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This week in hedge fund world

?? Quant hedge fund Renaissance Technologies LLC , whose founder James Simons died last week, was positioned to benefit from the meme stock mania sweeping the US this week, having added a new long position in GameStop and significantly increased its position in AMC Entertainment during Q1.?Read more???

?? As well as proving popular with retail investors, bitcoin ETFs have caught the attention of hedge fund majors including Millennium , Schonfeld and Point72 . Read more??

?? The prospect of softer US inflation bringing US and EU monetary policy closer in sync has pushed demand from hedge funds for options that pay out if the euro strengthens against the dollar over the next week to the highest seen since February. Read more?

?? Bill Hwang, the founder of failed hedge fund Archegos Capital Management, LP , which went bust in 2021 leaving banks nursing billions of dollars in losses, faced trial this week on alleged securities fraud and market manipulation charges. Read more??

?? The China Securities Regulatory Commission is currently investigating Zhejiang Ruifengda Asset Management after it stopped repaying its investors. The move comes in the wake of increased scrutiny of the RMB5.5tn ($760bn) industry. Read more???

?? Ashford Hospitality Trust ’s CEO Monty J Bennett and director Kamal Jafarnia have tendered their resignations following the results of the REIT’s annual stockholders meeting on Tuesday, and a month-long “Monty Must Go” campaign by shareholder and activist hedge fund firm Blackwells Capital . Read more??

The week in numbers

?? $1bn – The sudden re-emergence of “Roaring Kitty” – aka Keith Gill – on social media triggered a huge surge in the price of GameStop shares that left short sellers facing losses approaching $1bn, according to figures from data provider S3 Partners . Read more??

?? ￡150m – Marshall Wace , the $65bn London-based hedge fund firm co-founded by Paul Marshall, has taken a ￡150m short position in Haleon , the FTSE 100 consumer healthcare company which was spun out of 荷商葛蘭素史克藥廠 two years ago. Read more? ?

4?? 18% – Peconic Partners LLC , the $1.8bn long-short hedge fund firm run by Bill Harnisch, has continued a four-year winning run so far in 2024, with the fund up 18% year-to-date, extending a run of outperformance that includes a 26% gain in 2022 when the S&P 500 lost nearly 20%.?Read more???

?? 3.8% — A 3.8% decline in April has prompted Brazilian hedge fund Verde Asset Management , which has a track record of strong performance since launching in 1997, to pare its bets on both domestic stocks and falling interest rates. Read more??

Latest Hedgeweek research

Read Hedgeweek’s latest insights report, Private credit: Trends, tech and future trajectory, for an update on the key trends and technology driving growth in a $1.6tn sector that has proved an unmissable growth area on Wall Street since the pandemic, featuring contributions from the sector’s leading firms and data-driven intel on the outlook ahead.?This month’s report is sponsored by SS&C Advent.?

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Coming soon from Hedgeweek

Hedgeweek's European Digital Assets Summit 2024 is designed for operational and product specialists at European hedge funds. Taking place on Thursday 27 June 2024 at etc.venues County Hall, London, the agenda of curated panel session and roundtable discussions will feature expert speakers addressing the key developments, trends, and issues driving the growth of digital asset strategies and funds. Apply now