one of their specialist, thematic funds.”
The fund aims to provide significant excess returns above global equity markets by investing in a manager that takes high conviction active positions in companies that are affected by climate change. This is a relatively new area of investing, enabling investors to add an innovative and differentiated return stream to their portfolios.
With over US $1.5 billion under management as of April 2009, Climate Change Capital aims to provide attractive returns to investors, demonstrating the financial opportunity associated with the low carbon economy.
Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo.net alex@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!
Reuters – Opportunistic property investment firm NewRiver Retail said on Monday it would list in September with a capitalisation of 25 million pounds, two months after suspending a planned 250 million pounds float.
NewRiver expects its shares to be admitted to London’s Alternative Investment Market on September 1, it said in a statement. The shares would also be admitted to the Channel Islands Stock Exchange.
HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Hedge Fund veterans James Coleman and Vincent Le Hodey have joined global alternative investment firm Probitas Partners at its London office.
“We are very excited to have James and Vincent join Probitas Partners. They are seasoned industry veterans and well respected in their market." Greg Hausler, a Founding Partner at Probitas Partners, commented, "The current global environment is as tough as it has ever been for capital raising and executing secondary mandates. The addition of James and Vincent to our London office advances our capabilities to provide the very best research, advice, fund offerings and liquidity management to European Limited Partners.”
Coleman, a Managing Director at Probitas Partners, will lead the firm’s efforts in Europe by managing key Limited Partner relationships, sourcing new General Partner clients and facilitating secondary sales activities. Le Hodey, a Director at Probitas Partners, will focus his efforts on relationship management and secondary fund advisory for Probitas Partners’ Limited Partner client base. Before joining Probitas Partners, Coleman was a Partner at Deloitte and headed its Fund Placement Advisory Group. Le Hodey also was formerly with Deloitte’s Fund Placement Advisory Group as a Director.
"Probitas Partners provides Vincent and me with a dynamic global platform from which to serve our European clients. We believe accessing Probitas Partners’ top-quality fund sponsors, its industry-leading market research, and its deep experience in the secondary advisory business will reward European Limited Partners." Coleman concluded.
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Bloomberg – Highland Capital Management LP, the Dallas-based investment firm that’s liquidating its main hedge fund, was sued by attorneys Schulte Roth and Zabel LLP for allegedly not paying $2.83 million in legal fees.
The New York-based law firm initiated a lawsuit in New York state court yesterday, listing what it said were unpaid invoices from June 2008 to this month.
“We believe Schulte Roth overbilled the firm and its funds for legal services,” Highland said in an e-mailed statement. “Highland has paid Schulte Roth nearly $1 million in good faith, and has made every effort to resolve this issue with them.”
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Roy H. Callahan has been selected as portfolio manager and member of the investment committee at alternative investment firm, Coast Asset Management, LLC firm’s , effective June 15.
"We are thrilled that Roy Callahan has agreed to rejoin our team," said David Smith, president of Coast. "Roy brings a wealth of knowledge and alternative investments expertise that will be invaluable as we continue to steer Coast through the challenges brought on by the global recession."
Callahan joins Coast from Stratos Advisers, a southern California-based hedge fund of funds manager. Previously, Callahan worked at Financial Risk Management (FRM) where his responsibilities included serving on the investment and portfolio management committees as well as training and mentoring FRM investment analyst groups. He spent six years from 1994-2000 at Santa Monica, CA-based Coast as director of research where he helped Coast founder David Smith develop and launch the firm’s initial multi-manager investment strategies.
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Bloomberg – Convertible bonds that punished hedge funds in 2008 are driving returns at Canyon Partners and Citadel Investment Group LLC and helping companies from JetBlue Airways Corp. to Alliance Data Systems Corp. raise capital.
Canyon, the $14.4 billion investment firm run by former Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. bankers, gained more than 51 percent in its convertible fund through May 22, according to a May 29 letter sent to investors. Citadel posted a 21 percent return in its two main funds through May, aided by convertible bets.
Seattle Times – Federal prosecutors are expected to unseal indictments Thursday in a massive tax-evasion investigation involving the Seattle investment firm Quellos Group, accusing its officers of operating offshore tax shelters used to hide hundreds of millions of dollars from the government, according to lawyers familiar with the case.
Quellos has been under investigation for at least two years and in 2006 earned its own chapter in a report titled "Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, the Tools and the Secrecy" published by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Daily Territorial – A third offer to take copper miner Asarco out of Chapter 11 was filed last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas, by New York City-based hedge-fund manager Harbinger Capital Partners.
The $500 million reorganization is competing for control of Asarco with plans offered by Sterlite Industries, based in Mumbai, India, and Asarco’s parent company, Grupo Mexico.
The plan from Harbinger Capital, one of Asarco’s largest bondholders, is less than half the other offers but the investment firm says its offer is better because the other two either lack sufficient support from creditors or won’t meet bankruptcy court standards.
Reuters – Improving markets and a need to recoup 2008 losses will prompt investors to pour $50 billion (30 billion pounds) into hedge funds this year and slow redemptions, Barclays Capital said in a report on Tuesday.
More than 300 investors surveyed by Barclays’ prime brokerage unit reported stashing, on average, 14 percent of their portfolios in cash. Nearly 80 percent of these investors said they plan to start putting some of that cash back into hedge funds.
"In spite of dramatic changes in the investor landscape, certain investors were ready to deploy their cash balances aggressively once markets stabilized," Brian Reilly, a Barclays Capital managing director, said in a statement.
