The Morning Brief: Greenlight Capital Opens to New Investment

David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital plans to raise money for the first time in more than two years, according to Bloomberg. The New York firm, which has been closed to new money since the first quarter of 2012, will begin accepting capital from existing investors on Nov. 1 and new clients on Dec. 1, according to the report, which cites a letter sent to clients. Greenlight has been struggling so far this year, losing more than 4 percent in the third quarter. As a result, its funds are up less than 3 percent for the year. And this is before the market selloff in October.

___

Another hedge fund manager has apparently joined the ownership group of the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team. It seems that back in July, Jamie Dinan, founder of York Capital Management, quietly bought a stake as well. But it was only subtly announced Thursday, when Dinan was quoted in a press release welcoming the addition of several community leaders and philanthropists to the Bucks ownership group.

“Marc, Wes and I are thrilled to have the Partners for Community Impact group join us on our quest to make the Bucks organization the best in basketball,” Dinan said in the press release, referring to fellow owners Marc Lasry of Avenue Capital Group and Wes Edens of Fortress Investment Group. Dinan’s involvement was initially flagged by the Milwaukee Business Journal.

___

Total hedge fund assets fell 1.5 percent in September to $3.012 trillion, according to industry tracker eVestment. Although performance accounted for most of the decline, investor redemptions exceeded new investments by $6.9 billion. This was the first month of net redemptions since December 2013, according to the firm. Equity-focused funds experienced their first month of net outflows of capital since June 2013. In addition, eVestment reports that total industry assets declined in the third quarter, the first three-month drop since the second quarter of 2012. However, performance was to blame, reducing AUM by $30.3 billion. During the quarter $9.6 billion more money was added to the industry than taken out.

Sponsored

___

Matthew Teeple, a former analyst for San Francisco-based hedge fund Artis Capital Management, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to illegal insider trading, according to an announcement from Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Teeple admitted that in 2008 he provided his firm inside information about a possible acquisition of Foundry Networks, which he had obtained from David Riley, Foundry’s then chief information officer, according to the government. On October 2, Riley was convicted of charges related to his role in the illegal activity. Artis made money or avoided losses totalling $36 million, according to the government. Under his sentencing, Teeple also must serve one year of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $553,890 in illegal gains and to pay a $100,000 fine.

___

Several analysts trimmed the price target for hedge fund favorite Google after the Internet giant’s quarterly earnings contained a variety of disappointments. UBS cut the price target by $10, to $660, but retained its Buy recommendation, stressing that Google’s “bright future” is intact. Deutsche Bank cut the price target from $645 to $615 and also retained its Buy rating. “We continue to view GOOG as a high-quality, low multiple must-own Internet name, and a great place for investors to be positioned amidst the current market dislocation,” it states in a note to clients.

___

The Blue Mountain Credit Alternatives Master Fund, managed by New York-based Blue Mountain Capital Management, disclosed it owns 5.1 percent of Scorpio Bulkers Inc., which owns a fleet of modern mid to large-size dry bulk carriers. The stock had fallen about 45 percent from its high on September 10.

Related