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 – Switzerland is the world’s most attractive financial center for the “mobile wealthy,” beating London, Singapore and New York, according to a new survey by Scorpio Partnership.
The Alpine nation ranks highest for economic and political stability, legal issues, children’s education and infrastructure, the London-based wealth management adviser said. Switzerland placed fifth for tax and immigration, behind Monaco, Singapore, Cayman and Hong Kong.
“To the mobile wealthy, Switzerland is very nearly all things to all people,” said Scorpio Director Stephen Wall. It “has been and will continue to be the biggest beneficiary of moves away from London.”
Moneycontrol.com – Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at the Columbia University and the 2001 Nobel Prize winner, said the US government’s bailout packages designed for financial institutions may not work. “It is a peculiarly-structured programme,” Stiglitz said, “The government puts in 92% of the money, the private sector walks away with 50% of the profits and the government absorbs almost all the losses. What kind of partnership is that?”
The Nobel Prize winner said the financial system in the US engaged in too much risk-taking. “If you are a bank too big to fail, you have a one-sided bet. If you win, you walk off with the profit. If you lose, you are too big to fail, so the government picks up the losses.
Wall Street Journal Blogs – Wasim Rehman, the 28-year-old head of risk controls at the hedge fund manager Marshall Wace, has resigned from the partnership and plans to retire from the investment industry.
In a statement to the market this morning, Marshall Wace said Rehman would continue as a consultant to the company, initially full-time as chairman of the firm’s quantitative oversight committee, but then becoming part-time and “thereby fulfilling his desire to pursue other opportunities outside of the industry.”
Reuters – Fund of hedge funds boutique Hermes BPK Partners said on Monday it has appointed Glyn Jones, former chief executive officer of Thames River Capital and Gartmore, as its new chairman.
Hermes BPK Partners is a partnership between its managers and UK fund firm Hermes, which is owned by the 39 billion pound ($58.19 billion) BT (BT.L) pension scheme.
MSNBC – Hedge funds are being offered a sweet deal to help the Obama administration rescue the U.S. banking system: A low-risk opportunity to scoop up soured bank assets that could one day make them a killing.
But the deal could make for an uneasy partnership.
The government also wants to closely police hedge funds, some of which have been accused of placing irresponsible bets that helped trigger the financial crisis. Such regulatory overhaul could reshape an industry known for secrecy and little oversight.
Denver Post – Hedge funds are being offered a deal to help the feds rescue the banking system: A low-risk opportunity to buy bad bank assets that could one day make them a killing.
But the deal could make for an uneasy partnership. The government also wants to closely police hedge funds — large investment pools that cater mainly to the rich — some of which have been accused of placing irresponsible bets that helped trigger the financial crisis. Such regulatory overhaul could reshape an industry known for secrecy and little oversight.
New York Times Blogs – Swiss private bank Union Bancaire Privée, one of the largest European hedge-fund investors, offered Thursday to buy back $700 million of its clients’ Bernard L. Madoff-related investments at half what they originally paid.
The bank, based in Geneva, will offer to pay clients the equivalent of 50 percent of the cost of their investment in five equal annual payments, plus 2 percent interest, Jérôme Koechlin, a UBP spokesman, told Bloomberg News. The first payment would be made on Dec. 31, he added.
‘‘The bank has decided to make a goodwill gesture,’’ the company said in an e-mailed statement. This is ‘‘designed to reinforce its partnership with its clients by offering a comprehensive financial package.’’
Reuters – Amiri Capital, the Islamic asset manager backed by investment firm Olivant, said on Monday it has teamed up with broker Newedge to launch the first Islamic fund of long/short hedge funds marketed in the Middle East.
The partnership with Newedge — itself a joint venture between Calyon and Societe Generale — allows Amiri to launch the fund, which was put on hold when original partner Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection in September.
Hedge funds are a relatively new concept in Islamic finance and a bone of contention, with some scholars rejecting them as speculative and others sanctioning them as a tool for diversification.
Reuters – Internet firm Yahoo Inc is "not opposed" to doing a deal that would potentially sell its search business, Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said on Wednesday.
But he said the search business is deeply intertwined with Yahoo’s other online products and properties, and so any deal, whether a partnership or a sale, would be done for the right reasons and the right economics.
"It’s extremely difficult to draw a line down the middle of the organization and split it into two pieces," Jorgensen told the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet conference.
He did not mention specifically Microsoft Corp, which has repeatedly said it was interested in doing a search deal with Yahoo to compete against market leader Google Inc.
CNNMoney.com – ACF Industries and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) are suing hedge fund Steel Partners, accusing the fund of fraud by failing to tell investors of plans to go public, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Reuters says ACF, which court documents say is affiliated with Carl Icahn, invested $15 million with Steel Partners Offshore Fund Ltd, which became Steel Partners II (Offshore) Ltd. In the suit, Bank of America, acting as trustee for ACF’s employee pension fund, accuses Steel Partners of failing to give proper notice of plans to become a publicly traded partnership.
Bloomberg – Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz, who took the job yesterday, won’t get much of a honeymoon with the Internet company’s investors.
Shareholders are looking for Yahoo to rekindle talks with Microsoft Corp. or possibly sell off assets — anything that earns them a quick return. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said as recently as last week that he’s still open to a partnership with Yahoo, something that may be first on investors’ agenda.
Bloomberg – Activist investor Warren Lichtenstein is seeking to convert his largest hedge fund into a publicly traded partnership after clients sought to withdraw 38 percent of their money.
The $1.2 billion Steel Partners II Fund lost 39 percent last year and froze redemptions in December, according to a presentation to investors last week. Lichtenstein is asking investors to approve a plan to merge the fund with WebFinancial LP, a publicly traded partnership it already controls. The move will allow withdrawals to resume without forcing the fund to liquidate assets.
“The WebFinancial structure achieves our objectives of providing liquidity to those that want it, while maximizing value for all our investors,” New York-based Steel Partners LLC said in a statement. If the conversion is approved, the firm expects investors to be able to begin selling WebFinancial units by June.
