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New York (HedgeCo.net) – There has been a continuing decline in global hedge fund industry AUM during the first half of 2009, slipping a further 8.5% during the first half of 2009 to reach a total figure of $1.67 trillion by July, according to the latest research conducted by HedgeFund Intelligence (HFI).
From a peak figure of almost $2.7 trillion reached during the first half of 2008, global hedge fund assets have now fallen by some 38%. In the first half of this year, however, performance was generally robust, with a median return from hedge funds globally of over 5%. This implies that net redemptions from hedge funds were continuing at a fairly rapid rate between January and June – with as much as 15% of investor money being pulled from the industry during the first half, and the further overall decline only partially offset by positive performance.
Neil Wilson, editorial director at HedgeFund Intelligence, said “Following a period of strong performance during the third quarter and plenty of anecdotal evidence that the majority of funds have begun to see net inflows again, we would not be surprised to see industry assets rise from the midyear levels by at least 10% before the end of
2009.”
During the first half, the number of firms that run hedge fund assets of $1 billion or more went down from 395 in the first half of 2008 to 311 at the beginning of 2009 and now to 291 at the mid-year point. The combined assets of these ‘billion dollar club’ firms also shrank further – from $1.46 trillion in January to $1.37 trillion by July.
New York remains by some distance the top global centre for hedge funds. Though New York’s total number of billion dollar firms slipped a little, from 123 to 118, during the first half, its share of assets remained almost unchanged at nearly 47%. London is still comfortably the second biggest centre, but its number of billion dollar firms dropped more steeply in the first half – from 65 to 55, as several UK-based firms slipped below the $1 billion mark. London’s share of the global billion dollar club’s total assets thus slipped from over 17% to under 15%.
Connecticut is still in third place, with a share of assets slightly up at nearly 10.5%. The figures for other global hedge fund centres were largely unchanged, with centres on the increase this year including Hong Kong and Singapore.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Two New York residents were charged yesterday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after allegedly misappropriating at least $553 million of client’s funds.
Stephen Walsh of Sands Point, NY and Paul Greenwood of North Salem, NY are being hit with futures fraud in connection with their companies, which include Westridge Capital Management Inc., WG Trading Investors, LP, and WGIA, LLC.
“Defendants treated investor money– some of which came from a public pension fund– as their own piggy bank to lavish themselves with expensive gifts,” said Stephen J. Obie, Acting Director of Enforcement for the CFTC.
According to the complaint, Walsh and Greenwood took approximately $1.3 billion from investors in their entities since 1996. The men allegedly told their clients that all of the funds would be employed in a single investment strategy of index arbitrage.
They then doctored false promissory notes to keep up the appearance to investors. In reality, the funds were transferred to another entity, where Walsh and Greenwood dipped into the cash for personal spending sprees which included horses, residences, and even an $80,000 teddy bear. It is estimated that they withdrew $160 million total for personal expenses.
The CFTC is seeking a statutory restraining order that will freeze their assets while preserving records.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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San Francisco Gate – Friday, January 9, 2009 Alexander James Trabulse, 61, was taken into custody Monday, according to U.S Customs and Border Protection officials. He appeared later that day before U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Laporte in San Francisco and is to return to court today.
He was arrested three days after federal prosecutors charged him with mail fraud in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Authorities said Trabulse sent account statements to investors in his Fahey Fund that inflated the hedge fund’s returns by as much as 200 percent, while using investor money to purchase cars and finance shopping sprees for family members.
Nashville Tennessean- A filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday revealed another institutional investor who placed large bets on shares of Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment as its stock price drifted to new lows almost two weeks ago.
New York-based hedge fund Eminence Capital LLC, headed by Ricky C. Sandler, disclosed that it acquired 2.8 million shares, or 6.9 percent, of Gaylord stock on July 14, the same day a Goldman Sachs downgrade sent the stock to its 52-week low of $19.30 per share.
The stock closed at $29.20 Thursday, up nearly 35 percent in the past 10 days, but still only trading at about half of its yearly high, reached last August.
Bloomberg- Wall Street is losing its top oil analysts as securities firms suffer record losses and hedge funds offer the promise of higher pay.
Morgan Stanley’s Douglas Terreson and Citigroup Inc.’s Doug Leggate, ranked first and second by Institutional Investor on coverage of the biggest oil companies, left their positions, the banks said. Geoff Kieburtz, the No. 3 analyst for oilfield contractors, is leaving Citigroup. Robert Morris, the top-ranked analyst for independent oil companies such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp., left Bank of America earlier this year.
Exxon Mobil Corp., Anadarko and other oil stocks rose to all-time highs this year as crude futures surged 46 percent to a record $139.89 a barrel and natural gas jumped 73 percent. The exits also came as banks and securities firms cut more than 83,000 jobs after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market led to $390 billion in writedowns and losses.
Stamford Advocate- Despite a chaotic financial services sector, a new ranking shows money continued to pour into hedge funds at a historic rate last year.
The top 100 firms managed a record $1.35 trillion in 2007, including about $148 billion controlled by 11 lower Fairfield County hedge funds, according to a list compiled by Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine.
The $1.35 trillion held by the top 100 marked a 35 percent increase from the year before and the $148 billion managed locally was a 16.5 percent increase from the 2007 list.
Tops among local hedge funds, and the only lower Fairfield County firm in the top 10, was Westport-based Bridgewater Associates. Bridgewater regained its No. 2 ranking with $36 billion in assets.
