Clifford Asness’ AQR Capital Management posted strong gains in August in three of its quantitatively-driven funds, bucking the recent trend among many computer-driven funds, including commodity trading advisors and trend followers. The AQR Absolute Return Master Account returned 3.69 percent in August, boosting its gain for the year to 8.82 percent. AQR Delta Master Account rose 1.70 percent in August and 4.34 percent in the first eight months, while Managed Futures is up 2.90 percent and 5.68 percent, respectively.
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Emerging markets hedge funds extended their losing streak to three months. The HFRI Emerging Markets Index declined by 4.5 percent last month and is now down 9.2 percent over the most recent three-month period. For the year, the index is off 3.17 percent. Not surprisingly, the losses were led by the HFRI China Index, which plunged 7.55 percent. It is now down 18.5 percent in just the most recent three months, but is still up slightly for the year, by 0.30 percent. The HFRI EM: Asia ex-Japan Index fell 6.8 percent in August and is down 2.3 percent for the year.
“Hedge funds focused on investments in emerging markets posted steep performance declines over the previous three months as regional equity and currency markets fell dramatically, driven in part by the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan by the Chinese Central Bank,” Chicago-based HFR explains in its monthly report.
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Omega Advisors’ Leon Cooperman is making a bet on a mortgage REIT. The New York hedge fund manager boosted his stake in Pennymac Mortgage Investment Trust by 50 percent, to nearly 3.9 million shares, or 5.17 percent of the total outstanding.
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Jason Karp’s Tourbillon Capital Partners nearly tripled its stake in The Men’s Warehouse to 2.9 million shares, or 6 percent of the apparel retail giant.
In a separate filing, New York-based Tourbillon also disclosed it more than doubled its investment in Conn’s to more than 3.2 million shares, or 8.8 percent of the total outstanding. The appliance chain has an ironic name (intentionally so?) since it heavily relies on customers financing their purchases of everyday items.
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Bank activist Lawrence Seidman of Parsippany, New Jersey-based Seidman & Associates sold roughly 270,000 shares of Westbury Bancorp, reducing his stake to 4.88 percent. As a result, he no longer is required to file a 13D with regulators unless he returns to the 5 percent threshold.
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UBS cut its price target on Alibaba Group Holding from $101 to $93 but maintained its buy rating on the stock, stressing there is no change to its longer-term view. The bank cites recent reductions in guidance from the Chinese e-commerce giant. Last week, Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper told CNBC he sold his position in Alibaba, which he had recently reported owning at the end of June.
