What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Monday, March 26, 2012:

Around the web

Can 46 rich dudes buy an election? (CNN Money) Related: Bank lobby’s onslaught shifts debate on Volcker rule. (Bloomberg)

Smaller funds turn to mini-primes. (Financial Times)

Hedge funds face higher trading costs. (Financial Times)

Copper River Partners’ anger at Goldman Sachs still simmers. (The New York Times) Felix Salmon’s take.

E-mail to Corzine said transfer was not customer money. (DealBook) Related: The Corzine e-mail: Hype at The Wall Street Journal. (Joe Nocera in the NYT)

Buildling a criminal case in the MF Global affair. (DealBook)

Greg Smith said to be seeking book deal. (The New York Times)

The age of the shadow bank run. (The New York Times)

Paul Singer: Mitt Romney’s hedge fund kingmaker. (Fortune)

Hedge funds capitulating; buy most stsocks since 2010. (Bloomberg)

Leverage in annual fall, BoAML research suggests (HFMWeek)

Women in alternatives eye corporate board roles, new study suggests. (HFMWeek)

Hedge funds could prey on Aussie-listed investment companies. (Deal Journal Australia)

Ex-Goldman Sachs traders’ hedge fund, Occitan Capital Partners, brings in $407 million. (HedgeFund.net)

Hedge funds make wrong-way bets on commodities for a fourth week. (Bloomberg)

Banks set to cut $1 trillion from balance sheets. (CNBC)

Jon Corzine – taking care of his friends with insider connections. (Miller’s Genuine Draft)

IRS waives fines for farmers missing MF Global tax info. (Reuters)

MF Global CFO Henri Steenkamp cites ‘limited knowledge’ of fund transfers. (WSJ.com)

SS&C makes formal bid for GlobeOp. (FINalternatives)

Morningstar reports hedge fund performance for February, asset flows for January. (Opalesque)

Steven A. Cohen among Dodgers’ final three. (FINalternatives)

MassPRIM to cut funds of funds in favor of direct bets. (P&I, via FINalternatives)

Whoops. Mail on Sunday to pay damages to Société Générale. (WSJ.com)

GlobeOp reveals results of PF test filings. (FINalternatives)

Ex-hedge fund boss Mark Driver to create one of Europe’s top vineyards. (This is London)

Joe Carvin launches congressional campaign from Rye, N.Y., town hall. (Rye Patch)

Distressed debt market worth up to €2.5 trillion. (FINalternatives)

High-frequency trading having greater effect on commodities: study. (Toronto Globe and Mail)

Equity derivatives senior salesman: ‘You can’t bully a hedge fund’. (The Guardian)

SAC Capital starts Hyatt Hotels position, boosts Amarin stake. (Market Folly)

Aberdeen Asset Management reports rise in AUM. (MarketWatch)

BATS trading error bolsters case for curbs. (DealBook)

BATS leaders disagree on new IPO for exchange. (Reuters)

BATS faced revolt over IPO. (WSJ.com)

Irish funds industry welcomes new corporate structure for funds. (HFMWeek)

People moves

M&G Investments vet Anthony Gaughan joins hedge fund RG Investment Capital. (FINalternatives)

Three guys start a hedge fund in Brooklyn. Only one problem. Nobody knows what a hedge fund is. Think, “American Psycho,” but funnier. In this opening episode, Claude overhears Dickerson and VanMeter talking cars and money and decides he can have a hedge fund, too. Which is good because he’s going to need a new career after getting fired from his job as a waiter by Jackie, who vaguely resembles and sounds like Chrystia Freeland.

VanMeter: “What are you doing next weekend?”

Dickerson: “I’m gonna be in Sardinia, uh, 500-foot yacht. Call me on my sat phone if you need anything.”

VanMeter: “I can’t, I’m gonna be in space.”

Dickerson: “F**k you.”

VanMeter: “For real. I got the first civilian ticket on the new Chinese space program’s shuttle. You know in space they let you wipe your ass with hundred-dollar bills.”

And on like that. First in a series, apparently. Good for a giggle.

What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Friday, March 23, 2012:

Around the web

Smoking gun? MF Global’s Corzine ordered funds moved to JPMorgan, memo says. (Bloomberg) CNBC.

Is Jon Corzine going to jail? (Fortune’s Term Sheet blog)

CME’s Duffy: $500 million to $700 million in MF Global funds still missing. (Dow Jones Newswires, via Nasdaq)

SEC probes rapid trading. (WSJ.com)

Sean Mueller receiver files lawsuit against funds’ broker-dealers. (Denver Business Journal)

Goldman’s Tourre travels to Rwanda while awaiting trial. (Bloomberg)

SEC gains agreements for closer watch of Cayman Islands firms. (Pensions & Investments)

Listed BlueCrest fund nets $261 million. (FINalternatives)

Cypriot court rules for Martin Coward. (Financial Times)

Ten data points IOSCO wants from hedge funds. (eFinancialNews)

Will Greg Smith reform Wall Street? (Bloomberg)

Hedge fund duel threatens Telus share exchange plan. (Toronto Globe and Mail)

Philadelphia city council member Bill Green hedges his bets on hedge funds, sponsors bill to exempt hedge funds from business taxes (Philly.com)

Post card from Geneva. (HFMWeek)

Banks may get breathing room on Volcker rule. (Reuters)

People moves

Caxton Associates said to hire Barclays’ Jason Quinn as corporate credit manager. (Bloomberg)

UBS U.S. brokerage unit shakes up management: memo. (Reuters)

Hedge Fund Research taps Joel Schwab as director of new business development. (HFMWeek)

The blistering resignation of Goldman exec Greg Smith is a reminder that a company’s culture and values matter as much as its performance numbers according to Reuters columnists Jack and Suzy Welch.

“So there are people saying he’s saying the truth and there’s people who say he’s not,” Suzy Welch says. “But the more important thing that came to our minds is you know, who is paying attention to the culture in companies. And we have just seen so often that culture comes second to the numbers in too many companies. People think culture is very touchy feely, it’s very airy fairy. And they just relegate it to a conversation between HR and the employee and they don’t understand that culture is as hard as the numbers and is as important as the numbers.

What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Thursday, March 22, 2012:

Around the web

Camden Council Pension Fund set to award first hedge fund mandate. (IPE.com)

Rand Hultz reappears in Iraq, but mystery remains. (The New York Times)

Evercore Partners founder Roger C. Altman: No more inaction on income inequality. (Financial Times)

Steve Eisman said to start Emrys Partners with $22.9 million from friends, family. (Bloomberg)

AIJ beckoned Japan pensions with 50-year-old return targets. (Bloomberg)

Retreating sea ice could benefit high-frequency trading. (WSJ’s TechEurope blog)

New Jersey State Investment Council poised to make $450 million hedge fund spend. (HFMWeek)

Newly approved JOBS Act could offer investment benefits for hedge funds. (HFMWeek)

Mount Kellett Capital Management backed in Baja Mining proxy fight. (HFMWeek)

Multiple filings and many billions for D.E. Shaw. (HedgeFund.net)

Non-profits put investible assets under microscope. (Pensions & Investments)

Hedge funds are using exchange-traded funds despite stigma. (InvestmentNews)

SEC critics see exam process as opaque. (InvestmentNews)

Ex-insurance cops skeptical on Paulson’s plans for Hartford. (Deal Journal)

Greece’s sovereign debt lesson. (DealBook)

Gold prices have fallen nearly 10% in the past month, but long-term fundamentals are strong, making this a good time to buy up the shiny metal, says Philip Klapwijk, global head of metals analytics for Thomson Reuters GFMS in Hong Kong.

“Well I actually think the dip that we’re currently experiencing, particularly if we go lower still is a good opportunity to start loading up on gold,” Klapwijk says. (more…)

What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Wednesday, March 21, 2012:

Around the web

The highest-earning hedge fund managers are struggling to beat the market rally. (Forbes)

Public pension funds’ definition of an ‘emerging manager’ is still a work in progress. (Pensions & Investments)

Illinois pensions’ hedge funds under scrutiny. (HFMWeek)

MassPRIM eyes hiking direct investments in hedge funds. (Pensions & Investments)

Passport Capital said to fire 14 employees after hedge fund loss. (Bloomberg)

Convicted FrontPoint manager Joseph F. “Chip” Skowron ordered to pay Morgan Stanley $10.2 million. (DealBook)

Madoff’s lament: I was an honest money manager once. (Forbes)

A ‘Corzine rule’ for funds – new proposal would require futures firm principles to sign off on transfers. (WSJ.com)

Dallas Fed – Choosing the Road to Prosperity: Why We Must End Too Big to Fail—Now. (Dallas Fed)

One-third of land in debt-ridden Greece is up for sale. (MSNBC)

Currency fund turnaround accelerates in February. (WSJ.com)

MF Global’s assistant treasurer, Edith O’Brien, subpoenaed by House panel. (DealBook)

How much stress is in financial system right now? (WSJ’s Real Time Economics blog)

European banks would have passed Fed’s stress test. (DealBook)

MF Global errors were insured. (Futures Magazine)

Fortress’ Springleaf looks to restructure. (WSJ.com)

Schutt’s & Bowen sues Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund over legal fees. (South Florida Business Journal)

Dan Loeb won’t let go of that Microsoft thing. (Deal Journal)

MF Global still set to pay bonuses. (WSJ.com)

U.K. budget provides comfort for managers. (HFMWeek)

Banks seek delay on Volcker rule. (WSJ.com)

Geithner says no meaningful liquidity risk from Volcker rule. (Bloomberg)

Volcker rule refugees. (Forbes)

On Wall Street, keeping a tight rein on Twitter. (DealBook)

Oregon Health & Science University Foundation looking to reshuffle its hedge funds portfolio. (Hedge Fund Alert, via the MFA Blog)

Buffett seizes lead in bet on stocks beating hedge funds. (Bloomberg)

Top 100 hedge funds list rebounds. (Hedgetracker)

JPMorgan to pay $150 million over failed Sigma SIV. (Reuters)

Ex-Shumway Capital Partners exec Neil Shah sets up March Altus Capital Management. (HFMWeek)

Morgan Sze’s Azentus Capital bounces back after 2011 AUM drop. (HFMWeek)

Highland Capital Management in fight to keep Citi CLO. (FINalternatives)

The SEC rule that broke Wall Street. (CNBC)

GlobeOp spurns TPG, accepts SS&C offer. (FINalternatives)

Alternatives: America’s most wanted. (AI CIO)

JPMorgan employees join Goldman Sachs among top Obama donors. (Bloomberg)

West Virginia Investment Management Board boosts hedge fund portfolio. (HFMWeek)

What does the current heightened regulatory environment mean for private investment funds. (Forbes)

Oaktree Capital’s Howard Marks on contrarian signals and common sense. (Market Folly)

GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator: March notifications 3.23%. (GlobeOp)

Michael Kinsley wrote Bloomberg’s Greg Smith op-ed. (Politico)

How hedge funds have changed in a decade. (eFinancialNews)

Goldman’s Jan Hatzius says that Americans haven’t learned anything from the crisis. (ZeroHedge)

Fund managers expect growth to eclipse QE. (Financial Times)

Dealing with clients’ scandal anxiety. (Reuters)

People moves

Goldman Sachs trader Raj Sethi said to quit, may join hedge fund. (Bloomberg)

Russia’s Otkritie Capital hires ex-Goldman Sachs fixed income head Michael T. Workman. (FINalternatives)

Highland Capital Management taps Artis Terrell, Jr., as director of business development. (FINalternatives)

Under the Securities Act of 1933, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allows companies to offer securities for sale without having to register those securities or file periodic reports, provided the companies meet exemptions laid out in Regulation D. For hedge funds’ purposes, those securities are limited partnerships. When a hedge fund firm sells its first securities, it is required by Reg D to file a Form D, which includes names and addresses of the company’s executive officers and stock promoters and the date of the first sale in the offering. As such, Form D filings can be a useful tool to find new hedge fund launches.

Paulson International Ltd.

Horizon Credit Opportunities Fund, LP

Tenor Special Situations Fund, L.P.

—Compiled by Angela Sormani

What’s news around the hedge fund industry for Tuesday, March 20, 2012:

Around the web

Pension funds accuse Henderson of delaying tactics in court case. (IPE.com)

Pension plan alternative investments still challenged, GAO finds. (Pensions & Investments)

CFTC swaps squad to oversee $300 trillion U.S. market. (Financial Times)

Exchange-traded funds targeted in E.U. clampdown on shadow banks. (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Lacking cost-benefit analysis? The analysis. (Securities Technology Monitor)

‘Trading Places’ would make good PSA: CFTC enforcement chief. (InvestmentNews)

Brokers and exchanges set for FX clearing. (Financial Times)

Regulators are slow to act on high-speed traders. (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Former hedge fund manager Mitch Morrow hits The Spot. (HedgeFund.net)

Where hedge funds stand on Bank of America. (HedgeFund.net)

In its latest Hedge Fund Strategies Review Report, research firm Mathema finds that far from being the success story that central bankers claim, the same euro zone problems that emerged in the summer of 2011 have escalated due to “creeping liquidity bubbles that have been supporting risky assets since January.”

Among Mathema’s other findings:

- Central Banks’ ammunitions finally came to an end: ECB’s LTRO program and “anticipated” QE3 in the US look the ultimate tentative to support the market through injection of liquidity. Going forward the
macro picture should reflect fundamental factors rather than political biases.

- Hedge Fund managers found relief in the removal of short-selling restrictions in EU Countries. Abundant liquidity supports the long side of the trades, M&A, and shares’ buy-backs. Deep-recession, contagion risk & crowded trades into high-yielding names might trigger tail risks
on the downside.

- Markets display a two-sided scenario: carry-trade fuels risky assets (borrowing EUR and USD at historical low rates and then invest into cash-rich and high-dividend yield companies) and real-money still secured into gold and safe currencies.

- Whatever new bubbles will be created in the future the time machine has not been invented yet. Postponing actions (wasting time) is not the equivalent to jumping into the future. All these measures cannot skip the real problems, and the longer the time lost before fixing the problems the greater the pain will be.

- In the last two months we have upgraded a number of strategies. Nonetheless, in the short-term we remain positive on two hedge fund sub-strategies only - fixed-income arbitrage and equity market-neutral.

Read the entire report by clicking on the link below (PDF).

Mathema March 2012 Hedge Fund Strategy Iinsight Report