Hedge funds are now a $3 trillion industry [Barrons]
Inside the mind of Fairholme's Bruce Berkowitz [Institutional Investor]
How to craft the world's worst pitchbook [HF Intelligence]
Cybersecurity firm says large hedge fund attacked [CNBC]
Omega Advisors' Einhorn says bull market not over [Reuters]
Paulson & Co amasses large stake in Allergan [Reuters]
Relational said to plan activist campaign against Manitowoc [Dealbook]
Jeff Ubben has new target: his hedge fund peers [WSJ]
Former ESL pros open activist operation [HF Alert]
Hedge fund investors are fussy about fees [Funds Europe]
Hedge funds face higher prime broker charges under Basel III [Risk.net]
Saba, Brevan Howard struggle as volatility disappears [BusinessWeek]
Investors adopting partnership-driven approach to hedge funds [COO Connect]
HF analyst: the things I know for sure [Wall Street Oasis]
Friday, June 27, 2014
What We're Reading ~ Hedge Fund Links 6/27/14
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Jeff Ubben & Barry Rosenstein on Activist Investing at Milken Institute
At the Milken Institute Global Conference, prominent hedge fund managers gathered on a panel about activist investors and the search for alpha. The panel consisted of:
- Jeff Ubben, ValueAct Capital
- Barry Rosenstein, JANA Partners
- Clifton Robbins, Blue Harbour Group
- Chris Teets, Red Mountain Capital
In it, the fund managers talked about the different styles of activist investing.
Rosenstein said that, "I'm happy to be friendly as long as the company does what I want them to do."
Robbins contributed, "I think that there's been a palpable change in the last four or five years generally in the attitudes of boards and CEOS in their willingness to listen to large stockholders."
Ubben took issue with activist investing being 'daytrader fodder' and labeled it as 'bad.' Ubben revealed he had built an eBay stake at $50 and wanted to buy more but Icahn's involvement pushed shares higher. He says Carl's a great stockpicker, but the activist situation there was a non-event.
Ubben later noted that he thinks activist investing is too short-term these days rather than building a company over the long-term. Robbins agreed with him. However, Rosenstein took the other side of the argument.
Embedded below is the full activist investing panel from the Milken Institute Global Conference:
For more on the subject, head to Mason Morfit's lectures on activist investing (he's part of ValueAct with Ubben).
Tiger Global Discloses Zhaopin Position
Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan's hedge fund Tiger Global has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Zhaopin (ZPIN). Per the filing, Tiger Global now owns 18.6% of the company with over 2.49 million shares (represented by over 1.24 million ADR shares).
The filing was made due to activity on June 12th as the company has just completed its initial public offering (IPO).
You can view other recent portfolio activity from Tiger Global here.
Per Google Finance, Zhaopin is "a career platform in China, focusing on connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their career lifecycle. The Company’s zhaopin.com Website is a career-focused Website in China. The Company provides a range of services, including online recruitment, campus recruitment, assessment and other human resources related services. Through its zhaopin Websites and mobile applications, it provides classified job postings and display advertisements, resume access services and other online services. The Company provides campus recruitment services primarily to customers seeking to recruit college and university students. These services include selecting campuses, organizing recruiting events, collecting and managing resumes and conducting interviews and assessment tests with candidates."
Valinor Management & Lee Cooperman Update dELiA's Stakes
David Gallo's hedge fund firm Valinor Management has filed an amended 13D and form 4 with the SEC regarding their stake in dELiA's (DLIA). Per the filing, Valinor now owns 27.9% of the company with aggregate exposure to 24.8 million shares.
This marks an increase of over 18.2 million shares of common stock since the end of the first quarter. Valinor automatically converted their Secured Convertible Notes into shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock. The filing was made due to activity on June 17th.
The 13D notes that Valinor has nominated Seth Cohen to dELiA's board and he is now a director. The hedge fund also has the right to nominate another individual to the board, but that person cannot be an employee of the fund.
Valinor originally started its dELiAs stake in October of 2013.
Lee Cooperman Updates Stake Too
Omega Advisors' Lee Cooperman has also filed an amended 13G with the SEC regarding dELiA's too. Lee has revealed he owns 11.42% of the company with over 8.5 million shares.
His stake is comprised of 3.75 million shares of common stock (issuable upon conversion of 30,000 shares of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock).
A few months ago, we also highlighted that Tiger Global raised its dELiA's stake.
Per Google Finance, dELiAs is "a retail company comprised of two lifestyle brands primarily targeting teenage girls and young women. The Company generates revenue by selling predominantly to teenage consumers through direct mail catalogs, Websites and retail stores. It operates in dELiA*s brand. Through its e-commerce Webpages, catalogs and retail stores, dELiA*s (the brand) offers a variety of product categories to teenage girls to cater to an entire lifestyle. Through its catalogs and the e-commerce Webpages, it sells many name brand products along with its own brand products in key teenage spending categories. These products include apparel and accessories. Its mall-based dELiA*s specialty retail stores derive revenue primarily from the sale of apparel and accessories and, to a lesser extent, branded apparel to teenage girls. It operates in two segments: direct marketing and retail stores."
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Our 50% Discount to the Value Investing Congress Expires in 2 Days: Only 123 Seats Left
Just a reminder for readers that our 50% discount to the Value Investing Congress in New York City expires in just 2 days! Click here to register and use discount code: MARKETFOLLY
*** Please note that this venue is much smaller than previous years and there are now only 123 seats left. ***
Event Details
Date: September 8 & 9, 2014
Location: Florence Gould Hall in New York City near Central Park
Hotel: Discounted group rate at the Loews Regency Hotel
Hedge Fund Speakers
Lee Cooperman, Omega Advisors
Jeff Smith, Starboard Value
Alex Roepers, Atlantic Investment Management
Carson Block, Muddy Waters Research
Sahm Adrangi, Kerrisdale Capital
Guy Gottfried, Rational Investment Group
David Hurwitz, SC Fundamental
Michael Kao, Akanthos Capital
Whitney Tilson, Kase Capital
John Lewis, Osmium Partners
Tim Eriksen, Eriksen Capital Management
Cliff Remily, Northwest Priority Capital
50% Discount Expires on June 24th
Again, there are only 123 seats left and Market Folly's 50% discount expires in just 2 days. You can grab one of the last few seats by registering here. Your price is cut in half by using our discount code: MARKETFOLLY
