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.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Encouraged by a promising investment environment and accelerated investment pace, New York-based special opportunities fund, Atalaya Capital Management LP, today announced that it has expanded its team, adding three investment professionals and a marketing professional.
“Recent positive changes in our target investment markets have prompted Atalaya to bolster our professional platform in order to capitalize on market conditions and new opportunities,” said Ivan Q. Zinn, Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer.
Josh Ufberg joined as a Principal from Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group, while Rana Mitra and Alex Wang have joined the team responsible for the sourcing and purchase of private credit assets as Senior Associate and Associate, respectively. Ashley Fochtman joined the Firm as a Vice President and will be working in a business development capacity. Previously, Ms. Fochtman worked in hedge fund marketing and at Goldman Sachs as an energy derivatives analyst.
Founded by Mr. Zinn in 2006, Atalaya focuses on the opportunistic purchase of senior secured credit from forced sellers, failed financial institutions and sellers in need of liquidity such as banks, commercial finance companies, and other financial and investment institutions.
About Atalaya Capital Management
Atalaya Capital Management is an alternative investment firm focused on investing in small and middle market credit opportunities. Since inception in early 2006, the Firm has successfully invested over $1 billion through (1) the opportunistic purchase of private, senior secured credit from forced sellers, failed financial institutions and sellers in need of liquidity, and (2) proprietary ‘new issue’ credit investments including DIP loans and other senior secured financings.
AltAssets – LGT Capital Partners, an alternative assets manager, has held the first close of its listed fund Crown Global Secondaries II on $268m. The overall fundraising target of the fund is $750m.
Tycho Sneyers, partner at LGT Capital Partners, said, “We are raising a mid-sized secondary fund which allows us to be very selective and focus on those transactions where we have proprietary insights. We believe our disciplined approach of acquiring high-quality assets through smaller, less intermediated transactions will achieve attractive returns while taking limited risks.”
Seeking Alpha – This is the latest edition in a new series of posts we’re doing here entitled, ‘hedge fund news summaries.’ And, as as the title obviously states, the goal is to give you the quick hits of everything that is happening in hedge fund land. So far, reader response has been very positive and we thank you for the feedback. As such, we will continue posting them since many have found them useful. You can check out our most recent hedge fund news summary to catch up to speed as well.
Seth Klarman (Baupost group) – The value master himself has recently been "up to no good." And, by that, we simply mean he has been active making investments. Intriguingly enough, Klarman’s latest target has been CIT Group. Before you avid Klarman-ites become appalled and outraged at this move, settle down… this is a pretty good deal for him. (Obviously, right? Why else would he do it?) Klarman’s hedge fund Baupost Group was part of the assembly of funds that provided financing for CIT.
Reuters – The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers), which manages $169 billion in public pension funds, may boost its private-equity investments by around 40 percent as slumping markets create some acquisition bargains.
Calpers’ board next week is scheduled to vote on a plan that would increase the fund’s target for corporate buyout and venture-capital investments to 14 percent from 10 percent.
Spokesman Clark McKinley said the fund’s $22.8 billion of such investments has jumped to 13 percent as the sinking value of stocks and other assets reduced the size of the overall fund.
Times and Democrat – Activist shareholder William Ackman sought for months to replace four incumbents on the Minneapolis-based retailer’s board of directors with five of his own picks, including himself.
The head of Pershing Square Capital Management, which has a 7.8 percent stake in Target, has argued that the cheap chic discount retailer, which has stumbled as shoppers focus on basics, needed new perspective. He said it especially needed to beef up its board in the areas of retail and real estate to better compete with its chief rival, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., based in Bentonville, Ark.
Shareholders rejected those arguments at their meeting outside Milwaukee Thursday. They also sided with the company in approving a measure that sets the board’s size at the current 12 members, instead of the 13 that Ackman had wanted.
Daily Times – Less than three weeks ahead of what’s expected to be a heated proxy contest at Target’s annual shareholders’ meeting, activist shareholder William Ackman aims to strengthen his case to investors for a new slate of directors by personally introducing his roster at a town hall meeting here Monday.
According to documents filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ackman, who runs Pershing Square Capital Management, which owns a 7.8 percent stake in the discounter, intends to “improve Target’s board and consequently, help make Target a stronger, more profitable and more valuable company.”
Professional Pensions – European schemes are increasing their allocation to non-traditional asset classes in a bid to manage their risks more effectively, Mercer says.
The consultant’s European Asset Allocation Survey – which polled around 1000 schemes from 11 countries – found 35% of UK schemes and 60% of European schemes (excluding the UK) expected to introduce new investment classes into their portfolio to help manage future investment risk.
Mercer investment consulting European head Tom Geraghty said: "Despite being innately diverse in history, culture and regulatory requirements, European pension funds have all felt the effect of the last year’s market turmoil.
AltAssets – Abbott Capital Management, a US-based independent investment manager, announced today that it has met its target for the Abbott Capital Private Equity Fund VI, having raised over $1bn.
Like Abbott’s previous funds, the investment strategy for ACE VI is to invest in a range of venture capital and growth equity, buy-out and special situations funds within the US and other developed markets.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Two high-ranking men who worked in the New York State comptroller’s office were arrested yesterday after it was discovered they took millions of dollars in kickbacks from private equity and hedge funds, said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
David Loglisci, who was the top investment officer of the state’s $122 billion pension fund, along with Henry Morris, who fund-raised for former comptroller Alan Hevesi, were nailed in a 123-count indictment, which included charges of money laundering, securities fraud and bribery.
It was discovered that over 20 transactions made by the pension fund involved kickbacks, with five of those coming from the renowned private equity fund The Carlyle Group.
Morris, who was released after posting a $1 million cash bail, allegedly received $13 million from The Carlyle Group, from investments that totaled $730 million.
“Morris used the fund as his own piggy bank and took approximately $30 million in fees for himself and his business partners on investments which Morris himself had a role in approving,” Cuomo said.
Lawyers for both men contend their clients are innocent, saying that all of the transactions benefited the pension fund and were agreed upon by outside financial institutions. The Carlyle Group has stated they have “fully cooperated with the New York Attorney General’s Office and is not a target of the investigation.”
If convicted, both men could face a life sentence in prison.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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Reuters – The nation’s second-largest pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), said it was sticking by a medium-term plan to double exposure to alternative assets such as hedge funds and private equity.
The 23 billion pound pension scheme confirmed the target as it announced its first appointment to a new hedge funds team on Monday.
USS currently has 10 percent exposure to alternatives, making it already one of the more adventurous UK pension funds.
Its plan to increase that to 20 percent, coupled with specific move to boost hedge fund investment, will be comfort to an industry which struggled with poor performance and heavy outflows during a turbulent 2008.
"We believe that the current turmoil in the hedge fund industry represents a compelling investment opportunity for investors like USS who are able to take the long-term view," said USS’s head of alternative assets Michael Powell.
There have been fears that conservative long-term investors such as pension schemes could be put off future allocations to hedge funds.
Reuters UK – The nation’s second-largest pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), said it was sticking by a medium-term plan to double exposure to alternative assets such as hedge funds and private equity.
The 23 billion pound pension scheme confirmed the target as it announced its first appointment to a new hedge funds team on Monday.
USS currently has 10 percent exposure to alternatives, making it already one of the more adventurous UK pension funds.
Its plan to increase that to 20 percent, coupled with specific move to boost hedge fund investment, will be comfort to an industry which struggled with poor performance and heavy outflows during a turbulent 2008.
"We believe that the current turmoil in the hedge fund industry represents a compelling investment opportunity for investors like USS who are able to take the long-term view," said USS’s head of alternative assets Michael Powell.
Forbes – Britain’s second-largest pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), said it was sticking by a medium-term plan to double exposure to alternative assets such as hedge funds and private equity.
The 23 billion pound ($32.79 billion) pension scheme confirmed the target as it announced its first appointment to a new hedge funds team on Monday.
