News
Each day, DailyAlts tracks major developments across the alternative investment world. Our content is procured from primary contacts in the industry and secondary sources across the web. Our goal is to give readers the most up-to-date news and engaging experience to open new doors and areas of knowledge. Our stories cover nine separate verticals of the alternative investment industry.
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Chipmaker AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) has unveiled a range of innovative AI solutions spanning from data centers to personal computers. The AMD Instinct MI300 Series features data center AI accelerators, while the ROCm 6 open software stack introduces new features supporting Large Language Models (LLMs). Additionally, the Ryzen 8040 Series processors come equipped with Ryzen AI capabilities.
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Hedge Funds: Activist Hedge Fund Elliott Management Targets Twitter
Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR), which owns the social media and tweeting platform so loved by President Trump, is under siege. Elliott Management, the feared activist hedge fund owned by billionaire Paul Singer, has accumulated a sizable stake in the company, led by Jack Dorsey.
RBC Fund Manager Sees ‘Slippery Slope’ in ESG Screening
Sarah Riopelle is a senior portfolio manager at RBC Global Management and oversees a $107 billion portfolio. She’s effectively responsible for the asset-management division at the Royal Bank of Canada, which is the fifth-largest lender in North America. In an interview with Bloomberg this week, Riopelle discussed her sentiment on the markets in 2020. She also provided a forecast of expected returns and chatted about ESG criteria.
Private Equity: CVC Capital Partners Plans Mother of All Buyout Funds
CVC Capital Partners is reportedly seeking to raise up to 20 billion euros for a new flagship fund. That fund, in U.S. terms, is worth roughly $22 billion.
Reuters reports that the private equity ship could possibly set the company record for the largest capital pool on record. The CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII would invest in companies in North America and Europe. Reuters suggests that the firm will end up raising between 17 billion euros and 20 billion euros.
Hedge Funds: Chris Hohn Looks to End Coal Production as We Know It
Hedge fund billionaire Chris Hohn has launched a platform aimed at reducing financing for coal-fired power plants. The ESG crusader wants central banks to effectively stop the financing of coal power plants that he deems a threat to the global climate.
Venture Capital: About Corporate Venture Capitalism
More and more companies are using their cash piles to take a punt on venture capitalism. It’s par for the course for seasoned tech giants like Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), but now non-techs too are taking the plunge. The motives for corporate VC – both profits and excitement.
The DailyAlts Playbook: Tom Steyer’s Suspension, the ECB’s Self-Plagiarism, and Tough Times for Masayoshi Son.
The DailyAlts Playbook talks about Tom Steyer’s Suspension, the ECB’s Self-Plagiarism, and Tough Times for Masayoshi Son.
Artificial Intelligence: How AI Could Help Find Underground Silos To Store CO2
Mankind’s emission-generating activities have loaded the atmosphere with carbon dioxide (CO2), thus triggering climate changes. However, promising technology that recovers the CO2 from the atmosphere is under development. This CO2 may either be resold or converted into blocks that can be used for construction. These blocks may also be stored permanently underground. The problem is to locate the ‘silos’ or natural structures below the surface where the carbon blocks can be parked. AI may help locate these structures from earthquake data.
Real Estate: KKR Joins Two South Korean Firms in Deal for Namsan Square
Global investment firm KKR, Korea real estate fund manager IGIS Asset Management, and Korean real estate developer SK D&D have purchased Namsan Square.
The property is an office tower located in the central business district of Seoul. They acquired the property from a real estate investment trust operated by KOREIT, a domestic asset manager in Korea.
Venture Capital: The Virus Deals A Body Blow To Chinese Startups
Chinese startups are facing a massive cash crunch following the coronavirus outbreak. With personal meetings placed on hold due to fears of contagion, it has become difficult for venture capitalists to assess the progress of projects and their funding requirements. It’s got so bad that VCs have shelved even signed deals with committed capital, preferring to wait until the situation becomes clearer.
Artificial Intelligence: The Boston Globe To Automate Content and Data With New Startup
AppliedXLabs, the joint venture between The Boston Globe and Newlab, will create AI tools that will drive data-driven journalism. These tools will automatically pull data from sources that are currently “data deserts” and generate journalistic insights.
FinTech: South African Fintech Jumo Secures US$55M in Goldman Sachs-Led Round
Jumo secures US$55M in Goldman Sachs-led round. It will use the funds to expand into new markets and launch in Africa and Asia. Odey Asset Management and Leapfrog Investments participated alongside Goldman Sachs as existing investors.
There were new, unnamed investors, but Jumo did not reveal details of their identities, what stake they had taken in the fintech and whether they invested in debt or equity.
Digital Assets: Chinese Party Dignitary Says a CBDC is Essential for China’s Economic Supremacy
Chen Weigang, former Vice President of China Insurance Regulatory Commission of the Communist Party, held wide-ranging discussions with Yiben blockchain media on Feb 27. These talks covered the regulation of ICOs/cryptos in China and DCEP, the country’s digital currency.
DailyAlts Playbook: ESG Bubbles, Sharp CEF Discounts, Brexit Demands, and Bill Ackman’s Bullish Views on Burritos.
The DailyAlts Playbook talks about ESG Bubbles, Sharp CEF Discounts, Brexit Demands, and Bill Ackman’s Bullish Views on Burritos. The Dow Jones projects another triple-digit loss as the worst selloff since the 2008 financial crisis continues. The 10-year Treasury bond collapsed under 1.2% as investors pour into any available yield they can find. Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh predicted this morning that central banks around the world will engage in a coordinate effort to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
Liquid Alternatives: Now, An AI-Enabled ETF That Delivers Investors’ Five Favorite Things
Merlyn.AI Corporation (MAI), the Palo Alto-based ETF provider that previously introduced the WIZ ETF, has now launched the Merlyn.AI Tactical Growth and Income ETF (Nasdaq: SNUG) on the Nasdaq exchange. The ETF is a conservative investment that seeks to improve returns in both bull and bear markets. The ETF tracks the MAI Tactical Growth and Income Index.
Hedge Fund: Whitney Tilson Pumps Berkshire Hathaway as Top Retirement Stock
Former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson has called Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) the to retirement stock. Tilson, who now writes for Empire Financial Research, issued a note this week praising Warren Buffett’s firm as the “No. 1 Retirement Stock in America.”
Liquid Alternatives: Invesco Launches New Sterling Corporate Bond ETF With ESG
Invesco, the fund manager with $1.23 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2019, has launched in Europe a new, first-of-its-kind, sterling-denominated, corporate bond ETF with an ESG tilt. The Invesco GBP Corporate Bond ESG UCITS ETF (IGBE) is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.10%.
Digital Assets: The SIX Swiss Exchange Buys A Stake in Crypto Trading Platform Omniex
SIX Swiss Exchange announced it had struck a partnership agreement last week with San Francisco-based Omniex. The financial terms of the agreement, which also includes the acquisition of a stake in Omniex by SIX, were not disclosed. Omniex is an institutional grade investment and trading platform specifically designed for digital assets and cryptocurrencies. SIX hopes to get new business opportunities by allowing its clients to trade through Omniex – a gateway to cryptocurrency exchanges and global OTC market makers.
Artificial Intelligence: Hackers Raid Notorious Facial Recognition Startup Clearview AI
Clearview AI, the facial recognition startup that allegedly scraped billions of photographs from websites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Venmo, has been hacked. The controversial company works with 600 law enforcement agencies in North America. It said the hackers “gained unauthorized access” to its entire list of customers, and other data such as the number of accounts and searches.
ESG: Graham Clapp Says ESG-Focus is Creating a New Bubble
RWC Partners fund manager Graham Clapp warned that sustainable investing trends are poised to form a possible bubble in the markets. He compared it to the tech boom of the 1990s.
“You can liken it to the tech bubble where people wanted to have exposure to the new economy stocks, so a lot of money poured into certain kind of business models and valuations were pumped up and incredibly stretched. When such large influxes occur – as we’re currently seeing with ESG – then supply and demand mean the price is going to change,’ Clapp said.
DailyAlts Playbook: Mike Pence’s Battle to Save the World, Climate Investment, ESG Naysayers, and “The Activists.”
We start today with the first U.S. coronavirus case of an unknown origin. The CDC is not aware of how a person in Northern California obtained the virus. However, they are now concerned about “community spread.” Last night, President Donald Trump attempted to ease concerns about the spread of the virus and said that the risk to Americans is still “very low.”
Venture Capital: VCs, Wake Up And Smell The ClimateTech Coffee
Andrew Chung, of 1955 Capital, says climate change is the perfect storm.
A huge market is shaping up around ClimateTech, a category of solutions that enable governments, companies, and individuals to combat climate change. There is a sudden shift in investors’ preference for sustainable and climate-friendly companies and products. The once uncared for and given-up-for-dead moniker, “CleanTech,” could become a $4.3 trillion market by 2030 in its new avatar as “ClimateTech.”
Preqin: Hedge Fund AUM Hits All-Time High in 2019
Hedge fund assets under management (AUM) reached an all-time high for the industry by the end of 2019.
A new report by Preqin shows that assets reached $3.66 trillion thanks to strong performance offseting redemptions.
During the fourth quarter, Preqin says that outflows totaled $15.4 million. It was the seventh-straight quarter of outflows.
Alternative Assets: Elizabeth Warren Has “A Plan” for Larry Fink on ESG
The Democratic candidate is pushing for the BlackRock chief to do more in his firm’s pledge to address climate change. In a letter released today, Warren asked Fink to support her latest climate plan – the Climate Risk Disclosure Act. This bill would require all companies to reveal their business risks tied to climate change. Warren argues that government metrics provide one of the clearest ways to track sustainability pledges by companies.
Alternative Investments: Bernie’s FTT – A Gut Punch to Americans’ Retirement Savings
More than half of Americans are invested in the stock market, either directly or through a retirement fund such as a 401k or IRA. Over 40% of Americans are invested in college education savings plans such as 529 plans. Assuming a 10-basis point FTT (0.1%), the Vanguard Group estimates that an average investor would need to work for nearly 2.5 years longer to achieve the same retirement corpus.