Hedge Fund Sharks Circle Galleon's Big Bucks

Rival hedge funds are preparing to take battered Galleon's billions of client assets, as small and large investors make redemption requests from the once high-flying hedge fund. Galleon is getting battered on all sides this week. Short sellers have been hammering away at its positions, sure that Galleon will have to liquidate rapidly to meet redemption requests. Employees are contacting lawyers and updating resumes. Clients are demanding to be let out of the fund. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-20 12:35:00

Blog posts (691) | Videos (454)
 

Meriwether Embarks on Third Fund

Hedge fund manager and arbitrageur, John Meriwether, is setting up his third fund, The Financial Times reported. The man behind Long-Term Capital Management is making the move just three months after he chose to close his second fund manager, JWM Partners.Mr. Meriwether is perhaps best known for LTCM, which triggered a panic across worlds markets and prompted the Federal Reserve to take the then-unprecedented step of orchestrating a multibillion dollar bailout.The new venture, JM Advisors [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 09:50:00

Proposed iShares Muni ETFs: Bonds In Disguise?

Unique expiring funds would track recently launched S&P indexes.   Recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicate that Barclays Global Investors (soon to come under ownership by BlackRock) is looking to launch a family of municipal bond exchange-traded funds targeting certain maturity dates. Each fund would hold the underlying securities from its respective index to full maturity, at which point the fund would simply retain a cash position. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 21:09:53

American Funds group bleeds cash as investors stay wary of stocks

Small investors' reluctance to pump more cash into U.S. stock mutual funds is taking a heavy toll on the American Funds group, the L.A.-based money management giant. American, the second-largest fund company by assets after No. 1 Vanguard Group , saw a net $1.8 billion in cash flow out the door in September as investor redemptions exceeded purchases for the sixth month in the last nine, according to data compiled by Morningstar Inc. Year to date through Sept. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-13 22:59:55

VC Seed Funding is Dead, Long Live VC Seed Funding!

This is part of my ongoing series about Raising Venture Capital . This posting was inspired by an email from Rajat Suri who wrote me an email in response to Chris Dixon’s blog post (link below) from August, which recently re-ran on Business Insider and has generated much Twitter chatter. A few years ago it became fashionable for large VC’s to do seed funding.  With open source software (LAMP stack) and cloud computing infrastructure it just wasn’t that expensive to get your company going and [more...]

Date: 2009-10-18 06:15:28

Charmed by Baltimore

It’s argued that Weighted Student Funding (WSF, aka Fair Student Funding) is no panacea among education reforms. And that’s true, of course-allocating funds rationally and fairly and then empowering principals to control their schools are merely means to an end, the ends being better-run schools; parents more satisfied with how schools meet their kids’ needs; and, ultimately, students learning more. But still, it’s nice to hear that WSF is helping move a district in the right directions. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 18:05:18

Why Trading ETFs Will Make You Rich!

by Kirt Christensen For the knowledgeable, active investor who wants to participate in big picture trends, the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has many advantages over the traditional Mutual Fund. ETFs are far more transparent, efficient and economical. Be A Control Freak. It is a universal truth: You are more interested in the vigor of your portfolio than anyone else. Having Mutual Funds be your mainstay is like relying on fast food establishments to keep you healthy. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-10 20:51:03

Guest Post: The Royal Rumble?

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse . Reuters reports that British pension funds have begun exerting pressure to change proposed European Union rules that would impose new regulations on the hedge fund and alternative investment sector : The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and a director at Hermes, manager of Britain's largest corporate scheme, told Reuters the rules could damage investment choice and hit returns, affecting the affordability of pensions. [more...]

Date: 2009-08-05 11:03:00

Municipal Bond Fund ‘Swan Dive’

Investors have traditionally bought municipal bond funds for income purposes. The tax-exempt status provides real appeal and the default rate on municipals has always been exceptionally low.  Against that backdrop, ‘munis’ have always proven to be less volatile than equities and many other sectors of the bond market . . . until now. If a picture tells a thousand words, this graph of a Nuveen National Municipal Closed End Fund (ticker NXR) is more than a short story. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-13 16:08:45

What went wrong with value funds

By Penelope Wang, Money Magazine senior writerLast Updated: November 13, 2008: 9:30 AM ET Legg Mason Value fund manager Bill Miller beat the market for 15 straight years. This year his fund is down more than 50%. Stable stocks in a shaky market More Videos Ultimate Guide to Retirement Getting started 401(k)s & company plans Investing Annuities IRAs Self-employment plans Pensions and benefit plans Social Security Insurance Estate planning Living in retirement [more...]

Date: 2009-10-14 15:44:15

Who Actually Believes in Index Fund Investing and Other Boring Investment Ideas?

       Diversification, index funds, low expenses, tax efficiency…they’re all so boring . Isn’t there a better way? Can’t I use research, insight, intuition, and intelligence to beat the market? Who actually believes this boring stuff anyway?        The guy in the fancy suit on TV doesn’t seem to believe it. The writers of financial publications are constantly telling us which funds are going to be hot this year, or month, or week. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-30 08:00:42

John Meriwether Is Really Launching A Third Hedge Fund

There really is no way to destroy your reputation in this industry, so long as your failures are spectacular. John Meriwether, who has already had two hedge funds blow up (LTCM being the most notable), is back for a third, according to FT . The, which will be based in Greenwitch (Naturally) will be called JM Advisors Management. People with knowledge of the situation say the fund is not likely to be ready to launch until next year. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 00:45:27

Mayfield Fund Gets Serious About Energy Tech

Tech industry watchers likely know the almost 40-year old venture firm Mayfield Fund for its investments in computing and Internet startups — the company funded well known computing companies Silicon Graphics and SanDisk more than a decade ago ... he plans to actively look into some of the less well-funded sectors like geothermal, capturing [more...]

Date: 2009-01-12 05:00:10

Drumbeat: October 20, 2009

CIT debt offer by obscure fund raises questions NEW YORK (Reuters) - An obscure hedge fund said it offered to buy $1 billion in debt from CIT Group Inc but declined to identify its source of capital. CIT would not comment on whether it was seriously considering the offer. ...Logi is currently raising capital for a Peak Oil Value Fund to target investments based on expectations that global oil production has neared a top. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-20 14:18:27

Guest Post - Fund My Mutual Fund

We believe in cross collaboration, especially with smart, insightful bloggers. Today we focus on TraderMark who runs Fund My Mutual Fund , and is one of the most followed authors on Seeking Alpha ; we have picked a post of his on a topic that is near and dear to our heart [more...]

Date: 2009-02-19 22:42:00

Hedge Funds Impose Emergency Measures To Block Withdrawal Requests

Battered by a sinking global economy Hedge funds hit by fresh wave of withdrawals ... more funds to impose emergency measures to block repayments.London Diversified Fund Management ... as they have their worst year on record.This week CQS, a London convertible bond specialist run by former Credit [more...]

Date: 2008-12-01 18:02:00

Sinking Fund Eases Strain Of Annual Expenses

If you listen to personal financial advice very long you are bound to hear the term “sinking fund” tossed around ... , in the context of corporate finance, is a sum of money identified by a corporation to be held aside over time ... . In the personal finance world we can use sinking funds to help prepare for large, infrequent expenses [more...]

Date: 2009-03-21 10:00:05

Guest Post: Slump Prods Firms To Seek New Compact With Workers

Zero Hedge Submitted by TraderMark at Fund My Mutual Fund A pretty solid piece in the Wall Street Journal on themes we’ve discussed quite often; essentially as the globe flattens and labor becomes more “disposable” (if you will), structural changes that are little discussed are happening slowly but surely. All the Great Recession has done is accelerate trends that were already building. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 15:40:18

Dilbert’s “Unified Theory of Everything Financial.”

I have always enjoyed Scott Adams, convinced that he worked for the same company I do in my day job. (He doesn’t, by the way) When I read this, I was impressed and thought I’d pass it along. Make a will Pay off your credit cards Get term life insurance if you have a family to support Fund your 401k to the maximum Fund your IRA to the maximum Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account Take whatever [more...]

Date: 2009-09-23 12:02:26

Will Suit Against UBS Have Broader Impact?

A lawsuit brought by a Connecticut hedge fund over collateralized debt obligations sold by UBS has some industry observers suggesting that the case may end up have broad legal implications for ratings agencies and investment banks that sold toxic mortgage-backed securities before the collapse of the financial markets.In a case being heard in Connecticut Superior Court, Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund Pursuit Partners claims that UBS used secret insider information obtained from its relationship [more...]

Date: 2009-09-16 11:28:59

What Would You Do With $1000?

The cover story on this month’s Money Magazine asks “ What would you do with $1000? ” We’ve talked in the past about what you’d do with a major windfall , but I thought it would be interesting to take a look at your options with a smaller windfall. Here are Money’s suggestions: Build up your emergency fund Spend five hours with a financial planner Buy a top-notch mutual fund * Upgrade your appliances Join a gym/hire a personal trainer Pay down credit card debt Update [more...]

Date: 2009-10-16 13:00:40

Hedge Fund Manager’s Gilt-Edged Vacancy

Everyone has to sacrifice in these difficult economic times, even those fortunate enough to have the cash available to pick up distressed assets. And so, brokers say, Steven Mnuchin, the hedge fund manager and former executive vice president at Goldman Sachs, is giving up the comfort and lordly status of his five-bedroom duplex co-op at 740 Park Avenue, one of the most prestigious addresses in New York, for the suburban wilds of Pasadena, Calif., The New York Times’s Josh Barbanel reports.Mr. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-13 09:09:07

Information Is Power 1_ EU Funding Orwellian Technology…

Information is Power 1 – EU funding Orwellian technology by IanPJ on Sun 20 Sep 2009 12:00 BST This morning the Telegraph tells us that the EU is funding an ‘Orwellian’ artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for “abnormal behaviour” The European Union is spending millions of pounds developing “Orwellian” technologies designed to scour the internet and CCTV images for “abnormal behaviour”. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-26 09:44:36

Zayo Aims For Stimulus Funds, In Quantity

Upstart metro and regional fiber provider Zayo (news) has also thrown its hat into the stimulus funding ring.  That’s not a surprise, the company has been quite vocal in its efforts, and began putting together a team to pursue the opportunity back in the first quarter.  They are seeking $25M directly, which would be used to extend its network into 80 communities and 21 institutes of higher education in the Midwest.  And beyond that they have applied with partners for another $50M in other markets.  [more...]

Date: 2009-08-31 01:02:45

How To Become A Bulk REO Investor

There are more foreclosures in the United States right now than we have ever experienced before. Yet well-funded investors in real estate are seizing upon this opening to profit from an profoundly profitable new opportunity. This new opportunity – known as ‘ Bulk REO Investing’ – is so huge it’s captured attention from wealthy investors and private investment funds alike. Let’s take a moment to analyze the basics of this incredibly lucrative business. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 12:13:14

Financial Planning – Personal Financial Advice Or "Product Flogging"?

John Leske asked: They make used car salesmen look good …Personal Financial Advice or Product Flogging The financial planning industry (and a number of accountants dubiously playing on the edge) has come under intense fire recently. The downturn in investment markets has exposed a number of products that have not turned out to be in clients’ best interests. These include high yield mortgage funds, absolute returns funds, agribusiness and protected equity products and excessive margin lending. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 11:25:40

Google Ventures takes flight

Filed under: Google (GOOG) , Cisco Systems (CSCO) , Small business Times are particularly tough for VC funds. The IPO market is a ghost-town. M&A is muted -- with fairly low valuations. By all accounts, it looks like the returns for VC funds will be dismal. But, interestingly enough, this is likely the best time to start a VC fund [more...]

Date: 2009-03-31 18:10:00

Summers Feeds at Hedge Fund Trough

with all the money, you think he could afford nose hair clippers In the run-up to the election, ... , I was wrong. Larry Summers was paid $5.2mn by the hedge fund that employed him, D.E. Shaw, according ... decisions the economic team has wrestled with has been whether to step up regulation of hedge funds [more...]

Date: 2009-04-04 00:50:32

State Funding Board approves major reforms for municipal financing

The Tennessee State Funding Board has approved a sweeping set of changes implementing enhanced requirements to the guidelines that govern cities and counties that propose to enter into interest rate swaps and other exotic financial transactions. The revised guidelines are aimed at eliminating potential conflicts of interest by prohibiting individuals or companies from representing more than one side in derivative transactions. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 02:06:23

Motion Computing Secures $6 Million in New Funding

This is definitely good news for our friends at Motion Computing, and a good sign that 2009 should be a better year for them than 2008 ... s earlier funding rounds, is a leading venture capital firm focused on the information technology and healthcare sectors and has funded approximately 550 companies to date. IVP, one of the premier later [more...]

Date: 2008-12-23 15:50:50

Searching for the Heart of the Hedge-Fund Industry

David Walker , of Financial News, reports: Many believe the beating heart of the global hedge fund industry is London’s Mayfair ... with at least a dozen peers, including Cantillon Capital Management, Capula Investment Management, London Diversified Fund Management and Arrowgrass Capital Partners, whose main offices are all in central London [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 15:15:50

Apollo Closes Buyout Fund Near $15 Billion Target

Sabrina Willmer, of Private Equity Analyst, files this dispatch on fund-raising at Apollo Management. Private Equity Analyst is a Dow Jones publication and a contributor to Deal Journal. Apollo Management has held a final closing of its latest fund, raising nearly $14.9 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. [more...]

Date: 2009-01-23 01:16:59

Missouri may fund pilot project on smoking cessation

JEFFERSON CITY — Sen. Joan Bray won a tentative victory today when the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed to put $2 million in the budget for a smoking cessation program.Bray, D-University City, sought the funds to help low-income pregnant women on Medicaid kick the habit. The funds — about $700,000 from the state and $1 [more...]

Date: 2009-04-06 22:13:38

Face the Competition and Go Global

How to face a well-funded competitor. Ryan Janssen was all set to launch his startup, SetJam, a TV Guide for the Internet. But, just weeks before he was ready to go live, he learned of a well funded competitor, Clicker.com, which had just launched. Clicker has raised $8 million in venture capital funding, compared to $50,000 for SetJam. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-30 17:03:03

WealthTrack: “One Investment” Recommendation - Transcript

Earlier this week, we featured Consuelo Mack’s interview with Bob Doll, Tom Petrie, and John Montgomery. Today, we feature the transcript.  If you missed the video, you can view it anytime, here . Bob Doll , is Vice Chairman and Global Chief Investment Officer of Equities at BlackRock. He is also a respected money manager who runs three different large cap funds for BlackRock, their core, growth and value funds. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-16 10:50:29

Spark Capital Launches Seed Funding Program Start@Spark

The latest venture fund to set up a separate seed financing program is Boston-based Spark Capital , ... financial or educational services. Entrepreneurs who get into the program will have access to Spark’ ... Partners’ Facebook-apps only fund ). We should probably note Spark Capital in fact a partner [more...]

Date: 2009-03-25 13:51:35

Today in Russian Business - Oct 21, 2009

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin says Russia exited the recession in the last quarter (largely thanks to increased commodity demand and high oil prices ), and analysts are speculating that Russia's ruble is approaching free floating currency status after reaching new highs this week.  Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to comment on ' sufficiently large funds ' and pledge $37 billion in federal funds for Russia's regions next year. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 08:00:53

Today in Russian Business – Oct 21, 2009

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin says Russia exited the recession in the last quarter (largely thanks to increased commodity demand and high oil prices ), and analysts are speculating that Russia's ruble is approaching free floating currency status after reaching new highs this week.  Vladimir Putin took the opportunity to comment on ' sufficiently large funds ' and pledge $37 billion in federal funds for Russia's regions next year. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 08:00:53

Galleon sinks as informant surfaces

Galleon Group is winding down all its hedge funds just days after billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, its founder and president, was charged along with five others for insider trading, sparking investor withdrawals. Writing to clients on Wednesday, Rajaratnam said it was in their “best interest” to conduct an "orderly wind down” of Galleon’s funds and explore "alternatives"... [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 03:50:55

Mystery PE Fund Throws A Lifeline To Niche Social Network Sneakerplay

A new private equity fund has picked up what was left of Sneakerplay , ... blog with all of the juicy details from dealing with investment bankers, to press coverage, bidding ... involved with the private equity fund. The website won’t teach you a thing about that, except [more...]

Date: 2009-03-26 10:52:11

25 Funds for Long-Term Investors

The financial advisers we speak with every week say that most investors shouldn’t be concerned with short-term movements in the stock ticker market. It’s better to avoid the roller coaster rides in favor of allowing a portfolio to grow slowly and steady over the long term, they say. It would be foolhardy to try to make up for a dismal 2008 by betting on the pops and drops of this year’s market. The same strategy could be applied to funds. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-03 09:45:04

Arabian Money: Gulf sovereign wealth funds dump bank stocks

Qatar is following Abu Dhabi in downsizing its stake in the British bank Barclays, only acquired less than a year ago to help the bank survive the global financial crisis without state aid. It seems the sovereign wealth funds of the Gulf are going cool on banks.You can hardly blame Qatar for choosing to cash in some of its chips. The gas-rich Gulf state will make a $1 billion profit on the deal and still retain more than seven per cent of Barclays stock as the bank’s largest shareholder. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-21 06:13:31

Dow-funded U-M dioxin study criticized for bias

For the last six years, University of Michigan research funded by Dow Chemical has figured prominently in public discussions over what to do about the dioxin contamination caused by the company in the Saginaw River watershed. Federal and state environmental agencies have warned that U-M’s Dioxin Exposure Study has failed to answer crucial questions and that its results are being misinterpreted. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-22 16:27:53

Iridium Merger; Satphones Maneuver

Iridium , the only Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) company offering coverage over the entire globe, has announced new funding through a merger with publicly traded GHL Acquisition Corp. , a venture formed by New York-based investment banking firm Greenhill & Co. Iridium, formed by Motorola and later spun off, has been looking for funding to launch the company’s upgraded network of 66 satellites. The newly merged company will go public on Sept. 29. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-28 16:24:38

George Soros finally gets it

Three weeks ago, the positively schizophrenic Op-Ed page for the WSJ published yet another piece by a big financial brain proposing a “solution” to ... pocket,” as hedge funds are doing with their illiquid assets. The appropriate amount of capital — equity ... that is now destined to fund the bad bank could then be used to infuse capital into the good [more...]

Date: 2009-02-21 17:56:14

Hump Day Money Links

Remortgaging to Fix Credit Problems Be Productive: Put down the coffee! Budgeting Software What is an Index Fund Poll: Emergency Funds House Prices Could Drop by 50% - But I m not Convinced. Mad Money / Jim Cramer Daily Recap 6/8/09 Fast Money Recap 6/9/09 Mad Money / Jim Cramer Daily Recap 6/9/09 Fast Money Recap 6/8/09 3 Huge Winners That I Had In The Palms Of My Hands Never Short A Dull Market Indian ETF Roundup Indian ADR [more...]

Date: 2009-06-11 00:57:02

Standard Life cash fund was invested in toxic mortgages

Nearly 100,000 Standard Life investors have been told that a cash fund which many regarded as an ultra-safe alternative to the stockmarket was in ... fund before turning it into an annuity. Savers at other pension companies will also be shocked [more...]

Date: 2009-01-21 00:01:00

Crashproof funds? Don’t count on it

By Joe Light, Money Magazine staff reporterDecember 29, 2008: 4:13 AM ET More from Money MagazineWhat to do with $10,000 ‘I have the best job in America!’ What to do with $1,000 now Best Places to LiveCurrent IssueSubscribe to Money (Money Magazine) — In a year when stocks have sunk more than 40% and even supposedly safe bond funds are down, all you probably want is a little peace of mind — or an investment that won’t sink with the rest of your portfolio. [more...]

Date: 2009-10-14 15:47:45

The Great VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) – Part 1 of 3

When venture capitalists scale back investing activities it can be very swift and leave many companies that are in the process of fund raising hung out to dry.  Just ask anybody who was trying to close funding the fateful week of September 11, 2001 or even March 2000.  I would argue that the shut-down of September 2008 was equally severe yet there are signs that this “VC Ice Age” has begun to thaw. [more...]

Date: 2009-09-29 23:57:28

Are you on track for retirement?

Funding retirement ought to be a priority for everyone, but based on the things that are often in the media (people raiding 401k accounts, baby boomers delaying retirement, etc.) it’s probably not. I know that I personally am behind on funding retirement, even though I’ve been hitting it hard for the past couple of years and intend to keep doing so. [more...]

Date: 2009-06-24 12:01:49

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