Friday, July 28, 2017

Capitalize For Kids Investors Conference 2017: Einhorn, Watsa, Chilton & More

The 2017 Capitalize For Kids Investors Conference is only a few months away in Toronto, Ontario.  It features top investment managers sharing their investment ideas while all proceeds are allocated to solving the toughest challenges in children's brain and mental health.

You can learn more about the conference and register at their website: https://www.capitalizeforkids.org/conference


Capitalize For Kids Conference Details

When: October 18th and 19th, 2017

Where:  Arcadian Court, Toronto, Ontario


2017 Speakers List

David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital

Richard Chilton, Chilton Investment Company

Prem Watsa, Fairfax Financial 

Aaron Cowen, Suvretta Capital

Jeffrey Smith, Starboard Value

Brad Dunkley and Blair Levinsky, Waratah Capital

Dan Dreyfus, 3G Capital

Samantha Greenberg, Margate Capital

Paul Hilal, Mantle Ridge

Ted Goldthorpe, BC Partners

James Keenan, BlackRock

Jeffrey Olin, Vision Capital

Brandon Osten, Venator Capital

David Blitzer, Blackstone

John Wilson, Sprott

Richard Pilosof and Mike Quinn, RP Investment Advisors

Youlia Rowland, Proxima Capital

Ajay Royan, Mithril Capital

Christian Lassonde, Impression Ventures


This is a high quality event and basically has become Canada's pre-eminent investment conference.  And as you can see above, it features some quality speakers.  Hear their latest investment ideas and benefit charity at the same time.

The conference is already 60% sold out, so hurry before it's too late.  More than 400 pension plans, family offices, and buy-side investors will be in attendance.

You can register for the conference by clicking here.

Embedded below is the flyer for the event:





Hedge Fund Links ~ 7/28/17


Baupost's Jim Mooney warns of potential trigger for next crisis [Business Insider]

Paulson winds down long/short fund amid strategy refocus [Bloomberg]

Would you invest with Steven Cohen? [Institutional Investor]

Activist hedge funds pull hard on the M&A lever [Reuters]

Wealthy investors are leaving hedge funds for real estate [Bloomberg]

Loophole closed: hedge fund managers prepare huge tax checks [WSJ]


Eminence Capital Boosts CyberArk Software Stake

Ricky Sandler's hedge fund firm Eminence Capital has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of CyberArk Software (CYBR). Per the filing, Eminence now owns 5.4% of the company with over 1.88 million shares.

This is an increase of 1.47 million shares since the end of the first quarter when they previously owned 415,460 shares. The latest filing was due to activity on July 14th.

You can view other recent portfolio activity from Eminence Capital here.

Per Google Finance, CyberArk Software is "an Israel-based provider of information technology (IT) security solutions that protects organizations from cyber-attacks. The Company's software solutions are focused on protecting privileged accounts, which have become a critical target in the lifecycle of cyber-attacks. The Company's Privileged Account Security Solution consists of various products, such as Shares Technology Platform, Enterprise Password Vault, SSH Key Manager, Privileged Session Manager, Privileged Threat Analytics, Application Identity Manager, CyberArk-Conjur, Endpoint Privilege Manager and On-Demand Privileges Manager. The Company's products provide protection against external and internal cyber threats and enables detection and neutralization of attacks. The Company's Enterprise Password Vault provides customers with a tool to manage and protect all privileged accounts across an entire organization, including physical, virtual or cloud-based assets."


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Third Point Q2 Letter: Re-enters Alibaba, Adds BlackRock Stake

Dan Loeb's hedge fund firm Third Point was up 4.6% for the second quarter and is up 10.7% for the year.  Third Point's second quarter letter reveals they've re-entered Alibaba (BABA).  They feel now is the time to re-enter due to the company's launch of personalized advertising, new ad tech for brand advertisers, as well as revenue potential from higher ad loads, among other reasons.

Backing out net cash and some other stakes, Loeb's firm feels Alibaba's core business alone is worth $121 per share (around 15x their 2019 EPS estimate of $8.20) with earnings growing 30% year-on-year.  They feel BABA can close the valuation gap with competitors like Tencent, which trades at 32x consensus 2018 EPS.

Third Point also reveals a stake in BlackRock (BLK) in the letter.  Rather than simply being an asset manager. they feel it's "becoming a network or index-like business, with earnings power driven by ETFs (via iShares) and data & analytic services (via Aladdin).  They point out they're basically oligopoly businesses.

Also, a few months ago we highlighted how this hedge fund has gone activist on Nestle and we posted Third Point's letter on Nestle here.

Embedded below is Third Point's Q2 2017 letter:



You can download a .pdf copy here.

For other recent hedge fund letters, you can also read Greenlight Capital's Q2 letter here.


Howard Marks' Cautionary New Memo on Cycles: "There They Go Again... Again"

Oaktree Capital Chairman Howard Marks is out with a new memo.  It's entitled "There They Go Again... Again."  He notes that, "Some of the memos I'm happiest about having written came at times when bullish trends went too far, risk aversion disappeared and bubbles inflated."  He feels that it's time again for a cautionary memo.

His latest writings delve into the topics of cycles and what seeds are needed for the foundation of a bull market, boom or bubble.  He outlines how investors gradually shift from a benign environment, to one with more money than ideas, to suspension of disbelief, to rejection of valuation norms, to eventually the almighty "fear of missing out."

While Marks says many of the ingredients are in play today, a few usual ingredients are notably missing.  He also writes that, "Most people can't think of what might cause trouble anytime soon.  But it's precisely when people can't see what it is that could make things turn down that risk is highest, since they tend not to price in risks they can't see."

This is an excellent memo and worth reading in its entirety.

Embedded below is Oaktree Capital and Howard Marks' new memo: There They Go Again... Again:



You can download a .pdf copy here.

For more letters from prominent investors, we've recently posted Third Point's Q2 letter and Greenlight Capital's Q2 letter.


What We're Reading ~ 7/26/17


The most important moat [Base Hit Investing]

Technical Analysis of Financial Markets [John Murphy]

Ferrari (RACE) sells veblen goods, not cars [Intrinsic Investing]

Buy time, they're not making any more of it [Abnormal Returns]

On reinvestment moats and Zooplus [Connor Leonard]

On perceived versus real risk tolerance [Aleph Blog]

On why it's so hard to be a contrarian investor [Medium]

A Hermes Birkin bag generates higher return than stocks? [BagHunter]

Snapchat (SNAP) isn't a social network, it's a toy [Vanity Fair]

Can anyone bury Bloomberg? [Institutional Investor]


Monday, July 24, 2017

Tiger Global Adds To Apollo Stake

Chase Coleman's hedge fund firm Tiger Global has filed a Form 4 with the SEC regarding its stake in Apollo Global Management (APO).  Per the filing, Tiger Global acquired 100,916 shares of APO on July 19th at a weighted average price of $27.357.

They also bought 149,052 shares on July 20th at a weighted average price of $27.897.  After these buys, Tiger Global now owns over 33.13 million shares.  As we've detailed previously, Tiger Global has been accumulating Apollo Global shares throughout the past few months.

Per Google Finance, Apollo Global Management is "an alternative investment manager in private equity, credit and real estate. The Company raises, invests and manages funds on behalf of pension, endowment and sovereign wealth funds, as well as other institutional and individual investors. The Company's segments include private equity, credit and real estate. The private equity segment invests in control equity and related debt instruments, convertible securities and distressed debt investments. The credit segment invests in non-control corporate and structured debt instruments, including performing, stressed and distressed investments across the capital structure. The real estate segment invests in real estate equity for the acquisition and recapitalization of real estate assets, portfolios, platforms and operating companies, and real estate debt, including first mortgage and mezzanine loans, preferred equity and commercial mortgage backed securities."

For more on this hedge fund, you can view additional recent portfolio activity from Tiger Global here.


Fairholme Capital Increases St. Joe Position

Bruce Berkowitz's investment firm Fairholme Capital has filed an amended 13D with the SEC regarding its position in St. Joe (JOE).  Per the filing, Fairholme now owns 36.1% of the company with over 25.47 million shares.

This is an increase from the 25.1 million shares they owned at the end of May per a previously filed form 13D.

The filing notes that Berkowitz was buying JOE shares in late May, and early-to-mid June at prices ranging from $17.2483 to $17.8468.

You can view previous portfolio activity from Fairholme here.

Per Google Finance, St. Joe is "a real estate development, asset management and operating company. The Company operates through five segments: residential real estate; commercial real estate; resorts and leisure; leasing operations, and forestry. Its residential real estate segment plans and develops primary residential and resort residential communities of various sizes on its existing land. Its commercial real estate segment plans, develops, manages and sells real estate. Resorts and leisure segment features a portfolio of vacation rentals and hotel operations, as well as golf courses, a beach club, marinas and other related resort amenities. Its leasing operations business includes its retail and commercial leasing. Its forestry segment focuses on the management of its timber holdings in Northwest Florida."


Paulson & Co Trims Trilogy Metals Stake

John Paulson's hedge fund firm Paulson & Co has filed a Form 4 with the SEC regarding its stake in Trilogy Metals (TMQ).  Per the filing, Paulson sold 18,247 shares on June 8th at a price of $0.5985.  After this sale, they still own over 11.56 million shares of TMQ.

For more from this fund, head to other recent portfolio activity from Paulson & Co.

Per Google Finance, Trilogy Metals is "formerly NovaCopper Inc., is a Canada-based base metals exploration company. The Company focuses on exploring and developing its mineral holdings in the Ambler mining district located in Alaska, the United States. The Company's principal assets, the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP or UKMP Projects), are located in the Ambler mining district in Northwest Alaska. The Company's UKMP Projects include approximately 352,943 acres consisting of the Ambler and Bornite lands. The Ambler lands hosts the Arctic copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver Project and other mineralized targets within a 100-kilometer long volcanogenic massive sulfide belt. The Amber lands are located in Northwestern Alaska and consist of over 112,050 acres of Federal patented mining claims and State of Alaska mining claims. The Bornite deposit is located approximately 25 kilometers southwest of its Arctic deposit. The Bornite lands hosts the Bornite carbonate-hosted copper Project."