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John Paulson starting new gold fund + more JP watching
The Paulson & Co. fund manager is set to launch a dedicated gold and gold mining equity-focused fund at the start of next year, in which he'll invest $250 million of his own money.
You may recall that Paulson's earlier forays into gold ignited a new rush into gold by hedge funds and investors piggybacking on the trades of sophisticated hedge fund managers. JP's new fund signals his continued positive outlook for the precious metals sector over the intermediate to long-term.
That's not all that's happening in the world of John Paulson. Investors have pored over his firm's recent 13-F filing and letter to investors, while his comments on Bank of America (Paulson & Co.'s largest position in the financials sector) have fueled publicity over a divergence of opinion with bank analyst Meredith Whitney on the stock's outlook.
Plus, there are gathering opinions on Gregory Zuckerman's new book, "The Greatest Trade Ever", which details the fund's (now legendary) short subprime CDS bet, and its role in pushing Paulson & Co. into the investment world limelight.
If that's not enough, you can also catch Zuckerman's recent Wall St. Journal piece adapted from that book, or check out Eric Jackson's fine article, "What John Paulson could teach us". This is one I'm currently reading, and it contains some great insights on the team (including Paolo Pellegrini) that put together Paulson & Co.'s housing trade strategy. Do take a look.
Related articles and posts:
1. John Paulson: The man who made too much - Portfolio.com.
2. John Paulson in Bloomberg Markets - Finance Trends.
Disclosure: author has no position in any of the securities or funds mentioned.
Barron's Hedge Fund 100 (via Marketfolly)
Barron's is ranking the top 100 hedge funds of 2009, while highlighting funds that were especially adept at navigating the stormy financial seas of 2008 (hmm, I think all those episodes of Yacht Rock that I recently watched are having their effect on me).
Jay at Marketfolly has provided a super overview of the Barron's rankings; rather than compete with him, let just highlight some of Marketfolly's post here. Here's an excerpt from Jay's post on Barron's ranking methodology and the stars of this year's Barron's 100:
"...Barron's breaks down their top 100 hedge fund list by 3 year annualized returns. They rank by individual investment partnerships, so a couple of firms actually have multiple hedge funds on the list (like Paulson & Co, Galleon Group, etc). Barron's list does have a few criteria though, as they require a minimum AUM of $300 million and have excluded funds that invest in a single "sector, country, or region."
Overall though, the list is definitely a "who's who" of the hedge fund elite. John Paulson's Paulson & Co occupies the #1 and #4 slots, with a 62.67% and 46.81% 3 year annualized returns respectively. Of other hedge funds we cover on the blog, Shumway Capital has a fund listed at #11. Fellow Tiger Cub Paul Touradji has one of his funds in the #16 spot".
Head on over to Marketfolly and Barron's to see the rest, and check out our related posts for more info on some of the hedge fund industry's leading lights.
Related articles and posts:
1. John Paulson profile in Bloomberg Markets - Finance Trends.
2. Hedge funds fight to survive shakeout - Finance Trends.
Buffett's successor + Woodstock for capitalists
Only problem is, this year WB will have some explaining to do. As the Financial Times reports, Buffett faces a grilling from investors who'll expect him to account for the company's worst year ever.
Excerpt from the FT piece:
"Buffett-watchers say this year’s meeting of shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, his candies-to-insurance group, will depart from the usual pattern of deferential questions and folksy answers and witness some criticism of the billionaire investor.
“The hard questions will be asked this year,” said James Altucher, a hedge fund manager and author of Trade Like Warren Buffett. “There will be people who always stand by him and others who will ask: ‘Have you lost your way?’”."
Another small cloud looming over Berkshire Hathaway is the now-frequently discussed issue of CEO succession. Who will fill Warren Buffett's shoes as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer at Berkshire?
In fact, as Berkshire followers already know, it will likely take two individuals to carry out these seperate roles that superstar-CEO Buffett has long carried out himself.
There is a good deal of concern about finding successors who could live up to Buffett's outstanding long-term track record of success, but Berkshire insiders are confident that the unique corporate culture put in place by Buffett and Vice-Chairman Charlie Munger will continue after Buffett is gone.
We've added some recent Bloomberg TV segments here which speak to that issue. Bill Gates, Donald Keough, David Sokol, Byron Trott, and Buffett himself are interviewed for this special on Buffett's inner circle and succession at Berkshire Hathaway. You'll find more on this topic below in our related articles section.
Related articles and posts:
1. Buffett refocuses attention on Berkshire - Bloomberg.
2. Eveillard, Child, Pabrai on Berkshire, Buffett - Bloomberg.
3. Berkshire, Buffett bear brunt of bear market - Finance Trends.