Hedge Fund Market Intel

DE Shaw makes $108m Bayer short bet

Hedge fund DE Shaw has taken a €102m ($108m) short position against German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Bayer, according to a report by Reuters. The move came after Bayer’s recent earnings announcement led to a sharp drop in its share price to a two-decade low.

New York-based DE Shaw, one of the largest hedge fund managers with over $60bn in assets under management, declined to comment on the move while Bayer has yet to issue a response.

The slump in Bayer’s shares followed CEO Bill Anderson’s warning on Tuesday of potential declines in next year’s earnings due to weak agricultural markets. The news compounded pressure on the CEO as he works to execute a turnaround for the company. Bayer’s shares ended Wednesday 3.5% lower, having dropped as much as 15.8% on Tuesday following the earnings presentation.

Brigade secures $300m from Blackstone for private credit and CLO investment

Brigade Capital, a hedge fund focused on credit investments, has secured $300 million from Blackstone to expand its private credit strategy and strengthen its $11 billion collateralized loan obligations (CLO) platform, according to Reuters.

Blackstone’s Multi-Asset Investing unit will contribute $150 million to Brigade’s new private credit initiative, targeting the $2 trillion private credit market, and another $150 million to support its CLO business in the U.S. and Europe. Brigade has already raised $500 million for the private credit strategy, focusing on lower middle-market firms with EBITDA of $10 million to $50 million.

The investment aligns with Blackstone’s $1 billion Strategic Alliance Fund IV and follows Brigade’s expansion into private credit, including the hiring of industry veterans Jenny Lee and Jim Wolf. With $28 billion in total assets, Brigade sees high-yield opportunities in this less competitive segment.

SS&C reports hedge fund gains in October and positive investor inflows in November

Hedge funds delivered a 0.25% return in October, as measured by the SS&C GlobeOp Hedge Fund Performance Index, while the SS&C GlobeOp Capital Movement Index recorded net inflows of 1.02% in November, highlighting continued investor confidence, according to Hedgeweek.

Bill Stone, CEO of SS&C Technologies, attributed the inflows to growing investor interest in hedge funds’ ability to offer attractive, risk-adjusted returns that are less correlated with broader market trends. “This uncorrelated nature provides a valuable hedge against market volatility,” he noted.

The Hedge Fund Performance Index, tracking gross returns of funds under SS&C’s administration, reflects diversified performance across strategies, with a historically low 25%-30% correlation to equity indices, emphasizing its portfolio diversification benefits.

Meanwhile, the Capital Movement Index, which tracks hedge fund subscriptions and redemptions, reached 125.16 in November, up 1.02 points from October. Despite the monthly gain, the index has declined by 2.74 points over the past year.