Glitzy Greenwich feels hedge fund pain
Reuters - USA
As many hedge funds suffer big losses and anxious investors yank out their money, the town synonymous with the riches of their recent glory is now hurting. In Greenwich, Connecticut, the luxury car dealers are quiet, the prices of mansions are declining and the retailers who have made a good living serving its wealthy residents are complaining about a sudden drop in business.

Congress Grills Hedge Fund Titans, Gently
AlterNet - San Francisco, CA, USA
In the entire history of the American republic, no lawmaker in Congress had ever witnessed a scene quite like this. There last Thursday, at the witness table of a packed House hearing room, sat the nation's - maybe the world's - five most highly compensated individuals. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a veteran Baltimore politico, sized up the five. John Paulson, James Simons, Philip Falcone, George Soros and Kenneth Griffin all share a common line of work: They run hedge funds. Last year, they all made over $1 billion - each - in income.

Better Breed Of Hedge Funds To Emerge
Forbes - NY, USA
Investors are unlikely to accept rapacious fee structures and long lock-up periods much longer. A New Approach to Hedge Funds.

Paulson Calls for More Hedge Fund Oversight
New York Times Blogs - New York, NY, USA
Hedge funds, it seems, have a rendez-vous with regulation. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he wants to see more hedge fund regulation as part of his proposal for creation of a new systemic risk regulator.

Hedgeweek Comment: For hedge funds, little news from G20 is good ...
HedgeWeek - London, UK
The recommendations on hedge fund oversight of the G20 leaders meeting in Washington at the weekend, such as they were, were probably music to the ears of many fund managers. The modest suggestions on financial sector regulation were pretty much limited to a pledge to boost co-operation and harmonisation rather than any concrete measures.

Hedge Funds Need to Find Better Way to Say Sorry
Bloomberg - USA
Investors in hedge funds might have expected to beat the market in exchange for a management fee equaling 20 percent of the profits. If that was too much to ask for, they should have been safe in the thought that the word "hedge" had something to do with preserving their capital when the economy turned rough.

Few UK Hedge Funds Adopt Industry's Standards, Survey Says
Bloomberg - USA
One out of 10 hedge funds based in the U.K. will adopt standards intended to head off further regulation, according to a survey of 100 hedge funds by Kinetic Partners, a hedge fund consultant. The Hedge Fund Standards Board, made up of managers from Man Group Plc, GLG Partners and 12 other funds controlling at least $200 billion in assets, proposed guidelines in January as regulators threatened to clamp down on the $1.7 trillion industry.

London Hedge Fund Alley Rents Drop for First Time Since 2005
Bloomberg - USA
Office rents in Mayfair and St. James's, the London districts with Europe's biggest concentration of hedge funds, are falling for the first time since 2005 as the alternative investment industry has its worst year in two decades.

Scrutiny needed, say hedge fund managers
Financial Times - London, England, UK
Almost all of the hedge fund managers generally agreed that they should be subject to higher taxes, except for Mr Kenneth Griffin who defended the current model using a drawn out restaurant analogy.

Hedge funds 'looking good next year'
Straits Times - Singapore
Hedge funds are under fire these days but they are likely to provide good investmenties next year, according to a senior figure in the industry. Mr Christophe Grunig, chief investment officer of Swiss fund Harcourt, told a gathering at Singapore Management University: 'Until the end of the year, it will be difficult. A strong deleveraging process has taken place, and there are redemptions.

Hedge fund assets shrink 9 pct
Reuters - USA
Hedge-fund assets shrivelled by 9 percent last month, sinking to their lowest level in two years as stocks tumbled and investors withdrew a record $40 billion (£26.7 billion).

A Safety Board for Hedge Funds
New York Times - United States
Although it received almost no mention in the media, a panel of academic witnesses preceded the five hedge fund billionaires who appeared Thursday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is led by Representative Henry A. Waxman. One of the specialists was Andrew W. Lo, the M.I.T. professor who is both an expert on, and participant in, the hedge fund industry.

Asia hedge fund assets shrink in Q3-tracking firm
Reuters - USA
Hedge funds that focus on Asia saw assets shrink by 13 percent in the third quarter as investors pulled out money after heavy fund losses, according to new data from Hedge Fund Research.

Austrian pension fund APK puts off hedge fund bet
Reuters - USA
The Austrian multi-sector pension scheme, APK Pensionskasse, has put on hold plans to more than double its exposure to hedge funds and private equity, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

Spending $700 Billion: Is the Bailout Fund Running Out?
TIME - USA
The Treasury Department is quickly running out of money to invest in troubled banks. A TIME.com analysis of public records shows that nearly one-third, or $216 billion, of the $700 billion that Congress approved to be spent just six weeks ago has already been spent or will soon be sent to just 67 banks. That's a small fraction of the up to 1,800 financial firms that are expected to apply for government assistance.

How Long Until the Bulls Regroup?
Seeking Alpha - New York, NY, USA
Hedge funds' latest problems come amid mounting expectations that the hedge-fund community will be decimated by the global market meltdown. Banks have been calling in credit lines extended to a number of funds, which has forced them to sell shares to raise cash.

Exodus In Waiting
Daily Reckoning - Australian Edition - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The deadline for many investors to get their money back from hedge funds by the end of the year passed this weekend. Now we'll see what happens. Will stocks stop falling now that funds have finished selling to meet redemptions? Keep in mind that hedge fund assets doubled over the last three years to around US$1.7 trillion today.

Hedge fund group cancels winter event
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN, USA
The local Minneapolis hedge fund industry has canceled its Winter Ball, scheduled for the Minneapolis Club in December, "due to volatility within the hedge fund industry." The big shooters at Deephaven Capital Management, Whitebox Advisors, Pali Capital, plus other firms and their lawyers and accountants are a little stressed lately. And not all their clients are happy about their performance.

Hedge Fund Regs Loom
Hartford Business - USA
"I think in view of the market failure and the perceived role that hedge funds played in it, it's more than likely that there will be substantial regulation over hedge funds." - John Brunjes, a partner at the Hartford-based law firm Bracewell and Giuliani.

Hedge Funds in Japan Will Attract Capital, Credit Suisse Says
Bloomberg - USA
Japan's hedge-fund industry, dominated by so-called long-short funds that bet on rising and falling stock prices, will attract capital on signs they are starting to outperform peers, Credit Suisse Group AG said.

The incredible shrinking hedge fund industry
Los Angeles Times - CA, USA
Will you miss them when they're gone? The hedge fund industry continues to shrink drastically as well-heeled investors pull their money out, and as stocks worldwide sink.

General News | People and Funds | Launches| Hedge Fund Activism | Crime and Law

JO Hambro Shuts Hedge Fund After VW-Porsche Trade
Bloomberg - USA
JO Hambro Capital Management Ltd., which oversees about $3.5 billion of assets, will close one of its two hedge funds partly because a bet against Volkswagen AG shares backfired, people familiar with the situation said.

Morgan Stanley Asia prime brokerage head leaving firm
MarketWatch - USA
Kurt Baker, the head of Morgan Stanley's prime brokerage in Asia, is leaving the firm, a company spokesman confirmed Wednesday, but declined to comment further.

City rottweiler who bit off more than he could chew
Times Online - UK
At the October Club charity dinner held in London's Savoy hotel last autumn, Martin Hughes had a lot on his mind. The hedge-fund manager did not take part in the auction, as he had done in previous years. Nor did he pay close attention to how much was bid for his own donation - a week in his luxurious chalet at Val d'Isire.

Hedge fund exec seeks additions to vast estate
Norwalk Advocate - norwalk, ct, USA
Hedge fund manager Steven Cohen is no stranger to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The panel has approved many additions to his Crown Lane estate since he bought it in 1998 for $14 million. The founder of SAC Capital in Stamford is back before the commission.

Shariah energy fund sees scope to reach $500 million
Reuters - USA
The outlook for investments in the oil and gas industry remains healthy as demand growth from emerging economies is expected to recover, a co-manager of a shariah compliant oil and gas hedge fund said. "There is constant demand for these finite resources from emerging economies like China and India, even though there is some downturn in the short term," said Russell J. Lucas of U.S.-based Lucas Capital Management, co-portfolio manager of Al Safi's Lucas Energy Fund.

John Paulson Buys Mortgage Bonds as Hedge Fund Losses Widen
Bloomberg - USA
Money manager John Paulson has started buying beaten-up mortgage bonds as hedge funds stumbled for a fifth straight month. Paulson, 52, is purchasing debt backed by home loans after generating sixfold returns last year with help from bets against subprime mortgages, investors in his funds said. Paulson's Advantage Plus fund rose 29 percent this year through October, while the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, which tracks more than 2,000 funds that invest globally, dropped about 12 percent.

Finding a Port in a Storm
Barron's - USA
Talking with Emmanuel Ferreira, Portfolio Manager, Oppenheimer Quest Opportunity Value Fund

Citigroup Liquidates Fund That Fell 53% In A Month - FT
CNNMoney.com - USA
Citigroup Inc. is liquidating its Corporate Special Opportunities hedge fund, which lost 53% of its value last month, the Financial Times newspaper reported Wednesday on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter.

Hedge Fund Tracking: Tilson's T2 Partners, Q3 2008
Seeking Alpha - New York, NY, USA
First up in the 3rd quarter edition of Seeking Alpha's 2008 hedge fund tracking series is T2 Partners. T2, as of the current filing, is a $132 million value fund run by Whitney Tilson. In addition to running his fund, Tilson is very active in the value investing community, releasing his Value Investor Insight newsletter and organizing the Value Investing Congress, which we covered a few weeks earlier.

BNP Paribas Wins Prime Brokerage Business With Hedge Fund CQS
Bloomberg - USA
BNP Paribas SA, France's biggest bank, won prime brokerage business in Asia with hedge fund CQS (U.K.) LLP as it seeks to lure clients in the region from rivals. The new contract with CQS, a London-based hedge fund manager that has an office in Hong Kong and oversees about $7.5 billion, adds to BNP Paribas's existing relationships with major hedge funds in the region.

Tepper, Barakett Abandon Stocks as Hedge Funds Shrink Holdings
Bloomberg - USA
Hedge-fund manager David Tepper entered the third quarter with $3.1 billion of U.S. stocks and exited with $648 million, selling most holdings to reduce risk and raise cash as carnage spread across the financial markets. "We moved a lot out early because we didn't want to lose money," said Tepper, 51, president of Appaloosa Management LP in Chatham, New Jersey. The firm, which switched some money to bonds, has between 30 percent and 40 percent of assets in cash.

Gottex suspends fund redemptions
Asian Investor (subscription) - Hong Kong
Fund of hedge fund Gottex has announced restrictions to investor withdrawals from several of its funds.

General News | People and Funds | Launches| Hedge Fund Activism | Crime and Law

PXP Viet Nam plans new hedge fund
VietNamNet Bridge - Hanoi, Vietnam
PXP Viet Nam Asset Management plans to start a hedge fund on the Vietnamese stock exchange early next year, said PXP co-founder Kevin Snowball at a press briefing marking the launch of the company's third investment fund last week.

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Hedge Fund Cuts Back on Mirant
Barron's - USA
A major hedge fund operator that had recently received regulatory permission to raise its stake in electricity-producer Mirant (ticker: MIR) decided instead to cut back strongly last week. Harbinger Capital Partners sold 4.7 million Mirant shares on Wednesday for $79 million, or $17.02 per share.

Hedge Fund Launches Proxy Fight To Oust Sun-Times Media Group Board CEO
Editor & Publisher - USA
Hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management brushed aside the olive branch offered by Sun-Times Media Group's chairman -- and late Thursday launched a proxy fight to oust the board and its CEO.

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Ritchie Funds Sued by Barclays Over Hidden Petters Group Stake
Bloomberg, USA
Ritchie Capital Management and Thane Ritchie, the hedge fund manager's principal, were sued by Barclays Bank Plc over accusations they concealed more than $150 million in investments made in the collapsed Petters Group Worldwide LLC and affiliates.

Volatile markets may tempt hedge-fund fraud
guardian.co.uk - UK
While fraud can happen any time, the loosely regulated $1.7 trillion hedge-fund industry looks especially vulnerable following record losses. Losses of roughly 15 percent this year and a growing sense of panic as hedge-fund clients exit worldwide are creating ripe conditions for a small number of the estimated 9,000 hedge-fund managers to break the law, according to forensic accountants, private investigators and former prosecutors.

General News | People and Funds | Launches| Hedge Fund Activism | Crime and Law