Dmitry Balyasny Long Hertz: Invest For Kids Chicago Presentation

We're posting up notes from the Invest For Kids Chicago Conference 2017.  Next up is
Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management who pitched a long of Hertz (HTZ).


Dmitry Balyasny's Invest For Kids Chicago Presentation: Long Hertz

First time back at the conference in eight years…when he pitched short Japanese government bonds because the 1.5% yield couldn’t go much lower.

Long Hertz (HTZ) – prior management mishandled the company; investors are overly worried about Uber/Lyft.  44% short interest creates big opportunity to be long if things are inflecting.  >5x leverage, previously losing money – many people scared off.

Uber/Lyft threat is overstated – only about 4% overlap.  Now an oligopoly industry – HTZ was the bad actor that over-expanded, dumping excess fleet inventory into the market at low prices; the fleet has now been restructured.  Used car prices may also be turning up.  Credit card data shows positive numbers in recent months.

HTZ is ½ leisure, ½ business – both doing well.  This was the last sloppy quarter, and we want to be long the most levered player as the cycle turns.  HTZ should be able to refi its high-cost debt.  Avis repurchases ~10% of its shares each year and HTZ should get there too.  The majority of their analysts create alpha within the first 3-6 months, and that could be the case here as shorts capitulate and real investors step up to buy the stock.



For more from this event, check out the rest of the presentations from Invest For Kids Chicago 2017.

Balyasny Asset Management Adds To Restoration Hardware Holdings

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding its stake in Restoration Hardware (RH).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.41% of the company with over 2.2 million shares.

This marks an increase in their position size of over 1.85 million shares since the end of the third quarter of 2016.  The filing was made due to activity on January 30th.

Per Google Finance, Restoration Hardware is "a luxury retailer in the home furnishings marketplace. The Company offers merchandise assortments across a range of categories, including furniture, lighting, textiles, bathware, decor, outdoor and garden, tableware, and child and teen furnishings. The Company classifies its sales into furniture and non-furniture product lines. The Furniture category includes both indoor and outdoor furniture. The Non-furniture category includes lighting, textiles, accessories and home decor. As of October 29, 2016, the Company operated a total of 85 retail galleries, consisting of 51 legacy Galleries, six larger format Design Galleries, seven next generation Design Galleries, one RH Modern Gallery and five RH Baby & Child Galleries throughout the United States and Canada, as well as 15 Waterworks showrooms in the United States and in the United Kingdom. In addition, as of October 29, 2016, the Company operated 28 outlet stores."

Balyasny Asset Management Boosts Emerge Energy Services Stake

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Emerge Energy Services (EMES).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 8.2% of EMES with 2.26 million shares.

This is an increase in their position size by over 1 million shares since the end of the third quarter when they owned 1.17 million shares.  The filing was made due to activity on November 18th.

For more from this fund, we've highlighted other recent portfolio activity from Balyasny here.

Per Google Finance, Emerge Energy Services "owns, operates, acquires and develops a portfolio of energy service assets. The Company's segments include Sand segment, Fuel segment and Corporate. The Company's Sand segment consists of the production and sale of various grades of industrial sand primarily used in the extraction of oil and natural gas, as well as the production of building products and foundry materials. Its Fuel segment operates approximately two terminals and over two transmix processing facilities that are located in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area and Birmingham, Alabama. In addition to refining transmix, the Fuel segment sells a suite of complementary fuel products and services, including third-party terminaling services, certain reclamation services and blending of renewable fuels. The Company's other services include blending of renewable fuels into petroleum products, and the manufacture of biodiesel at its Birmingham facility."

Balyasny Asset Management Ups Oasis Petroleum Stake

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding its stake in Oasis Petroleum (OAS).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 6% of OAS with over 13.75 million shares.

This is an increase of over 10.17 million shares since the end of the second quarter when they only owned 3.58 million shares.  The filing was made due to activity on October 18th.

We also just recently highlighted how SPO Advisory reduced its Oasis Petroleum stake this month as well.

Per Google Finance, Oasis Petroleum is "an independent exploration and production company. The Company is focused on the acquisition and development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the North Dakota and Montana regions of the Williston Basin. Its segments include Exploration and Production, which is engaged in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties; Well Services, which performs completion services for the Company's oil and natural gas wells operated by Oasis Petroleum North America LLC (OPNA), and Midstream Services, which performs salt water gathering and disposal and other midstream services for the Company's oil and natural gas wells operated by OPNA. The Company's projects include Williston Basin, West Williston and East Nesson. It also operates a well services business through Oasis Well Services LLC (OWS) and a midstream services business through Oasis Midstream Services LLC (OMS)."

Balyasny Shows Stake in Green Plains Partners; Adds To ChemoCentryx

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed two separate 13G's with the SEC.

Discloses New Stake in Green Plains Partners

First, Balyasny now owns 6.29% of Green Plains Partners (GPP) with 1 million shares. 

This is a newly disclosed position as Green Plains Partners shares recently started trading at the end of June.  GPP was spun-off from Green Plains (GPRE).

Balyasny previously owned a stake in parent company GPRE but their Q1 13F filing indicates that they exited that position in Q1.

Per Google Finance, Green Plains Partners "owns, operates, develops and acquires ethanol and fuel storage tanks, terminals, transportation assets and other related assets and businesses. The Company operates through four segments: production of ethanol and distillers grains (ethanol production); corn oil production; grain handling and storage and cattle feedlot operations (agribusiness), and marketing, merchant trading and logistics services for self-produced and third-party ethanol, distillers grains, corn oil and other commodities (marketing and distribution). The Company's parent company is Green Plains Inc. The Company owns and operates approximately 27 ethanol storage tanks. Its ethanol storage assets are engaged in storing and loading the ethanol that its parent produces at its ethanol production plants. It provides terminal services and logistics solutions through its fuel terminal facilities. Its transportation assets include a leased railcar fleet of approximately 2,200 railcars."


Balyasny Adds To ChemoCentryx Stake

Second, Balyasny indicates that they own 5.02% of ChemoCentryx (CCXI) with over 2.19 million shares.

This is an increase from the 1.86 million shares they owned at the end of Q1.  The latest filing was made due to activity on June 24th.

Per Google Finance, ChemoCentryx is "a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics to treat autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. It targets the chemoattractant system, which is a network of molecules, including chemokine ligands and their associated receptors, as well as related chemoattractant receptors. Each of its drug candidates is a small molecule designed to target a specific chemokine or chemoattractant receptor, thereby blocking the inflammatory response driven by that particular chemokine while leaving the rest of the immune system unaffected. The Company's product portfolio includes CCX140, CCX872, CCX168, Vercirnon (Traficet-EN or CCX282) and CCX507."

Balyasny Discloses New Stakes in Basic Energy Services & Tetra Technologies

Dmitry Balyasny's investment firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed two separate 13G's with the SEC.

New Stake in Basic Energy Services

First, Balyasny has revealed a brand new equity stake in Basic Energy Services (BAS).  Per their SEC filing, they now own 5.39% of the company with over 2.25 million shares.  The filing was made due to activity on March 18th.

Per Google Finance, Basic Energy Services is "provides a range of well site services to oil and natural gas drilling and producing companies, including completion and remedial services, fluid services, well servicing and contract drilling. The Company’s operations are managed regionally and are concentrated in the United States onshore oil and natural gas producing regions located in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Montana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Its operations are focused on liquid rich basins that exhibit drilling and production economics as well as natural gas-focused shale plays characterized by prolific reserves and attractive economics."


New Position in Tetra Technologies

Second, the hedge fund firm has disclosed a new equity position in Tetra Technologies (TTI).  This 13G filing indicates they own 5.39% of the company with over 4.29 million shares of the company.   This was due to portfolio activity on March 18th.

Per Google Finance, Tetra Technologies is "is oil and gas services company, focused on completion fluids and other products, production testing, wellhead compression, and selected offshore services including well plugging and abandonment, decommissioning, and diving. The Company also has limited domestic oil and gas production business. The Company operates under five reporting segments organized into three divisions: Fluids, Production Enhancement, and Offshore. The Fluids Division manufactures and markets clear brine fluids, additives, and associated products and services to the oil and gas industry. The Production Enhancement Division consists of two operating segments: Production Testing and Compressor. The Production Testing segment provides after-frac flow back, production well testing, offshore rig cooling, and other associated services.."


You can view additional recent portfolio activity from Balyasny here.

Balyasny Asset Management Starts Peabody Energy Position

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Peabody Energy (BTU).   Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.17% of the company with over 14 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity position for the firm as they did not own a position at the end of the third quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on January 30th.

Per Google Finance, Peabody Energy "owns interests in 28 active coal mining operations located in the United States and Australia. The Company has a majority interest in 27 of those coal operations and a 50% equity interests in the Middlemount Mine in Australia. The Company also owns a noncontrolling interest in a mining operation in Venezuela. In addition to the Company's mining operations, the Company markets and broker coals from its operations and other coal producers, both as principal and agent, and trade coal and freight-related contracts through trading and business offices. The Company conducts business through four principal segments: Western United States. Mining, Midwestern U.S. Mining, Australian Mining and Trading and Brokerage."

You can view more recent portfolio activity from Balyasny Asset Management here.

Balyasny Starts Laredo Petroleum Position, Boosts Penn National Gaming Stake

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has just filed two separate 13G's with the SEC today. 

Starts Laredo Petroleum Position

First, Balyasny has filed on shares of Laredo Petroleum (LPI).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.31% of the company with over 7.62 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity position for the firm as they did not hold a position at the end of the third quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on December 16th.

Balyasny has been actively buying shares of KBR as well as Oasis Petroleum recently too.

Per Google Finance, Laredo Petroleum is "focused on the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties primarily in the Permian region of the United States. The Company’s primary exploration and production fairway in the Permian Basin is centered on the eastern side of the basin 35 miles east of Midland, Texas and extends 20 miles wide (east/west) and 85 miles long (north/south) in Glasscock, Howard, Reagan, Sterling and Tom Green counties, and is referred to as the Permian-Garden City area."


Boosts Penn National Gaming Stake

Second, Balyasny Asset Management has disclosed a 5.74% ownership stake in Penn National Gaming (PENN) with over 4.52 million shares.

This means they've increased their position size by around 840,000 shares since the end of the third quarter. The filing was made due to activity on December 12th.

Per Google Finance, Penn National Gaming is "a diversified owner and manager of gaming and pari-mutuel properties."

Balyasny Asset Management Increases KBR Position

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding its position in KBR (KBR).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.57% of KBR with over 8 million shares.

They've increased their position size by over 6.97 million shares since the end of the second quarter and the filing was required due to portfolio activity on December 11th.

Just yesterday, we posted up about another stock Balyasny has been buying.

Per Google Finance, KBR is "a global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, hydrocarbons, Government services, minerals, civil infrastructure, power, industrial and commercial markets."

Balyasny Asset Management Discloses Oasis Petroleum Position

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Oasis Petroleum (OAS).   Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.24% of the company with over 5.31 million shares.

This is a newly disclosed equity stake for the firm, as they did not report ownership as of the end of the third quarter.  The filing was required due to portfolio activity on December 9th.

Like many energy stocks, Oasis has plunged from a high of $56.50 this year, down to current levels of around $12 per share.

We've posted previous portfolio activity from Balyasny here.

Per Google Finance, Oasis Petroleum is "an exploration and production company. The Company focuses on the acquisition and development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the Montana and North Dakota regions of the Williston Basin."

Balyasny Asset Management Boosts Churchill Downs Position

Dmitry Balyasny's firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding their stake in Churchill Downs (CHDN).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.24% of the company with 909,724 shares.

This marks an increase of 285,477 shares in their position size since the end of the second quarter.  The filing was required due to activity on October 7th.

Per Google Finance, Churchill Downs is "a diversified provider of pari-mutuel horseracing, casino gaming, entertainment, and is the country’s premier source of online account wagering on horseracing events. The Company offers gaming products through its casino in Mississippi, its slot and video poker operations in Louisiana and its slot and poker operations in Florida."

Balyasny Asset Management Boosts NuStar Energy Stake

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC on NuStar Energy (NS).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.07% of the company with over 3.95 million shares.

This means their equity stake has increased by over 1.64 million shares since the end of the first quarter.  The filing was made due to activity on July 21st.

Per Google Finance, NuStar Energy is "engaged in the terminalling and storage of petroleum products, the transportation of petroleum products and anhydrous ammonia, and petroleum refining and marketing. NuStar Energy operates in three business segments: storage, transportation, and asphalt and fuels marketing. In February 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the transaction with an affiliate of Lindsay Goldberg LLC, a private investment firm, to divest all of its 50% voting interest in an asphalt joint venture that owns a refinery located in Paulsboro, New Jersey."

Balyasny Asset Management Starts Walter Energy Stake

Dmitry Balyasny's firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Walter Energy (WLT).  Per the filing, Balyasny now owns 5.22% of the company with 3,264,002 shares.

The filing was required due to activity on September 10th and this is a newly disclosed position for the hedge fund as they did not own any shares at the end of Q2.

This isn't the first time they've owned a stake either.  Balyasny previously owned WLT shares a little under a year ago.

Per Google Finance, Walter Energy is "a producer and exporter of metallurgical coals for the global steel industry. The Company also produces thermal coal and industrial coal, anthracite, metallurgical coke, coal bed methane gas (natural gas) and other related products. The Company operates in two segments: the Company's United States operations segment and its Canadian and United Kingdom operations segment. United States operations segment includes the operations of the Company's underground mines, surface mines, coke plant and natural gas operations located in Alabama and its underground and surface mining operations located in West Virginia. The Canadian and United Kingdom operations segment includes the operations of surface mines in Northeast British Columbia (Canada) and an underground mine and surface mine in South Wales (U.K.)."

Balyasny Increases Walter Energy Position

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Walter Energy (WLT).  Per the filing, Balyasny has revealed a 5.36% ownership stake in WLT with shares.

This marks over a 71% increase in the amount of shares they own since the end of September.  The latest disclosure was required due to portfolio activity on November 15th.

Per Google Finance, Walter Energy is "a producer and exporter of metallurgical coal for the global steel industry and also produces steam coal, coal bed methane gas (natural gas), metallurgical coke and other related products. The Company operates in two segments: its United States Operations segment, and Canadian and United Kingdom Operations segment."

Notes From SALT Conference Panel With Kyle Bass, Dmitry Balyasny & Steven Tananbaum

At the SALT Conference in Las Vegas today there was a panel called "From Crisis to Renewal: Uncovering Opportunities."  It featured Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital, Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management, Steven Tananbaum of GoldenTree Asset Management, as well as John Bader of Halcyon Asset Management.


Kyle Bass says that we are near the trough of the housing crisis and thinks the bottom could come in the next 12-18 months.  We posted up an excellent presentation on the housing market by Aaron Edelheit from the Value Investing Congress recently.

Talking about the generational balance in Japan, Bass says there's now more adult diapers being sold than baby diapers in that country.  He compared Japan to Bernie Madoff in that lying works until there isn't new money coming in - you can make promises and there won't be any issues as long as you don't have to follow through.

We've posted his Bass' presentation on Japan before as well.  At SALT he said that the country is already monetizing their debt so it's just a matter of time.

He admitted to making a mistake in 2009 by not anticipating all the printing by the sovereigns.  He focuses on the losses and forgets the gains, he says.

As to what the Hayman Capital man recommends now: long non-agency MBS credit while shorting Europe and Japan.  The hedge fund manager also said that Greece would be "ungovernable" in the near future.


Dmitry Balyasny talked about how he is 'neutral' on US companies but always hunting for quality picks.


Steven Tananbaum cited his propensity to favor corporate debt and mortgage backed securities (MBS) as longs in this environment.


John Bader pointed out that there are plenty of liquidation plays in this environment. He also advocated seeking out uncorrelated strategies.  Bader does not seem to be convinced the crisis is over.


For more notes from the SALT Conference, check out:

- Identifying opportunities in emerging markets with John Burbank


- Barry Rosenstein, Leon Cooperman & Joel Greenblatt's panel on stocks


- Risk panel with Phil Falcone and Eric Sprott







The above was compiled from notes sent in along with help from live tweets from: @ldelevingne , @pdmckenna ,  @AttainCapital & @realrobcopeland

Balyasny Asset Management Starts Shaw Group (SHAW) Position

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management just filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Shaw Group (SHAW). Per the filing, they now own 5.5% of SHAW with 3,583,894 shares.

This is a brand new position for the hedge fund firm as they did not own shares as of the close of the third quarter. Their 13G filing was made due to trading activity that breached the regulatory threshold on January 19th, 2012.

Per Google Finance, Shaw Group is " is a provider of technology, engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation and facilities management services to a diverse client base that includes multinational and national oil companies and industrial corporations, regulated utilities, independent and merchant power producers, and government agencies."

Balyasny Asset Management Buys Willbros Group (WG) Shares

Balyasny Asset Management, the hedge fund firm founded by Dmitry Balyasny, recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of Willbros Group (WG). Due to portfolio activity on December 21st, 2010, Balyasny has revealed a 5.15% ownership stake in WG with 2,463,491 shares.

This is only a slight increase in their pre-existing position in Willbros Group. Back on September 30th, 2010, the hedge fund firm owned 2,269,197 shares of WG. As such, Balyasny has only boosted its position size by 8.5% over the course of three months, buying 194,294 additional shares.

Nicknamed BAM, Balyasny Asset Management was founded in 2001 by Dmitry Balyasny. Their main office is in Chicago but they have offices around the globe. Their strategy is anchored by fundamental-based research organized by sector. The hedge fund firm seeks to "focus on misunderstood situations and companies/sectors undergoing turbulent change from different perspectives." As noted in our 2009 hedge fund returns post, BAM finished up 8.64% for that year.

Per Google Finance, Willbros Group is "a provider of energy services to global end markets serving the oil and gas, refinery, petrochemical and power industries. Within the global energy market, the Company is engaged in designing, constructing, upgrading and repairing midstream infrastructure, such as pipelines, compressor stations and related facilities for onshore and coastal locations, as well as downstream facilities, such as refineries."

For all our coverage on hedge fund activity, head to our posts on the latest SEC filings.

Balyasny Asset Management Ramps Up InterMune (ITMN) Position

Due to activity on June 17th, 2010, Balyasny Asset Management has disclosed an updated stake in InterMune (ITMN). Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm now shows a 5.49% ownership stake in ITMN with 3,040,200 shares. This is a massive increase in their position size because back on March 31st, 2010, Balyasny owned only 350,000 shares of InterMune. This means that somewhere over the course of the past three months, the hedge fund firm has added 2,690,200 additional shares (over a 768% increase in their position size).

It's impossible for us to know when exactly Balyasny Asset Management purchased their shares. This information becomes crucial, however, when you consider that InterMune precipitously dropped from $45 to around $12 back in early May. This huge decline was mainly due to InterMune's failure to receive FDA approval for one of their lung drugs. This is a stock we've seen owned by some other prominent hedge funds in our coverage. Back in early April, we noted Steven Cohen's SAC Capital disclosed an ITMN position. And previously, we detailed how Andreas Halvorsen's Viking Global started a new position in InterMune back in the first quarter.

Given the circumstances with this stock and the fact that these big-time hedgies owned shares before the FDA rejection, it's very hard to say whether or not SAC and Viking still own these positions. It's even more difficult to hazard such a guess pertaining to SAC Capital's ownership given that they are a trading oriented firm and move in and out of positions at a much more frequent rate compared to most funds. One thing is clear though: Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm now owns a sizable stake in ITMN. We haven't seen much new portfolio activity out of Balyasny as of late, but we did touch on a newly disclosed position of theirs a few months ago.

Taken from Google Finance, InterMune "is a biotech company focused on developing and commercializing therapies in pulmonology and hepatology. In November 2008, InterMune together with Roche and Pharmasset, Inc. (Pharmasset) announced the initiation of INFORM-1, a dual combination clinical trial investigating the combination of two oral antiviral molecules in the absence of interferon."

For more on this firm you can head to our past Balyasny coverage.

Hedge Fund Balyasny Asset Management Discloses New Position

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC in regards to shares of Baltic Trading (BALT). In the filing, they disclose a 5.52% ownership stake in the company with 925,000 shares. This is a brand new position for them and it appears as though they received shares in the initial public offering (IPO) on March 11th, 2010.

Balyasny Asset Management, nicknamed BAM, was founded by Dmitry Balyasny in 2001. It has over 100 employees with the main office in Chicago and other offices in Greenwich, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, and New York. Their investment process involves fundamental research by sector as well as dynamic capital allocation. They place a heavy weighting on experience and organize their teams so that they can concentrate on any given idea.

Balyasny likes to "focus on misunderstood situations and companies/sectors undergoing turbulent change from different perspectives." Through their research process they seek to identify unique ideas with attractive risk return. For 2009, Balyasny's Atlas Global Fund was up 8.64% as noted in our hedge fund performances post. In terms of other recent activity out of Balyasny, we wrote about their 13G filing on shares of Maguire Properties (MPG).

Taken from their recent press release, Baltic Trading is "a Marshall Islands company recently formed by Genco Shipping & Trading Limited, plans to conduct a shipping business focused on the drybulk industry spot market. Baltic Trading plans to use the proceeds of the offering, together with a $75 million capital contribution received from Genco, to acquire its initial fleet of two Capesize newbuildings and four 2009-built Supramaxes and for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include future vessel purchases."

For more of the latest hedge fund portfolio movements, head to our coverage of the latest SEC filings.

Balyasny Asset Management Filed 13G On Maguire Properties (MPG)

Dmitry Balyasny's hedge fund firm Balyasny Asset Management has filed a 13G with the SEC on Maguire Properties (MPG). In the filing, we see that Balyasny has disclosed a 5.35% ownership stake in the company. This was due to activity on November 3rd and they now hold 2,564,650 shares. This is an increase because as per Balyasny's 13F filing which detailed holdings as of September 30th, they owned 898,172 shares.

This is interesting because fellow hedge fund Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC had owned shares of MPG in the past. However, when we covered their portfolio holdings, we saw they had completely sold out of Maguire. (And, we had noted their selling back in July as well). As the saying goes, there's always two sides to a trade. Balyasny was buying shares of MPG and Dan Loeb was selling.

Our post today really marks the first time we've looked at portfolio movements over at Balyasny. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Balyasny Asset Management (BAM) was founded by Dmitry Balyasny in 2001 and has over 100 employees with the main office in Chicago and other offices in Greenwich, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, and New York. Their investment process involves fundamental research by sector as well as dynamic capital allocation. They place a heavy weighting on experience and organize their teams so that they can concentrate on any given idea. They like to "focus on misunderstood situations and companies/sectors undergoing turbulent change from different perspectives." Through their research process they seek to identify unique ideas with attractive risk return. We'll hopefully be covering them more frequently from here on out and will add them to our hedge fund portfolio tracking series.

Taken from Google reader, Maguire Properties is "a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is the owner and operator of Class A office properties in the Los Angeles Central Business District (LACBD) and is primarily focused on owning and operating office properties in the high-barrier-to-entry Southern California market."