Dec 31

Hedge Funds Teamsters

Hedge Funds Avoid Protest by Labor Union

It would have been a remarkable sight: Teamsters protesting outside the offices of a large hedge fund, Brigade Capital Management.  The International Brotherhood of Teamsters planned a midday rally against the hedge fund accusing the firm of refusing to participate in trucking company YRC Worldwide’s debt-for-equity swap.  If YRC cannot complete the swap, Teamsters estimate that 30,000 Teamsters will lose their jobs.

However, Brigade Capital Management responded quickly to avoid the rally and the bad press that would surely follow.   Both Brigade and hedge fund JMB Capital Partners announced that they have tendered all of their bonds in YRC, causing the Teamsters to call off the protest.

The union did warn that it would “monitor the situation” and “will plan future protests at these institutions and others if contrary evidence surfaces.”

“There is too much at risk for bondholders to sacrifice the livelihood of 30,000 workers for the marginal profits they might realize by their continued inaction,” said Teamsters General President James Hoffa. “It’s a simple choice—help a good, U.S. company recover and protect 30,000 jobs or allow our struggling economy to take another devastating hit. I think the choice is clear—bondholders must now do their part.”  Source

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Tags: Hedge Funds Teamsters, Brigade Capital Management, Teamsters union, hedge funds and unions, hedge fund management, public relations

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Dec 31

CalPERS Hedge Fund Ethics

CalPERS Tightens Ethics Following Probe into Hedge Funds

2009 has been a year for reviewing ethics policies and reexamining internal controls.  America’s largest pension fund is tightening its ethics rules following a minor scandal involving two hedge fund advisers.  CalPERS has announced that the president of its board can now discipline board members and all will have to go through annual training sessions.

The decision follows a probe into the fund’s paying of $36 million to two hedge fund advisers to manager the fund’s money without the required contracts.  Kurt Silberstein, who heads the hedge fund portfolio management, has been fined and placed on temporary administrative leave. 

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s board gave its president the power to discipline board members whose actions violate the $200 billion pension’s policies. It will also require annual training sessions.

The moves follow the revelation last month that CalPERS had paid some $36 million to two hedge fund advisers that were managing its money without a contract, as is required. The advisers in question, Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co. and a UBS unit, had both run portfolios for CalPERS since 2003.

As a result of the ensuing investigation, Kurt Silberstein, the pension’s senior portfolio manager for global equity and pointman on its $5.8 billion hedge fund portfolio, was fined and put on temporary administrative leave.

“By toughening our governance policies, we’re making sure that board members are held to the strictest standards,” board president Rob Feckner said. “The guidelines help us keep the focus on what’s important—the quality of our investments.”  Source

Related to: CalPERS Hedge Fund Ethics

Tags: CalPERS Hedge Fund Ethics, CalPERS, California Public Employees Retirement System, California Hedge Funds, California ethics, ethics probe, hedge funds

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Dec 30

Millennium Management Redemptions

Investors in Millennium Management Pull $3 Bil in October

A cautionary tale for hedge fund managers considering loosening terms with investors is that of Millennium Management.   The hedge fund firm made it easier for limited partners to redeem from their investments, allowing investors to pull about $3 billion in October–27% of its AUM.  As managers consider different ways to entice investors back into their funds many have changed terms to make redemptions easier, a big complaint when investors could not withdraw their investment from fund during the financial crisis.

Investors yanked billions from Millennium Management after the hedge fund made it easier to redeem their investments.

All told, the New York-based hedge fund returned about $3 billion in October, roughly 27% of its assets under management. The firm now runs about $8 billion, Reuters reports.
After the third quarter, Millennium changed its liquidity terms, giving investors the option of withdrawing a quarter of their assets every quarter, or all of it annually. The firm imposed no gate or other withdrawal restrictions during the financial crisis.
Millennium is up 15% through November.

Related to: Millennium Investors Redemptions

Tags: Millennium investors, millennium investors withdraw $3 billion, october redemptions, Millennium Investors management, limited partners terms, negotiations, Millennium Management

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Dec 30

$25 off $75 at Perricone MD with coupon code: OURGIFT Exp. 12/31/09

Click here for the latest coupons and deals for Perricone MD.

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Dec 30


Usually I am on top of my game with my Weekly Menu Plans (with the exception of this week when there’s no plan), but every now and then I need some help pre-planning and getting fresh ideas!

That’s why I was super-excited when Jane Doiron, author of Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, contacted me about doing a review of her cookbook. Since Jane’s book is focused on helping moms get ahead of the game in the kitchen, I knew this might be a secret weapon for me. (Truth be told, sometimes figuring out what to feed my family can get overwhelming.)

I was immediately tempted to try Jane’s recipes for Italian Restaurant Chicken, Zucchini Squares, and Ginger Cookies. (The Italian Restaurant Chicken is on the cover- mmmm, looks delish!)

We dug right in and enjoyed some Layered Cheesy Zucchini, which was really delcious with a side of barley! And I really appreciated the fact that Jane took the time to explain “Day Ahead” prepping instructions, as well as “Cooking Instructions” and even “Freezing Instructions.” HUGE timesaver for me! I am not a real ‘natural’ cook, so I loved the fact that Jane set me up for success!

Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms is an excellent addition to any mom’s recipe collection! With Jane’s great tips and tasty, easy recipes, you can’t go wrong adding this to your shelf! You can find it on Amazon or on Barnes & Noble!

I highly encourage you to check out Jane’s website and subscribe to her blog where you can get lots of great FREE recipes! You can even buy the e-book instant download of this great cookbook HERE for just $12.95.

Jane has generously offered one lucky Good Deal Gal reader their very own copy of Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms!!

Here’s how to enter:
  1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite dinner recipe or time-saving tip with your email or blog link. It’s important that you leave your blog link and/or e-mail for me to be able to contact you. To prevent spamming, type your email like this: gooddealgal (at) gmail (dot) com.
  2. Contest will close on Friday, January 9th at 12:00pm Arizona time. All comments will be closed at that point.
  3. The winner will be announced and notified via email. He/She will have 24 hours to respond before I select another winner.
Want Extra Entries?
  1. Follow Jane’s Blog HERE, come back and let me know!
  2. Sign up for the Make-Ahead Meals Newsletter HERE and come back to let me know!
  3. Buzz about this giveaway on your blog or Tweet about it and come back and leave the link.
  4. Grab Jane’s button (lower right) and add to your blog. Come back and let me know where I can see it.
  5. Become a fan of The Good Deal Gal on Facebook.
  6. Follow Make-Ahead Meals on Twitter (@janedoiron) and come back to let me know!

Good Luck to everyone!! :)

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Dec 30


468x60 DisneyStore.com

The Disney Store is having their Twice Upon a Year sale with up to 70% off Kids’ & Adult apparel, toys, home decor, sleepwear and more! Check out the deals HERE!

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Dec 30

All currently in stock American Craft Thickers are on sale now in the Kindred Creations store for just $2.50 each! That’s an incredible deal. You can check it out here.

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Dec 29

I was listening to NPR this morning as they interviewed an economist remarking how this holiday season returned better than expected earnings for retailers. The economist used an interesting phrase that I was compelled to look into further “frugal fatigue.”

Supposedly after years of recession people are “tired” of pinching pennies and have started going out and spending a little because “it feels good”. The worse part about this is that all the articles I have read mark this as a good thing (save one: thank you Suddenly Frugal Blog ).

It would be great if confidence in our economy were encouraging people to spend more because they can see their economic future getting brighter and don’t see the need to hoard every dime for the inevitable rainy day but that is simply not the case. People are feeling “frugal fatigue” so engaging in “shopping therapy.” Does this make sense?

Is it true that the only way to recover from our financial crisis is to go back to shopping as a cure for the blues? Is the holiday season just an excuse for everyone to go get further into debt without feeling guilty about it?

So what can we do about frugal fatigue?

  • Don’t use shopping as therapy – Yes, shopping feels good. Buying an item out of impulse feels good for the moment. But would you buy that item if the tag or advertised priced showed the actual cost of the item? Do the math.


    Price + Tax + Credit Card Interest Rate x Number of Months it takes you to pay it off = not such a great deal.
  • Live like an Affluent Pauper – Don’t spend more for anything out of ignorance. There are deals to be had you just need to spend the time doing the research and yes even clipping the coupons. Don’t spend impulsively.
Yes the country as a whole is in a recession but I refuse to believe that saddling ourselves with debt is good for America. Instead I will continue living frugally because you know what really feels good? Being debt free.

To stay up to date on the latest freebies, samples and hot deals.
Subscribe to Affluent Pauper for free updates.

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Dec 29

Wisconsin Investment Board Hedge Funds

Wisconsin Investment Board to Invest in 25 Hedge Funds

Hedge funds rely on institutional investors, especially pension funds, to provide capital for new funds.  Institutional investors are usually hesitant about investing in alternative asset funds at first, which is why the State of Wisconsin’s Investment Board’s decision to hire up to 25 hedge funds is so surprising.  This would be the first time the Wisconsin pension fund would invest in hedge funds.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board is preparing its first foray into hedge funds, but it isn’t going to merely dip its toe in the water.

The public pension system plans to hire as many as 25 hedge fund managers to run up to $3.1 billion over the next year-and-a-half, Pensions & Investments reports. The first 15 hedge funds could be hired next year to fill an initial 2% allocation, with 10 more hired in the first half of 2010 as the pension increases its hedge fund allocation to 4% to 5%.
Wisconsin employs Cliffwater as its hedge fund consultant. The board will consider the hedge fund investments on Jan. 26.  Source

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Tags: Wisconsin Investment Board Hedge Funds, hedge fund investments, SWIB, investor mandate, fund mandate, hedge funds in Wisconsin, Wisconsin investment fund, pension funds

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Dec 29

New Hedge Fund Launches 2009

Hedge Fund Launches in 2009 is Good News for Next Year

Hedge fund startups are gaining momentum as more new managers enter the market.  Hedge fund launches has significantly increased since the end of 2008 coinciding with a recovery in fund performance in 2009.  In the third quarter, 173 new funds were launched, 54 more than the previous quarter.  The only catch is that many new hedge funds are settling for more investor-friendly terms and lower fees with limited partners and still raising less capital, but that is somewhat predictable after the financial crisis.

Still, the pace of new openings is way down from a few years ago. And “the size of the opening capital base is quite a bit smaller than it has been historically,” said John Willian, global co-head of prime brokerage at Goldman Sachs Group Inc

Among this year’s largest launches is London-based Tony Chedraoui’s Tyrus Capital LLP. His fund launched in mid-October with more than $800 million in assets, which have since grown to about $1.65 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Arvind Raghunathan’s Roc Capital Management LP in New York is managing about $1 billion since launching this summer ((2009)), which at least initially included about $500 million from his former employer Deutsche Bank AG, people familiar with the matter said. And, in one of Asia’s largest launches, Hong Kong-based Nick Taylor’s Senrigan Capital Management Ltd. launched its fund in early November with about $220 million, including about $150 million from Blackstone Group LP, according to people familiar with the situation.  Source

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Tags: hedge fund launches, hedge funds, hedge funds in 2009, hedge fund startups, hedge funds in 2009, hedge funds 2010, startups, how to start a hedge fund

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