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.
Reuters – Nick Bullman, who told Reuters he has this week placed bets on falling share prices, is concerned that government stimulus packages have not revived bank lending as much as hoped and that conditions remain as tough for companies as they did last year.
"The rally has been a ‘dash for trash’ based on speculation … On Wednesday (I) went short on the Standard and Poor (500) and financials via ETFs (exchange-traded funds)," he said in an interview on Friday.
Commodity Online – Gold prices had an excellent run last week, led by the extensive fall in the US dollar and strong rally in the equity markets. The rise in crude oil prices also resulted in lifting bullion.
The US currency showcased the biggest decline in a month against euro last week as US data showed that the world’s largest economy contracted lesser than forecasts, which hinted that the recession is fading and gave rise to investor demand in riskier counters such as commodities and equities.
The outlook is bright – the most active benchmark contract at the Comex has pulled off a strong recovery, ending at $953.70 near the resistance at $960, a break and close of which will take prices towards new highs of $966.70/oz and $970.40/oz, state traders.
Charity Times – Putting it into perspective, at January 1 2008 there was $9.7trn of hedge funds assets invested, at the end of 2008 it was $3trn, a massive loss in capital.
This year, hedge funds gained 2.41 per cent in March, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The index is now up 0.82 per cent in 2009. ”After an eight per cent sell-off in early March, the S&P 500 Index bounced back to gain 17 per cent from 9 March to 31 March, its largest three-week rally since 1987” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. Overall, 15 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices gained ground in March. Hedge funds took modest advantage of March’s upswings in the global equity and credit markets, according to Morningstar’s hedge fund performance summary for the first quarter of 2009.
Highbridge Capital Management, once the world’s biggest hedge fund, was a big winner, with $1bn of net inflows this year, including $225m from majority owner JPMorgan. It ended the quarter with $20bn under management.
Reuters – The current rebound in stock markets is a bear rally and could turn by September, according to hedge fund manager Hugh Hendry, who has recently cut exposure to agricultural stocks.
Hendry, who is partner and chief investment officer at Eclectica Asset Management, said that while stock markets have rallied in recent months on hopes for an economic upturn, developed economies are still heading for a 1930s-style depression.
"To date we are maintaining the profile of the economic contraction that we witnessed in the 1930s. Nothing as yet has changed that profile. It’s still a profile of concern to me," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the GAIM 2009 conference in Monaco.
VC Circle – CX Partners, a new private equity firm promoted by former Citigroup Venture Capital International (CVCI) head Ajay Relan, has achieved the first close of $220 million for its maiden fund. The first close was made by the fund in March this year, Relan told VCCircle. The fund plans a final close of $500-600 million by September this year.
"The fundraising environment was tough six months ago, but now it is getting better," Relan told VCCircle. Indian stock markets have also been on a rally with Sensex rising from 8,160 points on March 9 to 14,284 points yesterday.
Bloomberg – Brazilian hedge funds that survived the Bovespa stock index’s record tumble last year by loading up on debt are missing out on a 2009 rally.
All four classes of Brazilian hedge funds, known as multimercados, had a weighted return of less than 5 percent through April 28, according to the National Association of Investment Banks, or Anbid. The Bovespa rose 22 percent in the year through April 28 and 35 percent through today.
Bloomberg – Companies with the most debt and lowest returns on assets are turning the biggest six-week rally in stocks since 1938 into a bloodbath for last year’s best- performing trading strategy.
Investors in so-called quantitative momentum funds — which speculate that the worst stocks in the past 12 months will continue to decline — have become this year’s biggest losers after banks and companies that rely on consumer spending surged. Quant momentum managers may have tumbled 27 percent this month in the U.S., the most since at least 1993, while those in Europe may have lost 20 percent in March and 24 percent in April, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Reuters – World stocks steadied on Friday but were still on track for a sixth consecutive week of gains, while the euro fell on worries about the region’s prospects.
MSCI‘s main world stock index was flat despite modest gains in Europe and a rebound in Japan. But the index was up 1.6 percent on the week, gaining around 28 percent since a March 9 low.
U.S. financial services firmState Street said evidence was building that big investors were buying into the rally, particularly in U.S. and emerging market stocks.
Reuters India – New Vernon Bought stakes in Indage Vitners and Orbit Corp. Deutsche Sec bought 11% into UB Group.
Private equity and hedge funds seem to be playing their parts in the brief rally that the Indian stock markets are witnessing. Multi-strategy fund New Vernon has picked up minor stakes in two
companies. New Vernon bought little more than 3% stake in Indage Vintners for Rs 2.76 crore. Indage Vintners, formerly known as Champagne Indage, is one of the oldest wine producer in the country.
Bloomberg – Global Tactical Trust, a hedge fund run out of Australia by Boston-based Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., is betting the recent rally in stocks will end, and is avoiding high-risk investments.
The hedge fund that invests based on global economic trends returned 13 percent last year, when the industry posted average declines of 19 percent, by wagering against equities and backing bonds. Managed by Jason Halliwell, the fund is long the U.S. dollar, yen, U.S. Treasuries and gold, expecting them to rise, while remaining neutral on equities.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – March was a challenging month for hedge funds, which entered the month with tight net exposures, according to research by hedge fund consultant Hennessee LLC.
Technology and healthcare/biotech were bright spots for hedge funds, as these sectors were relative outperformers. While the strong equity rally did cause short squeezes, most hedge fund managers expect short portfolios to generate profits in the near term.
The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index advanced +1.37% in March (+1.09% YTD), while the S&P 500 advanced +8.54% (-11.67% YTD).
“Most funds were caught with tight net exposures and were unable to participate in the rally," Charles Gradante, Co-Founder of Hennessee Group said, "Managers were also hurt as the sectors they have been heavily short, such as financials, consumer discretionary and materials, were the sectors that rallied the strongest.”
“Despite the underperformance in March relative to the equity benchmarks, hedge funds are still outperforming for the year,” said Lee Hennessee , Managing Principal of Hennessee Group. “We expect that we will continue to see volatility throughout the year.”
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Bloomberg – An unexpected coffee rally sparked by dwindling supplies risks squeezing Starbucks Corp., Kraft Foods Inc. and hedge funds betting on a decline.
Demand may exceed output by 8 million 60-kilogram bags in the coming year — almost what Germany consumes — and exporter stockpiles are the lowest since 1965, the International Coffee Organization said. Arabica coffee futures may jump 25 percent this year after falling for the first time since 2001 as output drops in Brazil and Colombia, the Western Hemisphere’s top two growers, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said Feb. 9.
“We see coffee prices increasing in 2009,” Sandra Bachofer, who helps manage $1.2 billion for Zug, Switzerland-based Tiberius Group, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “We expect coffee to be one of the most promising commodities in 2009.”
