Tiger Global, the hedge fund run by founder Chase Coleman and Feroz Dewan, was roughly flat in December, finishing the year up 21 percent.
Here’s more evidence that 2012 was not a good year for the average hedge fund. Although we have chronicled a number of hedge funds that were up over 20 percent last year, 88 percent of hedge funds were lagging the S&P 500 as of December 21, according to a new Goldman Sachs report. It figured that through that date, the average hedge fund was up 8.1 percent. Active U.S. equity mutual funds fared much better. “Just” 65 percent of large-cap core, 51 percent of large-cap growth, 80 percent of large-cap value, and 67 percent of small-cap mutual funds underperformed their respective benchmarks, according to Goldman.
Talk about diversification. Citadel’s Ken Griffin, fresh off his second straight 20 percent-plus year, shelled out nearly $80 million for two adjacent oceanfront properties in Palm Beach, Florida. This is his second large residential deal in less than two months. Last month, Griffin spent $15 million for a penthouse that takes up the entire 66th floor of Chicago’s Park Tower, deemed the most expensive condominium in Windy City history. Back in 2009, Griffin paid $6.9 million for a condo directly above his new floor, suggesting he is planning to build a spectacular duplex.
The UK unit of Paul Singer’s Elliott Management is reportedly being probed by a French regulator for possible insider trading. It stems from a 2010 investment in French highway operator Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone (APRR) shares in 2010. The hedge fund is also being investigated for possibly inflating the stock price before selling the shares.
Davidson Kempner sold out its stake in Ancestry.com. It held more than 40,000 shares at the end of the third quarter.
