Managers
A global slowdown in mergers and acquisitions has prompted activist hedge funds to adopt a new tactic as they look to profit from their investments – agitating for changes in company leadership, according to a report by Reuters.
The report cites data from research firm Insightia as revealing that activist investors called for the removal of top executives at 60 US companies last year, an increase of 46% over 2021, and the highest level seen since 2017.
The increase comes amid an overall decline in M&A activity due to higher interest rates. According to Dealogic data, the total value of
Bainbridge Partners is to acquire three alternatives strategies from GAM Investments – GAM Opportunistic Credit, GAM Diversity and GAM Trading II – with combined assets of 80 million Swiss francs ($87 million), according to a report by Pensions & Investments.
The report cites Bainbridge CEO Antoine Haddad as confirming the transfer, which is expected to be completed at the end of March.
The three funds are all moving from GAM’s $200 million alternative investment solutions platform, which the firm announced in November of last year that it was planning to close and return assets to investors.
Brevan Howard has appointed Owen Coughlan, the former head of euro swaps trading at NatWest Markets, as a portfolio manager based in London, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.
The report cites Coughlan’s LinkedIn profile as revealing that he has made the switch to Brevan Howard from multi-strategy hedge fund firm Eisler Capital, where he spent just over a year following his departure from NatWest Markets in February 2022.
Brevan Howard is actively recruiting under new chief executive Aron Landy after last year bringing in a number of talent scouts tasked with finding new portfolio managers and technologists.
Another
A London-based macro sales team at Goldman Sachs led by Nohshad Shah, Goldman’s co-head of EMEA interest rates sales, and managing director Ishaan Sethi, has jumped ship to join a hedge fund just weeks after bonuses were paid, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.
The hedge fund in question is thought to be Marshall Wace where Shah will reportedly be tasked with running the firm’s cross-asset macro team.
Another Goldman departee is said to vice president Frank Flight although his destination is believed to be Brevan Howard.
According to eFinancial Careers’ sources, Shah, who joined Goldman from Deutsche Bank
Dan Loeb, the founder of activist hedge fund Third Point Management, has acquired a passive stake in multinational semiconductor manufacturer AMD, according to a report by CNBC.
The report cites unnamed sources as revealing that Loeb took up the position when shares in the chipmaker were struggling.
AMD’s stock underperformed the rest of the sector over the last 12 months, with a fall of more than 30% versus a 14% decline in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. A 21% rebound this year has coincided with the reopening of China’s economy following the end of the country’s ‘zero Covid’ restrictions.
Bridgewater Associates is planning to cap the size of its flagship hedge funds, invest more in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and cut up to 100 jobs, as part of a restructuring plan aimed at boosting returns, increasing profitability and developing new sources of revenue, according to a report by Bloomberg.
CEO Nir Bar Dea, who took over running the business after founder Ray Dalio stepped down five months ago, disclosed the changes in an email on Wednesday to employees and clients, shifts that he said were necessary to “align with our strategic direction.”
In the email Bar Dea said:
Listed hedge fund Man Group saw the price of its shares surge by up to 10% in early trading on Tuesday as news that earning from performance fees last year hit their highest level since before the global financial crisis of 2008, according to a report by Reuters.
Man Group managed to pull in $3.1 billion in net inflows last year, “despite clear headwinds elsewhere in the asset management industry”, with assets under management rising to $143.3 billion at 31 December, 2022, up from $138.4 billion as at the end of September.
GoldenTree Asset Management has become the latest hedge fund to announce plans to extend operations to Dubai, with news that the New York-based credit trading specialist is to open a new ‘representative office’ in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Lance Fritz, the chief executive officer of US railway company Union Pacific, has announced he is to step down this year after hedge fund Soroban Capital Partners called for the firm to appoint new leaders, according to a report by Reuters.
