Remember Art Samberg? He was the founder of Pequot Capital who shut down his hedge fund in 2009 when it was reported that regulators were probing him for possible insider trading violations. At the time he was managing $3 billion, down from a peak of $15 billion. Sure enough in 2010, Pequot and Samberg agreed to pay nearly $28 million to settle the SEC’s charges of insider trading in Microsoft’s stock. Well, apparently he is now investing for his own account. And on Wednesday, he reported a 5.4 percent passive stake in Points International, which helps companies establish and management loyalty programs with their customers. He also boosted his stake in Mitek Systems, which specializes in mobile-imaging, to 6.1 percent.
••• In its most recent report looking at sectors for 2013, Goldman Sachs recommends investors overweight materials, industrials, and information technology and should underweight consumer staples, health care and, telecom services. “High growth exposure, lowered expectations and a 2.4 percent dividend yield make us particularly positive on the materials sector,” it adds. It notes that hedge funds agree on its recommendations for materials, health care, telecom services and consumer staples but are underweight info tech relative to the Russell 3000.
••• London-based Allenbridge Investment Solutions, which advises funds with more than $51 billion in assets, has hired Tim Gascoigne, a former HSBC alternatives star. Gascoigne left his former firm in early 2012 after managing about $4 billion.
Hedge fund favourite Apple rebounded sharply Wednesday, to close at $506.09, up 4.15 percent.
••• Herbalife fell 2.45 percent to $45.06. The longs who recently jumped in the stock are still looking smart…for now. The jury is far from rendering a verdict on this one.
