2011 Institutional Investors

Survey: Institutional Investors to Move to Hedge Funds in 2011

Hedge funds have had an impressive recovery after the trials of the financial crisis. While the industry recovered better than most, managers still are working to bring more money to their funds. According to a recent Preqin survey, hedge funds can expect to win a good number of institutional mandates next year, which is more encouraging news for the industry.

It has been a tough few years for the hedgies, with many funds claims of non-existent correlation to other asset classes blown apart by the GFC.

Many institutions were scarred by the experience of being stuck in underperforming strategies after many funds were forced to halt redemptions in the face of widespread withdrawals.

The subsequent backlash forced many funds to heed the call from investors and, two years on, they now look set to reap the benefits of providing greater transparency and liquidity.

"Hedge fund managers have had to make changes to the ways they structure and market thier funds, not only to win back confidence from existing investors, but also to attract new investors," researcher Preqin said in a report released this week. Source

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Diamondback Hedge Fund

Diamondback Tries to Calm Investors over Subpoena

Diamondback Capital Management, one of the three hedge funds raided last week by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has released some information the investigation. Diamondback co-founders Lawrence Sapanski and Rich Schimel wrote a letter to investors informing them that the firm received a federal grand jury subpoena and that the investigation was not targeting the firm, rather one of the firm's portfolio managers.

The firm, based in Stamford, Connecticut, said it was told by the government it isn’t the target of the probe and that the raid was focused on one of its portfolio managers, who was put on leave, according to a letter to sent to investors yesterday.

“The warrant appears to be focused on a single employee (a portfolio manager), as well as on a former employee who reported to that employee,” Diamondback co-founders Lawrence Sapanski and Rich Schimel said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. “One of the principal areas on which the government appears to be focused is the use of industry research consultants.”

Hedge funds Level Global Investors LP and Loch Capital Management also had their offices raided by the FBI on Nov. 22. Janus Capital Group Inc. and Wellington Management Co. were among firms that received information requests last week as part of the government’s insider-trading investigation. Source

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Volatility Commodity Hedge Funds

Low Volatility Lowers Returns for Commodity Hedge Funds

The low volatility in the market lately may settle concerns for observers and the average investors but commodity hedge funds are not so happy. Hedge funds trading in commodities are able to make some of the best gains off volatile metal, energy or other commodity prices.

Mr Hall was not alone. The year 2010 is shaping up to be a hard slog for specialist commodity hedge funds, whose managers are paid handsomely to reap big gains trading volatile energy, metals and farm crops. Many markets have ambled sideways, leaving few opportunities for profit.

The HFRX Commodity Index, an industry yardstick, was down 3.5 per cent this year, according to Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research. While fresh investment has varied from fund to fund, it “hasn’t been extremely active,” says Ernest Scalamandre, whose New York-based AC Investment Management puts money in commodity hedge funds. “Two or three years ago, the pace was much more robust.”

Key selling points for these funds are that growth in emerging markets will boost demand and prices for energy, industrial metals and food. Commodities have historically moved out of step with equities, a draw for institutions seeking diversified portfolios. Source

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Hedge Funds China Investors

AIMA: Chinese Investors to Increase Capital to Hedge Funds

Hedge funds can expect to lure more and more capital from Chinese institutional investors according to the head of the Hong Kong and China chapter of a major alternative investing trade union. Christophe Lee, who chairs the Alternative Investment Management Association’s Hong Kong and China chapter, has said that Chinese investors have invested minimal amounts in hedge funds but that his organization is working to reverse this trend and ease the often complicated process.

“Over time, China will invest more overseas,” Christophe Lee, chairman of the Alternative Investment Management Association’s Hong Kong and China chapter. “In their overseas investments, we hope they will consider hedge funds as one of their components.”

AIMA introduced a Chinese translation of its global hedge fund guide for institutional investors this month. The Chinese version of “AIMA’s Roadmap to Hedge Funds,” which includes information about the industry’s performance and strategies, aims to help regulators and investors understand the funds and dispel misconceptions about the industry.

“We want to work with them overtime,” Lee said. “It’s not an imminent thing.”

The amount of money that Chinese institutions have put into hedge funds is currently “minimal” because of overseas investment restrictions, Lee said in an interview in Singapore on Nov. 26. Source

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Investment Management Association Hedge Fund Directive

Investment Management Association

Head of IMA Condemns EU Hedge Fund Directive

The head of the Investment Management Association has come out, perhaps unsurprisingly, against the hedge fund directive passed by the European Union. IMA head Richard Saunders called the law a "failure of British foreign policy" and "blatantly protectionist."

Richard Saunders, chief executive of the Investment Management Association (IMA), accused ministers of being "oblivious" to the "blatantly protectionist" motivations of other countries when the controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive was introduced

Speaking at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, he said: "As so often, the British in Brussels seemed to playing by the rules of cricket while everyone else was playing by the rules of ice hockey."

The experience of the hedge fund directive should be an example to the Coalition of "how not to do legislation", Mr Saunders warned. "We need the UK Government to raise its game in Europe," he said. "The legislation which will shape our financial services industry in the future now comes from Brussels and effectively bypasses the UK Parliament. The AIFM directive illustrates that. The UK has always been good at detail, but less strong in playing the big political game." Source

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Insider Trading Investigation

Insider Trading Investigation Widens to Bigger Firms

The insider trading investigation that led to raids on three hedge funds, Level Global Investors LP, Diamondback Capital Management LLC, and Wellington Management Co. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office has issued subpoenas to big hedge funds SAC Capital Advisors and Citadel LLC as well as a couple of large mutual funds.

Hedge-fund giants SAC Capital Advisors and Citadel LLC, 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.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also recently questioned an account manager at Primary Global Research LLC, a California company that provides "expert-network" services to hedge funds and mutual funds, people familiar with the matter say.

Such expert-network firms set up meetings and arrange calls between traders seeking an investing edge and current and former managers from hundreds of companies. The FBI is seeking information about a Primary Global consultant and his hedge-fund clients, these people say. Source

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Evolution Capital Management Tokyo Apaches

Evolution Capital Management Tokyo

Hedge Fund Brings in U.S. Talent to Tokyo Apaches Team

A hedge fund has decided to venture into an uncommon investment area, professional basketball in Japan. Evolution Capital Management has brought in American basketball talent and former head coach for the Seattle Supersonics to help boost the profile of the Tokyo Apaches, a team owned by the hedge fund. If you are reading this via RSS or e-mail, click here to watch the following video.

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Hedge Funds FBI Raids

FBI Raids Funds Run by Former SAC Capital Traders

Following up with yesterday's breaking news that three hedge funds are now under investigation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the raids yesterday targeted three hedge funds as part of an insider trading probe. Two of the funds, Level Global Investors LP and Diamondback Capital Management LLC,are based in Connecticut and run by former traders at Steven Cohen's SAC Capital. The other fund is a Boston-based money manager, Wellington Management Co.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents yesterday searched the offices of Level Global Investors LP and Diamondback Capital Management LLC in probing illegal trading by hedge funds. Both firms were founded by former SAC employees. Wellington Management Co., the Boston-based money manager that oversees $598 billion, also got a request for documents from U.S. investigators, according to a person familiar with the firm.

“They appear to have an interest in some of the traders who used to work at SAC Capital,” John Coffee, a securities law professor at Columbia University in New York, said in an interview. “Those traders that the government seems to be pursuing have to make a quick decision about whether they’re going to cooperate or whether they’re going to fight. They will get greater leniency if they give the government bigger fish.”

There has been no allegation of wrongdoing at Stamford, Connecticut-based SAC, which manages $12 billion. Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for the firm, declined to comment. As of February, the firm hadn’t received a government subpoena for documents. Gasthalter declined to comment on whether SAC has been subpoenaed since then. Source

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Dan Waters Hedge Funds

Dan Waters: FSA Hedge Fund Chief Plans to Leave

The head of the hedge fund division at UK's top financial regulator plans to leave that position next month. Dan Waters is the director of conduct risk and asset management sector at the Financial Services Authority. At this position Waters was in charge of increasing oversight of hedge funds.

Dan Waters, the U.K. Financial Services Authority's director of conduct risk and asset management sector leader who helped the regulator beef up its oversight of hedge funds, is to leave next month, the FSA said Tuesday.

It said he is "considering other opportunities that will allow flexibility to pursue his interests here in the U.K. while allowing him time to meet family obligations in the United States."

Christina Sinclair has been appointed to the role of director of conduct risk on an interim basis, the FSA said. Source

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Richard Wilson's Radio Show Interview on Hedge Fund Marketing & Startups

Richard's Radio Show Interview

I recently completed a Money & Business radio show interview with Samuel Ezerzer from Radio Shalom in Toronto. If you listen to this radio interview there is about 7-8 minutes of intro material and then my interview goes for about 40 minutes covering many different capital raising and hedge fund management topics.

Within this interview I get interviewed about how to raise capital for hedge fund managers, what investors are putting money into hedge funds, whether the government should tax hedge funds more or less in the future (where I lose a few friends in the auto industry), and finally the interview ends with some comments on where the hedge fund industry is headed in the future.

Download the MP3 interview to listen to the interview now.

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FBI Hedge Funds

FBI Hedge Funds Insider Trading

FBI Raids Two Connecticut-Based Hedge Funds

The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided two Connecticut-based hedge funds. The raids are reportedly part of an insider trading probe. The two hedge funds that were the subjects of the search are Level Global Investors LP and Diamondback Capital Management.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided the Connecticut offices of hedge funds Diamondback Capital Management LLC and Level Global Investors LP amid a far-reaching insider-trading investigation.

"The FBI is executing court-authorized search warrants in an ongoing investigation," said Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman, who declined to comment further.

Both hedge funds are run by former managers of Steve Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors. Level Global Investors LP is a Greenwich, Conn., hedge-fund firm run by David Ganek, a former SAC Capital trader and art collector. He started Level Global in 2003 and earlier this year reported managing about $4 billion in assets.

Diamondback Capital Management LLC is based in Stamford, Conn., and was started in 2005. It oversees more than $5 billion in assets, according to SEC filings. Source

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How to go from being a trader to a hedge fund manager

From Trader to Hedge Fund Manager

We have many traders within our CHP program who are opening their own hedge funds and we have been providing some advice to them about how to do so.

Here is a short list of some actions to consider taking if you are looking to move from being a trader to a hedge fund manager:

Think about forming your team early, as Jim Collins recommends in his book "get the right people on the bus, and then figure out exactly where that bus is headed." The team is really what is going to bring in the capital, protect the portfolio in rocky market conditions, and continually improve your investment process and risk management techniques
Start learning everything you can about capital raising and hedge fund marketing ASAP. The faster you start moving up this learning curve the better you will be able to manage third party marketers or capital raisers you hire for your team. If you wait until you have a big track record you will be left trying to manage someone doing work you no nothing about, or you will have to start at the infant stage of hedge fund marketing knowledge when you should be in your prime for raising capital.
Form a board of advisors early who have experience in growing funds past the $100M level, pay them or reward them in ways that will keep them around long-term. Their advice could save your business and help you make it over the hump to profitability.
Take your new hedge fund serious as a small business, you are not running a portfolio you are running a portfolio.
Half of running a hedge fund is risk management and portfolio construction, the other half is capital raising and marketing, invest accordingly.
Explore hedge fund seeding programs, early stage investors, wealth management firms, fund of hedge funds, and incubator funds before launching your fund and after you have been up and running for 6-12 months.
Be as transparent, pro-active, professional, process-oriented, and organized from day 1 as possible.
Interview at least 3 service providers face-to-face that you will be partnering with, these are your business partners and you will need to lean on them for advice and help. These professionals can make or break your business.
Learn everything you can before launching your hedge fund, this is a knowledge-based industry and learning one valuable lesson before making the mistake within your own hedge fund first could save you $10,000 or $100,000 in wasted time or lost funds.

I hope some of this advice helps, if you want more of it I have about $1,000 worth of my hedge fund startup advice within my e-book here: http://StartAHedgeFundNow.com.

We also train dozens of traders and new hedge fund managers a year within our Certified Hedge Fund Professional (CHP) program, check it out here.

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Securities Lending

Securities Lending is the act of large financial institutions with long positions in securities ‘lending’ out those positions to prime brokers to further lend to hedge funds and investors that want to short the particular security. The process creates incremental revenues for many of these large financial institutions; most commonly mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies and offshore investment funds that have massive amounts of capital within their portfolios.

The size of the market is estimated to be a staggering $717 billion for US equities. One of the crucial points to note is the lack of a widespread functional exchange in which to transact security lending agreements. Security lending transactions still occur almost exclusively over the phone. It is one of the few transactions in today’s market that agreements are only reached by a prime broker picking up the phone, calling an asset manager and looking to set the terms of agreement.

Equity positions are lent out to brokers, hedge funds and proprietary trading desks with 102% – 105% collateral provided to the lending firm, giving these firms even more cash to invest in other securities; most commonly short-term money market investment vehicles. However, during the brunt of the crisis news surfaced that some institutions were in fact putting the capital in much higher risk securities such as mortgage-backed investments. This remains a potential risk to investors who have bought shares of mutual funds or ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). If the ‘lent out’ capital is reinvested in risky assets and losses on those positions occur, this loss of investment on the collateralized securities carries through to the total performance of the fund.

What determines the fees and revenue generated by the lending firm? It is a combination of factors including: length of the loan, size of the loan, availability of the security in the open market, and stock-specific measures such as dividend amount on the underlying security. Estimates on how lucrative the business is pegs lenders such as mutual funds and pension funds making anywhere from 1 to 2 percent per annum on the loaning out of positions, while prime brokers are making between 3.5% and 7.25% over the same period.

Each transaction depends on the stock but can bring as little as 0.01% per transaction or as much as 0.40%. Securities in extremely high demand can fetch all the way into the double digit percentage points, as seen by Citigroup in 2009 when hedge funds anted up to pay as much as 13% for getting a lot of the shares to sell short.

Learn more about prime brokerage by downloading our free prime brokerage e-book: http://primebrokeragebook.com/

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Financial Services Authority Hedge Funds

FSA Approves More Hedge Funds in 3Q than Last 2 Years

The Financial Services Authority, Britain's top financial regulator, approved 28 new hedge funds from July to September. In a sign that the hedge fund industry is almost completely recovered, the FSA allowed more hedge funds in the third quarter than in the previous two years.

The regulator said 28 new hedge funds registered between July and September. All told, 65 new hedge funds have registered in the first three quarters of this year, more than the 60 that registered all of last year.

FSA registration takes an average of six months, meaning most of the new firms have been planned since at least earlier this year. A surge of applications came in the first quarter.

Sixteen of the 28 new registrants were founded by veterans of some of Europe's larger hedge funds, including Brevan Howard Asset Management, Cheyne Capital Management, CQS Management and Odey Asset Management, Financial News reports. Source

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Hedge Funds Ireland Debt

Hedge Funds Looking to Ireland Sovereign Debt Crisis

Hedge funds are looking for ways to profit on the Irish sovereign debt crisis. According to the Wall Street Journal, as the country's debt draws international concern, hedge funds are looking at Irish bank debt especially at the two largest private banks Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland Group.

They are focusing on the treatment of about $9 billion in junior bonds issued by the banks that will be among the last to get paid off in any restructuring. Those bonds plunged in April as worries about euro-zone debt gripped the markets. As prospects of a bailout—and a recapitalization of the banks—increase, hedge funds say they see opportunities in the lowest-ranked debt of Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland.

Bonds that rank low on Allied Irish's capital structure are up 20% to around 55 cents on the dollar since Friday, as anticipation of a rescue loan reaches fever pitch. Junior debt owed by Bank of Ireland, the stronger of the two, thanks to limited commercial-mortgage exposure, bottomed out around 65 cents last month and has recovered to the 70s this week.

It is what comes after a bailout that distressed investors are trying to handicap.

The junior debt doesn't benefit from the explicit government guarantee awarded to the senior debt. So the risk remains that junior bondholders may be forced to take a hit on their bonds under any restructuring, whether under Irish or European oversight. Source

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Hedge Fund Bonus Restrictions

Hedge Funds in London Seek to Avoid Bonus Regulations

Hedge funds in London may succeed in avoiding bonus restrictions. The new regulations that would limit the bonuses for bank executives, and under one interpretation this has been taken to apply to hedge funds' performance fees. But the Financial Services Authority has left a window for escaping the restrictions if the firms can show that it should not apply to them, and hedge funds may have a good case for avoiding the restrictions.

The proposals call for at least 40% of a bonus to be deferred over a period of at least three years for certain delineated staff. At least 60% must be deferred when the bonus is more than £500,000 ($795,176).

The problem with the proposed rules is that the restrictions could be interpreted to apply to hedge fund managers’ performance fees; the prime source of remuneration for the asset class.

The rules being studied by the FSA are meant to comply with a pan-European mandate to throttle back a pay culture where banks and other financial institutions were perceived as tying bonuses to short-term share price increases.

The FSA has said that firms could be freed of bonus restrictions if they can explain to the regulator how it should not apply to them. Source

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Hedge Fund Managers Gold

Top Hedge Fund Managers Continue to Buy Gold

As we've already reported this year, several of the top hedge fund managers are continuing to buy gold. The latest SEC filings show that among other high-profile traders, Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC bought 115,000 shares of SPDR Gold Trust as well as Chris Shumway's fund.

At the same time, some of the early hedge fund gold pioneers were trimming their stakes. George Soros sold over half of one million shares of the gold ETF to finish the quarter with 4.7 million shares, while Eric Mindich reduced his Eton Park Capital's stake by 2 million shares to 4.6 million. John Paulson maintained a 31.5 million share holding of the ETF through the quarter.

Soros has said several times this year that gold is "the ultimate bubble."

"I called gold the ultimate bubble which means it may go higher," Soros explained in September at a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York. "But it's certainly not safe and it's not going to last forever."

Gold has risen sharply this year. The SPDR trust is up 23 percent so far in 2010. Spot gold hit a record of $1,424.10 last week, without adjusting for inflation. Gold would still almost have to double in price to reach its 1980 record after including inflation. Source

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Hedge Funds Apple Shares

Hedge Funds Bought Up Apple Shares in Third Quarter

Several prominent hedge funds accumulated shares on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the third quarter of 2010. Hedge funds buying up shares of Apple include Greenlight Capital, Adage Capital Partners and Tudor Investment Corporation. Currently, Apple shares are trading above $300.

David Einhorn, famous for shorting Lehman Brothers, bought 525,000 shares for his Greenlight Capital.

Phil Gross' Adage Capital Partners bought 107,000 shares. Interestingly, it also dumped 1,139,000 shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). Microsoft is currently trading at $26.20 a share.

Dan Loeb's Third Point bought 150,000 shares.

Paul Tudor Jones, the legendary trader profiled in the book Market Wizards, bought 364,800 shares for his Tudor Investment Corporation. Source

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Ultra Wealthy Hedge Funds

Half of Ultra Wealthy Households Invest in Hedge Funds

The ultra wealthy have grown to embrace hedge funds as an attractive investment. A new study by Chicago-based Spectrem Group found that half of the ultra-high-net-worth households it surveyed were invested in hedge funds. Despite concerns over alternative investments in the last couple of years, it seems that many ultra wealthy individuals still value the potential reward over the potential risks.

Half of the ultra-high-net worth households that it surveyed earlier this year own hedge funds. The means holding was $4.6 million. That level of ownership represents a 43% increase in the hedge fund ownership from 2007, when just 35% of the wealthiest households invested in that asset class, according to Spectrem, which released its report on Tuesday. Spectrem fielded questions to 136 wealthy households in August for the study, called “The $25 Million-Plus Investor”.

This wealth segment is not just going after hedge funds. More than half, 56%, of households worth $25 million or more own private equity, and 52% of them hold venture capital. Those holdings represent increases from 39% and 37%, respectively. They also hold private placements, 49%, precious metals, 44%, and commodities, 38%. In terms of the distribution of investable assets, alternatives comprise about 20% of overall holdings in an ultra wealthy client’s portfolio. Stocks and bonds made up 20%; professionally managed accounts had 16%; mutual funds and deposit accounts each had 11%; other investments accounted for 14%, and rollover contributory and Roth IRAs had 9%. Source

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Harbinger Capital Partners Investigation

Harbinger Capital Investigation

Harbinger Capital Partners Reportedly Under Investigation

Harbinger Capital Partners is one of the most prominent hedge funds in the world, after making big gains during the sub-prime mortgage crisis. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's office have opened up an investigation into the hedge fund.

The investigation is centered on whether the fund notified investors quickly enough of a loan extended to the hedge fund's founder, Philip Falcone. Additionally, the investigators are looking into whether the allowed some investors to withdraw money at a moment when other investors were not able to.

Authorities are also probing whether the fund allowed some investors to withdraw money at a time when others were not allowed to because the fund was struggling. Falcone told the Journal in an interview that Harbinger did not give preferential treatment to certain investors.

Hedge funds are pools of money invested by wealthy individuals and institutions like pension funds and endowments. They are only lightly regulated but have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years.

In 2007, Harbinger bet against bonds that were used to finance subprime mortgages and posted huge gains when those bonds fell in value. But it began to struggle in 2008 and tightened rules about when and how much money investors could withdraw.

The loan to Falcone was backed by the $2 billion he has invested in the fund, the Journal reported. Source

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Larger Hedge Funds

New Study: Larger Hedge Funds More Vulnerable

A new study claims that larger hedge funds may not be better, even though investors often trust larger hedge funds more than smaller funds. The study, by fund manager Jason Orchard and Fordham University accounting professor Haim Mozes, found that larger hedge funds are less nimble than smaller funds. This, the paper argues, sometimes gives smaller hedge funds the advantage as the returns to investors in larger funds lag.

"The opportunity costs of investing in large funds may be higher and the safety benefit of investing in large funds may be lower than investors currently expect," said Orchard, a principal at New York-based hedge fund Spring Mountain Capital.

Big hedge funds are more likely than smaller hedge funds to either go out of business or to restrict investors from getting all of their money back when they want, the authors wrote.

The findings stand in stark contrast to conventional wisdom that large hedge funds are better able to withstand market turmoil by hiring top analysts and having enough cash to meet investor redemptions. Source

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EU Hedge Funds Switzerland

EU Directive Driving Hedge Funds to Switzerland

The EU fund manager directive finally passed last Thursday after lengthly negotiations and although the directive was softened from previous proposals, the effect on the UK may be severe. Switzerland has already been an attractive haven for hedge funds looking to avoid stiff taxes and desiring a more business friendly environment, with the directive's passage it seems that more hedge funds are considering the relocation to Switzerland.

The regulation, which the European Parliament passed on Thursday, could kick start Swiss efforts to lure financial professionals away from Britain, currently home to 75 percent of European hedge fund assets, with the promise of lower taxes.

"This will certainly have an impact on the larger fund managers with big risk and portfolio management departments," said Marcel Jouault, who represents the financial industry in Pfaeffikon, a town near Zurich.

Earlier this year, industry professionals and consultants said uncertainty over the pending regulation was a major factor causing London's wealthy hedge fund managers to stay put despite stiff tax increases for top British earners. Source

Related to: EU Hedge Funds Switzerland

Tags: EU Hedge Funds Switzerland, European Union, European Union hedge funds, EU hedge funds, European Union hedge funds directive, alternative fund manager directive

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Hedge Funds UK Jobs

Hedge Funds Cutting Back Jobs in UK Outposts

Hedge funds are cutting senior staff jobs in outposts overseas. According to Financial News, from the beginning of this year through to September, the number of senior staff at large and medium hedge funds fell from 1288 to 979.

The average hedge fund isn't down right now; performance for the year for the industry is pegged at 4.69%. But a year earlier, hedge funds were up close to 20%

Less-than-stellar returns have no doubt prompted funds to start shuffling their decks, cutting back where necessary. According to research firm Imas, 47% of managers based outside the U.K. have laid off staff based in the country.

"Overseas companies are under the same competitive pressure and it is easier to cut back foreign activities than do so closer to home," Olly Laughton-Scott, a managing partner at Imas, told Financial News. Source

Related to: Hedge Funds Foreign Jobs

Tags: Hedge Funds Foreign Jobs, hedge funds, hedge funds jobs, hedge funds UK jobs, hedge fund jobs in the UK, UK Hedge Fund Jobs

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SAC Capital Extortion

New York Rabbi Convicted of Extorting Hedge Fund

A New York rabbi was convicted in a Manhattan federal court of forcing a hedge fund, SAC Capital, to pay millions of dollars to two schools. Rabbi Milton Balkany was found guilty of extortion, wire fraud, blackmail and false statement charges.

A prominent Brooklyn rabbi has been convicted in a scheme to extort a Connecticut-based hedge fund into paying millions of dollars to two schools.

Rabbi Milton Balkany was found guilty in Manhattan federal court Wednesday of extortion, blackmail, wire fraud and false statement charges.

Prosecutors say the 64-year-old Balkany threatened and lied to workers at the unnamed hedge fund to persuade them to send him checks totaling $3.25 million. They say he told them he was a spiritual adviser to an inmate who had knowledge of insider trading connected to the hedge fund.

Information about Balkany's lawyer was not immediately available. Balkany faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count at his sentencing Feb. 18.

Related to: SAC Capital Extortion

Tags: SAC Capital Extortion, SAC Capital Blackmail, SAC Capital Rabbi Milton Balkany, Rabbi Milton Balkany extortion, Rabbi Milton Balkany SAC Capital Case

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