Inside these posts: hedge funds

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Citadel hires JPMorgan trader Miguel Abreu

From HedgeFund.net | Chicago-based Citadel LLC has hired Miguel Abreu, a former JPMorgan commodities trader who worked at JPMorgan’s commodities trading desk before it was shut down.

Citadel’s Griffin contributes to Karl Rove’s PAC

Ken and Anne Griffin. (Andrew Campbell)

From Bloomberg News | Kenneth Griffin, chief executive of Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel Investment Group LLC, and his wife Anne each contributed $250,000 to Karl Rove’s American Crossroads fundraising group, new Federal Election Commission reports show.  Get the full story>>

Evanston’s Magnetar benefited from TALF

Hedge funds and investors whose bearish trades on housing helped them profit amid the credit crisis were among those that benefited from a U.S. government emergency rescue program to kick-start lending, according to Federal Reserve data released Wednesday.

That program, known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility, or TALF, and established during the financial crisis, provided low-cost loans from the Federal Reserve to investors buying bonds backed by student, auto and commercial-property loans and other assets. The program, which lasted from March 2009 until June 2010, was aimed at helping banks move loans off their books by repackaging them into bonds and selling them.

Funds managed or backed by Evanston-based Magnetar Capital, Tricadia Capital and FrontPoint Partners, which made large profits betting on a downturn in the U.S. housing market before the crisis, were among those who obtained low-cost loans from the Fed to buy securities, according to the Fed data. Get the full story »

U.S. charges networking exec in hedge fund probe

An executive of a hedge fund networking firm was arrested Wednesday on charges related to insider trading, part of a broad investigation of hedge funds by U.S. prosecutors.

A criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in New York said Don Ching Trang Chu, also known as Don Chu, promoted the services of his California-based firm, Primary Global Research, by arranging for inside information to be leaked to hedge funds. Get the full story »

Citadel, others subpoenaed in insider trading probe

Federal authorities, intensifying an insider-trading investigation, are demanding trading and other information from some of the nation’s most powerful investment firms.

Hedge-fund giants SAC Capital Advisors and Citadel Asset Management, big mutual-fund company Janus Capital Group Inc. and Wellington Management Co., one of the nation’s biggest institutional-investment firms, have received subpoenas from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office seeking trading, communications and other data as part of a broad criminal investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. Get the full story »

Chicago hedge fund Balyasny examined in probe

A three-year insider-trading investigation shifted into high gear Monday as government agents raided the offices of three large hedge funds, sending shock waves through the financial world. In coordinated raids in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents seized documents at the offices of Level Global Investors LP, Diamondback Capital Management LLC and Loch Capital Management LLC.

Another hedge fund whose activities are being examined is Chicago-based Balyasny Asset Management LP, the people familiar with the matter say. Balyasny, which reported $1.8 billion in assets under management at midyear, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Get the full story »

Hedge funds sue lenders in Tribune Co. LBO

A group of hedge funds sued the four banks that funded Tribune Co.’s 2007 leveraged buyout, alleging that the lenders knowingly rendered the company insolvent and precipitated its 2008 bankruptcy.

The suit, filed on Friday in New York state court, charges JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch Capital Corp., Citicorp North America Inc. and Bank of America with breach of contract, breach of good faith and negligence. It asks the court to set damages. Get the full story »

First Wind IPO could face turbulent debut

Wind farm owner and operator First Wind Holdings Inc., which is planning a $300 million IPO for next week, may be a risky bet in the current energy climate.

The Boston-based company, mostly owned by private equity firm Madison Dearborn and hedge fund operator D.E. Shaw foresees rapid growth. By 2014, First Wind plans to have 1900 megawatts in operation or under construction. One megawatt produces enough power to meet the electricity needs of 800 typical American homes. Get the full story »

J.C. Penney adopts rights plan to thwart Ackman

J.C. Penney’s board approved a “poison pill” designed to fend off potential takeover threats after hedge fund manager William Ackman acquired one-sixth of the retailer. The company’s shares fell 3 percent on the news. Get the full story »

Analysts cautious after Fortune up on Ackman news

Fortune Brands’ shares surged 13 percent on Friday on the news that William Ackman’s firm Pershing Square Capital Management had purchased an 11 percent stake in the company. But the stock’s ebullience has given some analysts pause.

Peter Lisnic of Robert W. Baird downgraded Fortune’s stock on Monday morning from “outperform” to “neutral,” saying that the stock is now priced higher than its peers.

“Our rating adjustment reflects current valuation metrics that are now at a material premium relative to blended peer group multiples,” he wrote. “While [Fortune] remains well positioned in its end markets, and execution during the recession and housing downturn has been superb, current valuation metrics would appear to discount a stronger macroeconomic recovery than we believe is likely, particularly in U.S. housing construction markets.” Get the full story »

General Growth names Ackman spinoff chairman

General Growth Properties Inc. on Friday named the board of its future spin-off company and appointed hedge fund manager William Ackman to become its chairman when the mall owner and property developer emerges from bankruptcy. Get the full story »

Hedge fund manager Ackman bets big on J.C. Penney

Activist hedge fund manager William Ackman, who has been known for big bets on retailers and real estate, on Friday said his fund has taken a 16.5 percent stake in retailer JC Penney.

Unveiling one of his biggest investments in months, Ackman’s New York-based firm Pershing Square Capital Management said it now owns roughly 39 million shares of common stock in the Plano, Texas-based retailer. Get the full story »

Citadel executive, wife owners of Rezko mansion

The 30-room, 8,596-square-foot home formerly owned by Tony Rezko. (Tribune, file)

From Chicago Magazine | The 30-room Wilmette mansion where the now-imprisoned political wheeler-dealer Tony Rezko threw fundraisers for Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich is undergoing renovations by its new owners, Dan Johnson, the managing director of Citadel Investment Group, and his wife, Katherine “Katsy” Johnson, an artist.

The couple bought the house from Bank of America for $3.71 million last March through a trust that does not identify them in public records. Chicago Magazine’s Dennis Rodkin said he learned their names last week through a source. Get the full story >>

Hedge funds post July gains; some score big

Hedge funds posted small gains in July but lagged the broader market because many managers played it safe after market tumult in May and June took a bite out of their portfolios, according to data released Friday.

The average hedge fund gained 1.9 percent in July after losing 1.35 percent in June and falling 3.01 percent in May, consultants at Hennessee Group found. Get the full story »

Experts: Hedge funds are ‘frozen in the headlights’

From Bloomberg News | Analysts say that hedge-fund managers, Wall Street’s best compensated and supposedly smartest investors, are reeling from the worst second-quarter performance in a decade, and that hedge funds have scaled back trading as they struggle to figure out where markets are headed. “For many people, it’s a frustrating market given the high volatility and low volumes,” said Aaron Garvey, portfolio manager at MKP Capital Management LLC, a New York-based hedge fund overseeing $3.5 billion.