World’s Biggest Hedge Fund Optimistic on Brazil Economy, Markets (Reuters)
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, has turned bullish on Brazil, arguing that economic growth relative to potential will be the strongest in the world over the next year. Conditions are now in place to reignite the anemic recovery from a 2015-16 recession: foreign debt levels are low, there is plenty room for real yields to fall and market pricing is too pessimistic, Bridgewater said in a note to clients last week. “We expect that over the course of the next year, growth relative to potential will be the strongest in the world,” said strategists at the $160 billion, Connecticut-based fund.
WhiteBox Duo Plans to Launch New Event-Driven Distressed Debt Fund (Bloomberg)
Whitebox Advisors LLC colleagues Cindy Delano and Amit Patel have teamed up to form a hedge fund focused on event-driven and special situations that could arise as credit markets tighten. Invictus Global Management, based in Austin, Texas, is launching its first $500 million alternative-asset portfolio to invest in distressed credit, bankruptcy trade claims and litigation finance, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg. Delano and Patel will serve as co-chief investment officers.
Alex Oakenman / shutterstock.com
GAMCO Investors appoints SVP of Corporate Development (HedgeWeek)
GAMCO Investors has appointed Howard M Green CPA as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development. Green has more than 25 years of experience in leadership roles as a senior financial executive in wealth management, FinTech and international financial firms, including broker dealers and asset managers. Most recently, he was the Global Controller and Managing Director with Cantor Fitzgerald. Prior to Cantor, he was CFO and Managing Director with Convergex Execution Solutions. Green was also the CFO at Canaccord Genuity (Collins Stewart LLC) and Arnhold & S Bleichroeder, both in the asset management space.
Jim Simons Goes Sockless Like Einstein to Raise Money for Princeton Scholars Haven (Bloomberg)
One guest spent the day contemplating quantum gravity. Another recalled walking Albert Einstein to chapel at Princeton in 1933, when he was an 18-year-old freshman. There were plenty of brushes with intellectual greatness at the Institute for Advanced Study’s gala Thursday night at Pier 60 in Manhattan.
New Hedge Fund Group Unites to Push PG&E to Overhaul Management (SeekingAlpha)
A group of investors including Knighthead Capital Management, Redwood Capital Management and Abrams Capital Management unite in a bid to pressure PG&E (PCG -0.6%) into a management overhaul. The hedge funds, which represent nearly 10% of PG&E’s outstanding shares, say they are looking at nominating directors to PG&E’s board and want a say in the selection of the company’s next CEO. The emergence of the new group sets the stage for a potential fight among investors over the future of PG&E, as shareholder Blue Mountain Capital Management already has nominated its own slate of directors.
Breaking Down Hedge Fund Pay in New York and London. And Male vs. Female (eFinancialCareers)
Among the biggest misconceptions about hedge funds is that everyone takes home massive seven-figure paychecks. The fact is, less than 10% earn more than $1 million annually. That said, reaching the upper ranks at a profitable hedge fund can provide a very comfortable financial future – as long as the firm can manage to keep its doors open, something many have struggled to do in recent years. Using data from The Pay Index, a salary database powered by financial recruiter Leathwaite, we broke down average compensation for senior hedge fund professionals – people at the director-level or higher – for both New York and London.
Manulife Wins Battle with Hedge Fund Over Policies with a Guaranteed Return (CBC.ca)
Mosten wanted to load capital into life policy from 20 years ago to get 4% return. Manulife Financial Corp. says it has won its legal battle with hedge fund Mosten Investments over universal life insurance products. Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench ruled Friday that the fund cannot deposit an unlimited amount of money in these contracts to get a guaranteed return of four per cent. Mosten Investment LP had sued Manulife, Industrial Alliance and BMO Life over the policies. Similar suits by Ituna Investment LP and Atwater Investment LP also were dismissed.
