Hedge Fund Consultants | Consulting Services

Hedge Fund Consultants

Hedge Fund Consultants | Types & Case Study

Hedge fund consultants are individuals or firms that provide a variety of different services to hedge funds and hedge fund managers. These individuals or firms typically have significant industry expertise and a strong network within the investment management industry. These groups also tend to have a strong working knowledge of the mechanics of the hedge fund investment process. Accordingly, managers will utilize hedge fund consultants for a variety of reasons in order to get the most out of their hedge fund.

Overview

Hedge fund consultants are mostly known for helping managers to raise money for their hedge funds (either through direct third party marketing services or through introductions to capital raisers). Hedge fund consultants are also known for helping managers to choose the best hedge fund service providers for the fund’s specific investment programs. For example, a consultant may suggest a certain prime broker (or mini prime broker) who has the specific

In addition to helping managers with these items, a hedge fund consultant can also help in the following ways:

Business plan development – many hedge fund managers do not draft any sort of business plan for their hedge fund. We believe that a well drafted business plan for a hedge fund manager is essential. There are many issues on the operational side which a manager will need to deal with and plan for. Hedge fund consultants can help managers to draft and revise business plans, as well as to identify potential issues within the plan.

Fine tuning the hedge fund marketing campaign – hedge fund managers typically will use a variety of mediums (including hedge fund pitchbooks, hedge fund tearsheets, and hedge fund websites) as part of an overall hedge fund marketing strategy. Hedge fund consultants can help a manager to draft marketing materials and/or fine tune these marketing campaigns.

Drafting an investment program/ strategy description – some hedge fund managers have a hard time drafting an investment program description. These fund managers typically have an understanding of their program but are not sure how to put the program into words. Hedge fund consultants can help the manager to draft the investment program description based on conversations with the manager.

Hedge fund database selection – managers may want to consider submitting their performance results to hedge fund databases as part of their capital raising campaign. Hedge fund consultants can help managers to decide on which databases to submit their performance information to. Additionally, some fund of fund managers will actively use databases to scout new and emerging hedge fund talent. A hedge fund consultant can help these fund of hedge fund managers to select the most appropriate databases for their needs.

Introduction to other service providers – because of their long list of contacts within the hedge fund industry, hedge fund consultants can provide managers with introductions to other service providers such as hedge fund administrators, hedge fund auditors and prime brokers. The consultant will also be able to provide recommendations for third party marketing firms and/ or specific capital introduction services.

Please contact us if you would like more information on hedge fund consultants and other hedge fund service providers.

Case Study

The services which each consultant offers is different. For example, one hedge fund consultant, Richard Wilson (who runs the Hedge Fund Consulting Group and HedgeFundBlogger.com) provided us with the following case study of one hedge fund consulting experience:

6 months ago I had a hedge fund startup come to me which had been building a track record for around 14 months. They approached me while looking for recommendations for service providers, as they needed to identify an auditing firm with hedge fund experience yet reasonable fees. I helped them connect with one and then discussed their business strategy with them. During this conversation it became apparent that this firm needed help marketing, their sole piece of marketing material was a 2 page word document their lawyer had helped them create. I worked with them to develop an original PowerPoint marketing piece, simple website and one pager for their new hedge fund. They have outsourced this marketing material work to my firm and see my counsel when marketing or sales opportunities arise.

While much of the work I do is simply helping hedge fund managers connect with appropriate prime brokerage firms, auditors and consultants, the above example shows how an outside consultant with expertise within a niche area may help hedge funds improve their business prospects.

We remind all hedge fund managers that all hedge fund marketing materials should be reviewed by the hedge fund attorney prior to distribution. Managers should also make sure that the attorney reviews the hedge fund website for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Thanks to the Hedge Fund Law Blog for helping write the first half of this article.

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Workshops & Webinars | What are you looking for?

Workshops & Webinars

What are you looking for?

There are dozens (hundreds?) of hedge fund workshops, seminars and events each year. I am interest in knowing what topics you would like to see hear more about. Are you interested in attending a workshop analyzing various hedge fund case studies? Marketing tactics? Startup Stories or Performance Analysis Discussions?

I am soliciting your feedback because I am being asked to speak at workshops in Singapore, India, London, etc. and I'm curious as to what is missing out there in terms of interesting topics.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

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Thanksgiving Hedge Fund Linkfest Roundup

Thanksgiving Linkfest

Thanksgiving Linkfest Round Up

Below are a collection of useful and interesting news pieces, articles and videos related to hedge funds:

Link 1: Assets of a Brazilian hedge fund sharply drops: Ciano Investimentos Gestao de Recursos Ltda.‘s flagship hedge fund lost 95 percent of its assets to withdrawals after founder Ilan Goldfajn, a former central bank director, left the company.

Investors withdrew 197.4 million reais ($85 million) Ciano 60 Hedge Fundo de Investimento Multimercado since Nov. 11, a day after Goldfajn departed. The fund’s value plunged to 10.3 million reais as of Nov. 21, according to the Web site of Brazil’s securities regulator, CVM.

“Some investors withdrew funds because of my decision to leave Ciano,” Goldfajn, 42, said in a telephone interview from Rio de Janeiro. “Because of my departure, we waived a 10 percent redemption fee.” Source

Link 2: Hedge Funds Search for Assets in Japan
Japan's Ashiya city has been home to the nation's industrial titans since samurai ruled the land more than a century ago. Now it's a feeding ground for hedge funds tapping the wealth of new multi-millionaires like Kunihisa Sagami.

Sagami, founder of mail-order cosmetics and jewelry supplier Epix, is one of the residents of the gated enclave overlooking the port city of Kobe who are among the highest taxpayers in Japan. They're the elite in a nation where households hold a combined $15 trillion in financial assets -- more than the annual gross domestic product of the U.S. Source

Link 3: Texas Hedge Fund Being Liquidated
Parkcentral Capital Management, an investment firm that manages money for the family of Ross Perot, is liquidating a fixed-income hedge fund because it is “no longer viable.”

This year through October, Parkcentral Global Hub’s assets fell as much as 40 percent, to $1.5 billion. The fund is selling its remaining holdings to pay creditors, Eddie Reeves, a spokesman, said Tuesday. Mr. Perot and members of his family were the fund’s biggest investors.

“Parkcentral Global has been impacted dramatically by the unprecedented upheaval of the capital markets in general and the freezing of credit markets in particular,” Mr. Reeves said. ”The fund is no longer viable.” Source

Link 4: Spitzer's wife to join a hedge fund
The wife of former New York Gov. (and Sheriff of Wall Street) Eliot Spitzer is going to work on Wall Street.

Silda Wall Spitzer, who endured the humiliation of her husband’s resignation amidst a prostitution scandal in March, has joined hedge fund Metropolitan Capital Advisors (which is technically on Madison Avenue), New York Magazine reports. The $300 million firm is run by CNBC personality Karen Finerman, whose husband, Lawrence Golub, is a longtime friend of Eliot Spitzer and contributor to his campaigns.

Silda Spitzer will help “recruit new investors” in her new job, which she started last month. Source

Link 5: Hedge Fund Pacificor Sued
Pacificor has been sued by the former owners of a mortgage lender the California hedge fund bought.

John and Kitty Gaiser have sued the Santa Barbara-based firm and the estate of its former manager, Michael Klein, seeking $30 million. The Gaisers’ lawsuit says that Pacificor “misused a position of trust and control in order to attempt to take control of and acquire—without compensation—John and Kitty Gaiser’s ownership of Quality Home Loans,” the Gaisers’ law firm said in a statement. Source

Link 6: Hedge fund assets stuck within Lehman
Several companies reliant on four US hedge funds face collapse because the funds cannot access shares and loans held at the London arm of Lehman Brothers, the collapsed bank.

The four funds – whose names were kept secret in a High Court ruling this week – claimed that they were likely to close in mid-December if they failed to get access to information about their assets frozen at Lehman. The funds made an unsuccessful effort to force the administrators of Lehman, four PwC partners, to give them details of their assets and how much they owe to Lehman. Source

GLG Partners Hedge Fund Update

GLG Partners Fund

GLG Partners Hedge Fund Update

Just a quick note to let you know that our team has updated the Hedge Fund Tracker notes for GLG Partners.

To read the updated profiles see this link: GLG Partners Hedge Fund Tracker Profile Notes

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Top 4 Hedge Fund Industry Fears | Market Insights

Hedge Fund Fears

The Top 4 Hedge Fund Fears

Over the last 3 months and a series of conversations with hedge fund managers, prime brokerage professionals, administrators and marketers it seems there are 4 big fears in the industry right now.

Top 4 Hedge Fund Fears

A flat or highly volatile market for a period of more than 18-24 months - effectively wiping out those hedge funds which were hanging on for those greener pastures of another bull market.
Long-term deterioration of leverage of almost any type. While many hedge funds already use no or close to no leverage many others use large amounts of it and many funds would be hampered if new regulations are put into place which severely limit their access to it. Read an article on this topic here.
Desperate hedge fund managers committing enough fraud to scare off a large percentage of the High net worth and ultra high net worth investor base. There is article on my site on ethics located here.
Overbearing regulation which pushes hedge fund activity into Canada, over to London and across the world away from New York. The industry is already suffering large redemption losses and regulation done the wrong way could stifle further innovation or at least push even more of it offshore. As the recently hedge fund testimony showed, many hedge funds are open to some forms of regulation or over-sight but these must be done in ways which are sensitive to the intellectual knowledge and security disclosure concerns specific to this industry. Listen to the recent congressional testimony by hedge fund managers by clicking here.

Other interesting points that have come out of talking to hedge funds - most expect the markets to stay flat or negative for an additional 6-9 months and the majority see this to be a huge opportunity for positioning their fund for explosive growth in 2010 and 2011.

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Japanese Hedge Fund Managers | Hedging Skills

Japanese Hedge Funds

Japanese Hedge Fund Managers| Notes

It would seem that choppy markets in Japan over the past several years is now helping hedge funds in this region navigate the current financial crisis. Most of the funds I know which run funds focusing on Japanese securities also run diversified Asia or China funds which have done very poorly, I would be curious to see if those managers who run both Japan-specific funds as well as China funds faired better than the average fund in China. Here is the article excerpt:

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 81-fund Eurekahedge Japan Long-Short Equities Index fell 11 percent this year through October, compared with a 21 percent drop for an index that tracks more than 1,000 global long-short hedge funds and a 40 percent slide by the MSCI World Index, a global benchmark.

``Japanese long-short strategies have weathered reasonably well the market turmoil,'' Boris Arabadjiev, head of alpha strategies at Zurich-based Credit Suisse's asset management unit, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. ``That relative performance has already started to attract capital, and we believe that it will continue to attract capital. We continue to be favorably disposed to managers investing in Japan.''

This year has been the worst on record for hedge funds, an estimated $1.56 trillion industry, with the average fund losing 16 percent through October, according to data compiled by Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc. The industry saw net withdrawals of $62.7 billion in October, according to Eurekahedge Pte., a Singapore-based industry data provider. Read more...

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Hedge Fund Maguire | Letter Blasts the Actions of Desperate Hedge Fund

Hedge Fund Maguire

Hedge Fund Maguire | Letter to Hedge Funds

(http://HedgeFundBlogger.com) Below is a short excerpt from the NY Post and their comments on a letter which Sandra Manzke sent out earlier this week regarding the recent actions of many desperate hedge fund managers. If anyone has the full version of this letter please shoot it over or post it below. For now here is an excerpt of the review article:

Fed up with misbehavior in the hedge-fund industry, respected hedge fund investor Sandra Manzke is fighting back.

A pioneer in hedge-fund investing and best known for founding Tremont Capital Management, Manzke sent an angry missive to hundreds of her peers earlier this week, calling on them to join together to push for reform in the $1.5 trillion industry.

"I am appalled and disgusted by the activities of a number of hedge-fund managers," said the letter, which raises a fist against what Manzke sees as a general degradation of ethics in the industry.

The letter, reminiscent of the way in which Tom Cruise's Hollywood agent character penned a manifesto blasting his cutthroat industry in the hit movie "Jerry Maguire," comes amid a historic shakeout of this once-lucrative business. Hedge funds are battling the double blows of poor performance - down an average of 20 percent so far this year - and billions in investor withdrawals, known as redemptions. Read more...

Here is the actual letter:

MAXAM Capital Management LLC
RE: AN IMPORTANT LETTER TO HEDGE FUND INVESTORS
Dear Sir/Madam:

I was one of the earliest investors in hedge funds. I made my first investment in 1985 when the industry was exclusive to the United States and there were only 68 funds in existence. As such, I have watched the industry grow from a small private investment club to its current state managing in excess of a trillion dollars with more than 10,000 funds. I was an early proponent of the fund of funds business which enabled smaller investors the ability to access the talent pool, and gain diversification with lower minimum investment. I once was proud of the industry, now I am concerned.

While we all recognize the difficulties of the current market environment, I am appalled and disgusted by the activities of a number of hedge fund managers. The increased use of gating, side pocketing, suspension of redemptions, failure to post an NAV, fund liquidations that favor management are just a few of activities that are giving this industry a bad name. Worse, there are managers who are attempting to get their money out ahead of investors, attempts to eliminate high water marks, asking investors to increase fees to pay for fund expenses, receiving fees on liquidating funds, receiving fees on illiquid securities, and mispricing their books.

We have seen funds which claimed to have no leverage, in fact, facing margin calls that wipe out capital. And managers who have received millions of dollars in incentive fees, walking away and leaving investors with nothing. Further, management fees have crept up to outrageous levels and hedge fund organizations are paying employees lucrative wages, while investors are bearing these costs, unjustified by mounting losses.

I was in favor of SEC registration and oversight and 2008 is certainly a poster child for the need for better regulation. Now, I feel that investors need to form an organization to protect against the egregious hedge fund manager. Hedge fund managers do not disclose their investors and we are each operating in a vacuum. We should be able to unite to change how this industry operates. I am proposing that we form the “Hedge Fund Investors United Forum” to propose reform in the industry that would protect our clients’ and our own interests.

Carl Icahn has started his shareholders group to change the behavior of corporate America. I urge everyone to go to his blog and join, because corporate America has lost its way. Corporate management needs to get back to running companies to make money for shareholders, not for personal gain. We need to get hedge fund managers to work for their investors and not for their personal gain.

As a group we can influence the future of the industry. We can start to define neutrally beneficial terms, not punitive investor terms. If we want to survive, we have to restore confidence and reshape the industry. I am not saying everyone out there is a bad apple, but there are too many bad apples for my taste and it only takes a few to bring the industry to its knees.

If you are interested in joining with me to bring reform to this industry, please email me and together we can start the process.

With great concern,
Sandra L. Manzke
Chief Executive Officer

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What is Not Said About Hedge Funds

What is Not Said

What is Not Said About Hedge Funds

While looking for interesting posts for the hedge fund newsletter today I realized there are many topics not being discussed in detail. While there are 30 articles about how hedge funds never really hedged their investments and many more on asset losses few discuss these points:

Hedge funds have lost far less than the average bank. Banks are supposed to be the highly regulated and less risky vehicles here. This is important to note as more regulation is considered for the hedge fund industry. Joe the plumber has money with these banks in multiple ways through his 401K, mortgage, etc. He does not have any money invested in Perry Capital, DE Shaw or Renaissance Technologies.

There are 4 reasons why hedge funds are going to explode in growth and recover their losses in 2-3 years.

Hedge funds are sitting on cash right now instead of being able to grow it - this stalls their asset raising efforts right now and makes it more likely that investors will simply want their money back to manage their cash themselves.
Hedge funds have lost far less than the market, banks and in some cases real estate investments as well. Once the dust settles the daily headlines of fund closures will stop and the reports on how hedge funds have still be outperforming their competitors will again be seen more often.
Investors are sitting on cash and will want to deploy that after the market turns around in 1-2 years. When that happens, hedge funds will immediately experience a 20% raise in their assets under management.
When the stock market does correct, hedge funds will be there first and in larger numbers than ever before.

This is not to say hedge funds are a great investment or something everyone should consider, but I hear hedge fund managers and marketers speak to the points above - yet rarely see this view within the mainstream media outlets.

Do you agree? Am I way off base from what you predict will happen? Please answer with a simple yes, no or explanation of your views below within the comments section if you have a minute.

Financial Designation on Hedge Funds | New Site

Financial Designation

Financial Designation on Hedge Funds

Last week the Hedge Fund Group (HFG) released a new website to support the CHA Designation Program. This new site is online at http://CHADesignation.org.

To date the most frequently visited pages of the site have included:

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Clarium Capital Management | Peter Thiel San Francisco Hedge Fund | Holdings Analysis

Clarium Capital Management

Clarium Capital | Q3 Peter Thiel Holdings Analysis

This post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Clarium Capital Management is a $6 billion global macro hedge fund run by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal.

Please click on the image below to view a list of securities which Clarium Capital Management has purchased since their last filing.

Please click on the image below to view a list of securities which Clarium Capital has partially or completely sold since their last filing:

The securities listed within this most recent 13F filings included:

Aircastle Ltd (AYR)
Alabama Aircraft Industries Inc (AAII)
Altria Group Inc (MO)
American Express Co (AXP)
Black And Decker Corp (BDK)
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (BNI)
Cabot Oil And Gas Corp (COG)
Canadian Superior Energy Inc (SNG)
Chevron Corp (CVX)
Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL)
Conocophillips (COP)
Consolidated Edison Inc (ED)
Cvscaremark Corp (CVS)
Diageo Plc (DEO)
Ebix Inc (EBIX)
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM)
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFH)
Foster Wheeler Ltd (FWLT)
Frontier Oil Corp (FTO)
Galahad Gold Plc (GLD.BE)
Google Inc (GOOG)
Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ)
Honeywell International Inc (HON)
Iron Mountain Inc (IRM)
Istar Financial Inc (SFI-D)
Itt Corp (ITT)
Johnson And Johnson (JNJ)
Kimberly-Clark Corp (KMB)
Lazard Ltd (LAZ)
Marathon Oil Corp (MRO)
Mastercard Inc (MA)
Mcdonalds Corp (MCD)
Mfa Mortgage Investments Inc (MFA)
Microsoft Corp (MSFT)
Mylan Incpa (MYL)
Natus Medical Inc (BABY)
Nrg Energy Inc (NRG)
Nucor Corp (NUE)
Nvidia Corp (NVDA)
Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY)
Oneok Inc (OKE)
Oracle Corp (ORCL)
Petroleo Brasileiro Sa (PBR)
Philip Morris International Inc (PM)
Pinnacle Airlines Corp (PNCL)
Procter And Gamble Co (PG)
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL)
Schering-Plough Corp (SGP)
Sothebys (BID)
T-3 Energy Services Inc (TTES)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT)
Wendysarbys Group Inc (TRY.B)
Yahoo Inc (YHOO)

Source: SEC 13F Filing | MIFF

Free Daily Hedge Fund Newsletter

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Lone Pine Capital Hedge Fund | Stephen Mendel Jr. Exclusive Tracking

Lone Pine Capital

Lone Pine Capital 13F Holdings Analysis

This post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers. Below are Q3 Holdings details as filed by Lone Pine. These are by there very nature outdated as they represent only some of the hedge funds holding at one point in time.

Please click on the image below to view a list of securities which Lone Pine Capital has purchased since their last filing.

Please click on the image below to view a list of securities which Lone Pine Capital has partially or completely sold since their last filing:

The securities listed within this most recent 13F filings included:

America Movil Sab De Cv (AMX)
Mastercard Inc (MA)
Pricelinecom Inc (PCLN)
Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)
Sandridge Energy Inc (SD)
Visa Inc (V)
Weatherford International Ltd (WFT)
Xto Energy Inc (XTO)
Crown Castle International Corp (CCI)
Dolby Laboratories Inc (DLB)
First Horizon National Corp (FHN)
Hansen Natural Corp (HANS)
National City Corp (NCC)
Precision Castparts Corp (PCP)
Deltek Inc (PROJ)
Amazoncom Inc (AMZN)
Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAM)
Cb Richard Ellis Group Inc (CBG)
Entergy Corp (ETR)
Google Inc (GOOG)
Illumina Inc (ILMN)
Infosys Technologies Ltd (INFY)
Monsanto Co (MON)
Dicks Sporting Goods Inc (DKS)
Eagle Materials Inc (EXP)
Fastenal Co (FAST)
Msc Industrial Direct Co (MSM)
Saic Inc (SAI)
Teradata Corp (TDC)

Source: SEC 13F Filing | MFFAIS

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Pershing Square Capital Management | Hedge Fund Tracker Notes

Pershing Square Capital

Pershing Square Capital Management | Notes

The following piece on Pershing Square Capital Management and Bill Ackman (shown left) is being published as part of our daily effort to track hedge fund events in the industry. To review other hedge fund related announcements please see our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool.
______________________

Resource #1: (6.10.09) The HedgeFundBlogger.com team just recently published a 13F analysis on Pershing Square Capital Management. To view this 13F filing analysis please click here.

Resource #2: (5.22.09) Pershing Square hedge fund manager William Ackman, who is locked in a proxy battle with Target Corp (TGT.N), said on Thursday there are no settlement talks ongoing between the two sides just one week before the discount retailer holds its annual meeting.

"Pershing Square is prepared to do whatever is in the best interest of shareholders," Ackman told Reuters in an interview, but added: "There are absolutely no settlement discussions that are ongoing."

Target is holding its annual meeting on May 28, and Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management has amassed a 7.8 percent stake in the retailer, is running a proxy battle to win five seats on the retailer's board. Target is running a slate of four incumbent nominees. source

Resource #3: (3.18.09) Hedge-fund manager William Ackman plans to nominate himself and four others to the board of Target Corp., the discount chain whose performance has trailed Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Ackman, who heads Pershing Square Capital Management LP, told Bloomberg Television today that he will propose Richard Vague, a former bank executive; Jim Donald, who served as chief executive officer at Starbucks Corp.; Michael Ashner, chairman and CEO of Winthrop Realty Trust Inc.; and Ronald Gilson, a law professor at Stanford University and Columbia University. source

Resource #4 (2.2.09) The activist hedge fund manager William Ackman is in talks with Target about naming potential directors to the discount retailer’s board, The Associated Press reports, citing a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday.

Target shares gained 61 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $28.43 in aftermarket electronic trading, after gaining 23 cents to close the regular session at $27.82. The stock has lost about half of its value since peaking at $59.55 in September before the market crashed.

In recent months, Target has suffered from a drop in consumer spending, while other discount chains — particularly rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — have outperformed. While Wal-Mart concentrates on offering low-price essentials, Target has focused more on a cheap-chic variety of more discretionary items like clothing and home decor. source

Bill Ackman told investors in a hedge fund that invests only in Target Corp. he’s “deeply disappointed” in its performance, and that those wishing to exit can do so in full next month.

“I apologize profusely for the fund’s results to date,” Ackman said in an investor letter dated Feb. 8. Ackman also offered a fee waiver for those who invest in his other Pershing Square funds.

Pershing Square reduced its total economic exposure in Target, including options, to 10.5 percent from 12.9 percent, the firm said today in a regulatory filing. It reported a 9.7 percent stake in the Minneapolis-based discount chain. Target, like other retailers, has suffered as consumers slashed spending to cope with rising joblessness and declines in the value of their homes and stock holdings. source
___________________________________________

Resource #5: (1.9.09) Hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management has exposure to 25.6 percent of U.S. mall owner General Growth through stock purchases and a series of swaps with several investment banks, the hedge fund said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

As of Dec. 8, the hedge fund founded by William Ackman, beneficially owns 7.5 percent of General Growth's common stock, or 20,080,690 common shares, Pershing Square said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It also has additional economic exposure to about 48.5 million common shares under certain total return swaps with entities related to BNP Paribas SA (BNPP.PA), Citigroup Inc's (C.N) Citibank, Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and UBS AG (UBSN.VX), the firm said. source

Resource #6: (11.18.08) Target Corp (TGT.N) shareholder Pershing Square Capital Management will present on Wednesday a revised proposal to boost Target's long-term value and address concerns raised about an earlier version calling on the retailer to spin off the land under its stores.

But a Target spokeswoman said the discount retailer is still reviewing the Pershing proposal and has not yet made a decision on it. Target shares were down 4.8 percent at $29.99 in late afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Nearly three weeks ago, hedge fund manager William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management owns roughly 10 percent of Target's stock, called on Target to spin off to shareholders a real estate investment trust that would own the land beneath its stores.

Ackman said the deal would unlock the value of Target's real estate and boost its sagging stock price. But the discount retailer said the proposal might make the company vulnerable to a credit downgrade. That, in turn, would make it even tougher to borrow money during the current financial crisis. Management also expressed concern about other issues, including reduced financial flexibility.

It now appears Ackman has made some adjustments to his original plan in response to Target's concerns.

"The revised transaction addresses each of the concerns raised by the company ... and incorporates feedback from shareholders, bondholders, and other market participants," Pershing said in a statement. Source
____________

Resource #7: View Pershing Square Capital's lastest 13F details here: Pershing Square Capital Management 13F Holdings Analysis

_____________

Resource #8: View a video interview with Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital here: Pershing Square Capital Management | Bill Ackman Video Interview

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Wall Street Crash of 1929 | 1 Hour Video

Wall Street Crash of 1929

Wall Street Crash of 1929 | 1 Hour Video

Quick Link: Hedge Fund Videos

Here is an hour long video on the Wall Street Crash of 1929. If you are viewing this post through my daily hedge fund newsletter please click here now to view this video on my website.

Hat tip to Earnings Breakout for first finding it.

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Pershing Square Capital Management 13F Holdings Analysis

Pershing Square 13F

Pershing Square Capital 13F Holdings

Below are some details related to specific securities shown within Pershing Square's recent 13F Filing with the SEC. While these filings don't often show the complete picture of a fund's investments they are interesting to review as they show a sample of their total holdings. Please click on the image below for a clear view of this holdings report.

Source: SEC 13F Filing | MFF Reports

Watch a recent video on Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management here or read more of these 13F holdings analysis pieces within our Investment Securities and Holdings Tool.

The securities included within this update:

American International Group Inc (AIG)
Barnes And Noble Inc (BKS)
Borders Group Inc (BGP)
Emc Corpmassachusetts (EMC)
Greenlight Capital Re Ltd (GLRE)
Longs Drug Stores Corp (LDG)
Mastercard Inc (MA)
Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD)
Target Corp (TGT)
Visa Inc (V)
Wachovia Corp (WB)
Wendysarbys Group Inc (TRY.B)

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Julian Robertson Interview | Hedge Fund Video

Julian Robertson

Julian Robertson Interview Video

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Below is a short video with Julian Robertson. If you are viewing this post via my daily hedge fund newsletter please click here to view it on my website now.

Some quotes from this video:

“America is a like a family who over-spent for years.. has to de-lever itself.. take a long, long time for that to be completed.. I look for a long tough period for the American people”

“I am not positioned long… I am short personally quite a bit”

“So far I don’t think we had the blow to the economy that will eventually obviously come from the wealth devastation that’s occured the last several months”

“General de-leveraging will be a strain on the economy for a long time”

On Google: “(Market) throwing the high multiple stocks out with the bath water. I look to take further advantage of that.”

On Baidu: “Baidu is a fantastic company that has great potential in China. Their market cap is a tiny fraction of Googles. Their potential is probably equal or greater. A case of a stock that will have terrific growth and will be recognized in the years ahead.

Hat tip to earnings breakout for finding the video and pulling out the quotes.

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Pershing Square Capital Management Bill Ackman Video

Pershing Square Capital

Pershing Square Capital Management Video

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Here is a short video by Charlie Rose on Bill Ackman, the hedge fund manager who runs Pershing Square Capital Management. If you are viewing this via my daily hedge fund newsletter please click here to view the video now.

Hat tip to Earnings Breakout for finding the vide.

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Hedge Fund Industry Pulse Check

Industry Pulse

Hedge Fund Industry Pulse Check

(http://HedgeFundBlogger.com) I was on the phone yesterday with a hedge fund investor who said he simply could not keep up with all of the news coming out on hedge funds without spending his whole work day tracking it. He wanted to know what to receive a series of updates within a single post.

Here is a collection of quotes on the current state of the hedge fund industry:

- 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.

- Regulatory filings last week by 38 hedge funds with more than $1 billion in assets each show that selling and market declines cut the value of their reported holdings by about 30 percent to $273 billion.

- At least 75 funds have liquidated or halted redemptions this year. With the Nov. 15 deadline for year-end withdrawal requests now past, fund managers may be forced to unload more stocks to pay off clients.

- Atticus Capital LP, based in New York, said its holdings declined to $510 million from $8.1 billion. In an Oct. 1 letter to investors, David Slager, 36, who manages the Atticus European Fund, told investors that more than 50 percent of his fund was in cash or U.S. Treasuries after he lost 43.5 percent year-to-date.

- At Tudor Investment Corp., the Greenwich, Connecticut, hedge-fund group founded by Paul Tudor Jones, 13F holdings fell to $453 million from $5.7 billion. Jones said markets face more selling from managers. “Our concern now is less over year-end fund redemptions, as record cash balances have already been raised in anticipation, but with prospective fund closures,” Jones, 54, said in an Oct. 31 report to his clients. “This latter event represents a tipping point at which a fund’s call on the market for liquidity goes non-linear.”

- SAC Capital Advisors, LLC of Stamford, Connecticut, said its holdings were $7.7 billion as of Sept. 30, down from $14.4 billion at June 30. Founder Steven Cohen, 52, had about half the firm’s assets in cash in mid-October, after his main fund fell 5 percent through September.

- Louis Bacon’s Moore Capital Management, LLC said the value of its 13F securities fell 69 percent to $1.4 billion, while at Jana Partners LLC, a firm overseen by Barry Rosenstein that makes activist investments, they fell to $2.1 billion from $5.9 billion.

- Jeffrey Vinik, who once ran the Fidelity Magellan Fund, disclosed that his Boston-based Vinik Asset Management LP held $1.8 billion at Sept. 30, down from $11.8 billion at June 30.

- “Movements in financial markets were so volatile, so unpredictable and so seemingly detached from fundamentals” that many hedge-fund managers “didn’t feel they had an edge,” said Doug Peta, an independent market strategist in New York. “The best thing they could do for their investors was to pull back entirely until markets returned to more of a sense of normalcy.”

- The largest funds, including those run by David Shaw, Kenneth Griffin and James Simons, reported smaller declines in their holdings. At Griffin’s Chicago-based Citadel Investment Group LLC, holdings listed on Citadel LP’s 13F fell 11 percent to $50.4 billion. Simons’s Renaissance Technologies LLC of East Setauket, New York, reported a 17 percent decline to $37.8 billion. At New York-based DE Shaw & Co., the filing showed a 20 percent decrease to $45.4 billion. Source

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