And the latest hedge fund manager is… …former SEC chairman and corporate governance honcho Richard Breeden. Breeden headed the SEC from 1989 to 1993 and acted as corporate monitor of WorldCom and, more recently, KPMG. Unsurprisingly, given his experience, Breeden is launching an event-driven activist fund, profiting from companies that improve their corporate governance. The fund is being launched next January and Breeden hopes to raise between $500 million and $1 billion.
Hedge fund closure expectations:
24% of European hedge funds with less than $100 million are expected to close next year according to research group, Celent.
18% of European hedge funds with between $100 million and $1 billion are expected to close next year.
9% of European hedge funds with more than $1 billion are expected to close next year.
The month in numbers:
48.8 trillion: total assets in dollars managed by the world’s top 500 fund managers at the end of 2004, up 13% on 2003, according to Watson Wyatt.
60 billion: estimated number of dollars-worth of insurance claims resulting from Hurricane Katrina.
7 million: number of dollar millionaires worldwide at the end of 2004, according to Boston Consulting Group.
6: number of pages of Daniel Marino’s fake suicide note and confession. Marino is CFO of the Bayou Group, a hedge fund firm accused of conducting a $300 million fraud.
Quote of the month:
“Two years is pretty short-term for the European Commission” – an investment management body executive explains why we shouldn’t hold our breath on the outcome of the Commission’s latest asset management Green Paper.
