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☆ Big investors worry the star managers they trust to run billions are getting distracted as the presidential election enters the homestretch
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-10 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Hedge fund managers and private equity executives have become the go-to sources for donations for both parties. AdvertisementBut for the industry's biggest names who have become involved in politics, personal interests and values drive their giving. Advertisement'It's a people business'Mercer's global chief investment strategist, Rich Nuzum, advises institutional investors with more than $16 trillion to invest. "You're probably alienating some potential investors," he said, and that puts all investors at risk if it impacts a manager's business health. While LPs prefer their managers stay out of the headlines, Griffin has not been shy in recent years about picking fights.

Persons: —, Ken Griffin, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Griffin, Timothy Mellon, George Soros, Lone, Stephen Mandel, Jim Simons, Elliott's Paul Singer, Blackstone, Steve Schwarzman, Singer, Andrew, Rudy Koitchev, Rich Nuzum, Brian Payne, Payne, Chris Walvoord —, Nuzum, Soros, David Tepper, Mandel, Griffin waded, Zia Ahmed, Koitchev Organizations: Service, Republicans, Florida Gov, Business, SEI, BCA Research, Carolina Panthers, Appaloosa Management, Citadel, Citadel Securities, mater, Miami, city's Museum of Science, Industry, LCH Investments, Teachers Locations: Florida, Lone Pine, Washington, Harvard, Chicago, Afghanistan, Illinois

☆ Crypto is ‘like cayenne pepper’ for investors, money manager says: 'A little goes a long way'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Tara Moore | Stone | Getty ImagesA 2% or 3% allocation is 'more than enough'Cryptocurrencies are digital assets, a category that should be considered an "alternative investment," Johnson said. Allocating 2% or 3% of one's investment portfolio to crypto is "more than enough," Johnson said. watch nowWhether investors buy in to crypto — and how much they hold — will depend on their tolerance and capacity for risk, Johnson said. However, that allocation would most likely not be appropriate for a 70-year-old investor who can't afford to subject their nest egg to major losses, Johnson said. "Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a very speculative investment and involves a high degree of risk," investment strategists at Wells Fargo Advisors wrote in a note last year.

Persons: Tara Moore, Johnson, Crypto Organizations: Stone, Advisors Locations: Wells

☆ Ether takes center stage as bitcoin heads into one of its strongest months
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Ether is ready to take the limelight in the month ahead after bitcoin and newly-launched bitcoin ETFs dominated crypto investor attention in January. Both bitcoin and ether are on pace to finish the month higher by nearly 2%, according to Coin Metrics. As investors came to expect slow, steady flows into bitcoin through newly institutionalized ETFs in coming months, ether and altcoins have been ready for a breakout. February is a historically strong month for both bitcoin and ether. The SEC is due to give decisions on spot ETH ETF applications beginning in May.

Persons: Darius Tabatabai, Bitcoin, Jeff Dorman, Ethereum, Dorman, Jason Urban, bitcoin, they've, Polygon's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Metrics, ETH, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, BlackRock, Standard Chartered, Solana, Arca, Galaxy Locations: U.S, bitcoin, Invesco, Solana

☆ The office meltdown will result in $1 trillion of losses, real estate billionaire Barry Sternlicht says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaire Starwood CEO Barry Sternlicht sees losses on office properties hitting $1 trillion, per Bloomberg. Office values have plummeted as remote work proves to be a lasting legacy of the pandemic. AdvertisementThe ailing office market is headed for $1 trillion of losses, billionaire and Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht said. Per Bloomberg, Sternlicht said at the Global Alts conference in Miami Beach that US office properties, once a $3 trillion market, are worth about $1.8 trillion now. The cratering values have been the result of remote work being solidified as a lasting legacy of the COVID-19 era.

Persons: Barry Sternlicht, —, Per, Sternlicht Organizations: Starwood, Bloomberg, Service, Starwood Capital, Per Bloomberg, Global, Business Locations: Miami Beach

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Netflix, Apple, Starbucks, Marvel, Coinbase, IBM, Amazon & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Goldman Sachs upgrades Fiverr to buy from neutral Goldman said the Israeli online marketplace is well positioned for AI. Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said it's standing by its buy rating on Amazon shares. Bank of America downgrades Celsius to neutral from buy Bank of America says it sees "uncertainty to sales momentum" for the energy drink company. Deutsche Bank names Starbucks a top pick Deutsche says it sees an improved same-store sales environment for Starbucks in 2024. Bank of America upgrades Teekay Tankers to buy from neutral Bank of America upgraded the tanker stock due to "rising rate upside."

Persons: Stifel, McKhann, thoughtfully, Goldman, Goldman Sachs, FVRR, Raymond James, TXN, Oppenheimer, Morgan Stanley, ASML, Citi downgrades Blackstone, Carlyle, it's bullish, headwinds, Evercore, Price, Apple Evercore, Janney, Jefferies, Hertz Organizations: Broadcom, Semiconductor, Enterprise, Nvidia, Bank of America, Amazon, North, Holdings, Netflix, Deutsche Bank, Starbucks, Deutsche, SSS, UBS, Texas, Barclays, Nokia, Ericsson, Citi downgrades, Citi, BMO, Marvel, " Bank of America, United Rentals, of America, IBM, Enterprise IT, Apple, Shoals Technologies, Inc, HSBC, Discover, Motorola Solutions, HERTZ Locations: North America, 4Q, 2026E, CY24

☆ The Asian longhorned tick spreading across the US can clone itself thousands of times and even kill cattle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ticks turned out to be an invasive species, the Asian longhorned tick, newly established in Ohio. The curious case of the dead cattleAsian longhorned ticks are tiny and can be difficult to distinguish between other species. Risa Pesapane/Ohio State UniversityPesapane and her colleagues suggest the Ohio cattle died from blood loss. Asian longhorned ticks are hard to spot, contain, and killTiny and brown, the ALT is hard to distinguish from other types of ticks, making it difficult to spot. AdvertisementCattle are the preferred meal of Asian longhorned ticks.

Persons: —, Risa Pesapane, Pesapane, It's, Oleksandr Melnyk, Kevin Lahmers, Lahmers, Joellen Lampman, Lampman, Ohio State University Pesapane, it's, There's, Ikeda Organizations: Service, Ohio State, Medical Entomology, Pesapane, US Department of Agriculture, Getty Images, Virginia - Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ohio State University, Plant Health, Yale School of Public Health Locations: Ohio, West Virginia, But Ohio, East Asia, Virginia, United States, New Zealand, North Carolina, Lyme, Rocky

☆ Solana surges amid altcoin rally, nearly triples its price over the past month
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The price of the Solana token jumped Wednesday amid an ongoing rally in altcoins and bullish remarks on the token from famed tech investor Cathie Wood. It has nearly tripled in price in the past month. "Ether was faster and cheaper than bitcoin [back] in the day – that's how we got ether. Activity on Solana has been growing all year, particularly in liquid staking protocols like Jito, according to data provider Kaiko. Solana is up about 510% this year and has been one of the best performing cryptocurrencies of 2023.

Persons: Cathie Wood, Solana, CNBC's, Wood, altcoins, outpacing, Polygon's, XRP, bitcoin, Mikołaj Zakrzowski, blowup, Sam Bankman, Fried Organizations: Ark, CNBC, CNBC PRO, Solana Locations: altcoins, Solana

☆ Altcoins are finally joining the current bitcoin rally as crypto investors turn risk-on
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Altcoins were in rally mode this week after lagging bitcoin in its recent climb to new 2023 highs. Bitcoin and ether have been separate from this trend recently, with more investors appearing to treat them as a safety trade compared to smaller, riskier altcoins. "Historically we've seen bitcoin rally, then Ethereum, then alts, and that pattern seems to be repeating as this bull market heats up," he said. "We see as a more likely scenario existing capital shifting from existing bitcoin products such as the Grayscale bitcoin trust, bitcoin futures ETFs and publicly listed bitcoin mining companies, into the newly-approved spot bitcoin ETFs," he said. He also said that bitcoin ETFs already exist in Canada and Europe but haven't garnered much interest from investors since their inception.

Persons: Altcoins, bitcoin, Polygon's, Bitcoin, Rob Ginsberg, Ginsberg, altcoins, – it's, It's, Ryan Rasmussen, Mike Novogratz, JPMorgan's Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, haven't, Panigirtzoglou, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Solana, ADA, ETH, Wolfe Research, Treasury, Bitwise Asset Management, Galaxy Digital, JPMorgan Locations: Canada, Europe

☆ These stocks are 'built for growth' and have major upside, Goldman analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

They include Monday.com , Booz Allen Hamilton, Brink's, Apollo Global Management and Constellation Brands. Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen is up 20% this year, but the government and military contractor's stock has more room to run, according to Goldman. Constellation Brands "Built for growth," analyst Bonnie Herzog said in a note, following the beer and wine producer's recent analyst day. Booz Allen Hamilton - buy rating "Booz Allen again beat consensus revenue, growing top-line 15% organically, continuing a pace well ahead of nearly all peers in the national security sector. Monday.com - buy rating "Expect little to no disruption to near-term execution; see Investor Day offering lens into LT growth potential.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Booz Allen Hamilton, Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen, Noah Poponak, Booz Allen, BAH, Poponak, Bonnie Herzog, Herzog, Monday.com, Kash Rangan, Rangan, …, BCO Organizations: CNBC, Monday.com, Apollo Global Management, Constellation Brands, Booz, Goldman, U.S . Staples, TAM, Retail Solutions, Private Credit Locations: Brink's, Government, NYC, Israel, APOs

☆ It's time to buy the dip in this private equity stock, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Multiple Wall Street analysts are sticking by their bullish calls on Blackstone despite a disappointing third quarter, telling investors that now is the time to buy the stock. Shares of Blackstone fell nearly 8% on Thursday after earnings and revenue came in short of estimates, according to FactSet's StreetAccount. BX 3M mountain Blackstone's stock has fallen sharply over the past month. But Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski said in a note to clients Friday that the move in the alternative asset manager's stock is an overreaction and that investors should buy the dip. "Blackstone (BX) has been exhibiting relative strength – including with its strong investment performance (especially in private credit and infrastructure).

Persons: Blackstone, FactSet's, Oppenheimer, Chris Kotowski, Kotowski, Craig Siegenthaler, Siegenthaler, Jon Gray, Gray, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Blackstone, Bank of America, The Bank of America

☆ Food tech company ENOUGH raises 40 million euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Sudip Kar-Gupta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Other participants in the fund-raising for Britain- and Netherlands-based ENOUGH included existing investors such as AXA IM Alts (AXAF.PA) and the Olympic Investments company of the Onassis shipping family. "ENOUGH has made great strides in the past few years to launch our new factory in the Netherlands and scale up to work with customers across the UK and Europe," said CEO Jim Laird, a former chief executive of plant-based meat producer Quorn. Companies involved in producing alternative-sources of meat and protein say they are helping in the battle to protect the climate, since meat from a laboratory has less impact on the environment than traditional farming. Nevertheless, there are signs that consumers' demand for plant-based meat may be waning, with Beyond Meat cutting its annual revenue forecast earlier this month. ($1 = 0.9194 euro)Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alts, Onassis, Spencer, Jim Laird, Quorn, Sudip Kar, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: World Fund, CPT Capital AXA, Investments, Unilever, Food, CPT, Foods, Britain, AXA, Alts, Olympic Investments, Companies, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Netherlands, Europe

☆ Cryptocurrencies fall to begin August, bitcoin dips under $29,000
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ether , which has joined bitcoin in recent months as a sort of large cap, blue-chip trade in crypto, was down by 1.4%, after finishing July down by 3.35%. It was under extra pressure due to a recent exploit in DeFi giant Curve, however. Whenever investors hear the word hack ... it puts the whole crypto market on the backfoot and that's what's happening here," Gilbert said. Bitcoin volumes have also dropped significantly from their recent highs and have failed to reclaim them despite the price of bitcoin showing so much resilience this year. "When bitcoin heads south so do most altcoins ... and they're selling off a little bit further given what we're seeing with Curve."

Persons: bitcoin, Josh Gilbert, Altcoins, Ripple's, XRP, Aave, We've, Gilbert Organizations: Metrics, SEC, Binance, Solana, Polygon's, Finance, ERC, Blackrock ETF Locations: DeFi, Blackrock

SAO PAULO, July 18 (Reuters) - An alternative investment vehicle controlled by French insurer AXA (AXAF.PA) said on Tuesday it will inject $49 million into reforestation projects in Brazil led by local startup Mombak. Mombak, which is also backed by Bain Capital, will lead projects to reforest over 10,000 hectares of degraded pastureland, generating up to 6 million carbon credits. "We are building the largest carbon removal projects in the world," Mombak co-founder Peter Fernandez said in an interview. "The single largest opportunity that humanity has to do reforestation is in Brazil." "We would like to significantly scale up our deployment in Brazil and other Amazon basin countries."

Persons: Mombak, Peter Fernandez, Fernandez, Adam Gibbon, Gabriel Araujo, Brad Haynes, Josie Kao Organizations: SAO PAULO, AXA, AXA IM Alts, Bain Capital, Greenpeace, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Brazil

☆ Here’s where advisors are hunting for yield and portfolio diversification, Bank of America finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors' demand for alternative investments is cooling, but financial advisors anticipate adding these assets over the long term to boost diversification, a Bank of America survey of financial advisors found. Last week, the firm conducted its quarterly survey of financial advisors and received responses from 159 individuals. In the world of income, just under half of advisors are rotating client deposits into higher-yielding money market funds, while about 34% are raising cash and liquidity due to market uncertainty, Bank of America found. Indeed, retail money market fund assets grew to $1.99 trillion during the week ended June 21, according to the Investment Company Institute . Bank of America predicts that when volatility normalizes, advisors will reduce the amount of cash they're squirreling away for clients, but they will continue to sort into higher-yielding liquid products – like these money market funds.

Persons: Craig Siegenthaler, Siegenthaler, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Bank of America, Beta Fund, alts, of America, Investment Company Institute Locations: 5Ys

☆ High-stakes game of keeping secrets on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Citadel Securities' trading strategies? Look no further than a recently filed lawsuit by Citadel Securities against two former employees, per Bloomberg. The suit, which you can read here, alleges the former employees were building a competing high-frequency trading firm while still employed and used trade secrets gained while at Citadel Securities. Portofino told Bloomberg that the Citadel Securities lawsuit was "corporate bullying" and that it would defend itself. On the one hand, trading firms invest a lot of money — check out some salary ranges here — in developing these strategies.

☆ Goldman Sachs' investor day led to more questions than answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

David Solomon at Goldman Sachs' 2023 investor day. All eyes were on Goldman Sachs yesterday as the bank held its second-ever investor day. The biggest news of the day was Solomon, along with other key executives, acknowledging the bank was exploring "strategic alternatives" for its consumer business. Hinting at "strategic alternatives" was something people would want to hear more about. And click here to read more about Goldman exploring "strategic alternatives" for its consumer biz.

MIAMI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The mood at the annual 'Miami hedge fund week' gatherings this week was as bright as the winter sunshine, with one notable dark cloud on the 2023 horizon: U.S. stocks. But right now in the hedge fund and alternative market investor community, reluctance to get sucked in is trumping fear of missing out. And there is no shortage of reasons why - inflation, weak earnings, squeezed margins, recession, 'higher for longer' interest rates. Despite massive Fed tightening and the prospect of liquidity drying up significantly this year, investors see opportunities out there. This suggests equity investors are betting heavily on the Fed successfully engineering a 'soft landing' - possible, but far from certain.

☆ Alternative funds went gangbusters in 2022. How to find out if they’re right for you
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Even the most diversified portfolios took their lumps in 2022, but one corner of the market is ending the year with a bang: liquid alternative funds. Major winners in the liquid alts space include the AQR Managed Futures Strategy HV Fund (QMHIX) , which popped 36% in 2022. The Arrow Managed Futures Strategy Fund (MFTFX) jumped 21%, while the AGFiQ U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund (BTAL) leapt 18% this year. Other alternative funds aim to manage downside risk with options, but also provide an opportunity for appreciation. Consider how the Arrow Managed Futures Strategy Fund is up 21% in 2022, but was basically flat last year.

☆ Analysis: Private debt markets face reality check as companies grapple with rising rates, recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

An era of ultra-easy cash from central banks lured investors into private credit, attracted by juicy returns in the high-single to low-double-digits. The private debt market has expanded to $1.4 trillion, up from $250 billion in 2010, according to data provider Prequin, with funds including Ares, Blackstone (BX.N) and KKR (KKR.N) holding big positions. Corporate default risks are rising, making investors think twice about holding riskier private debt. A Private Credit Default Index by law firm Proskauer showed a default rate of 1.56% on U.S. dollar-denominated deals in the third quarter, the first notable increase over the past 18 months. "While the default rate is likely to go up, I wouldn't expect to see a significant spike in 2023," he added.

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia, Carvana, Delta, Walmart & more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Evercore ISI names Apple as a top pick in 2023 Evercore said it sees 2023 as a "moonshot" year for Apple. MKM names Walmart a top 2023 pick MKM said it sees further share gains for Walmart in 2023. " JPMorgan names Eli Lilly a top 2023 pick JPMorgan said Eli Lilly is "best-in-class." Canaccord names Yeti and Traeger top 2023 picks Canaccord says Yeti should hold up well in a recessionary environment. YETI Holdings (YETI : BUY, $58 PT): We believe the core YETI consumer should hold up relatively better in a recession as it skews a bit higher end.

☆ Bank of America says these stocks have the most 'potential upside' this holiday season
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Analysts at Bank of America named five stocks this week that they say every investor must own heading into 2023. CNBC Pro combed through Bank of America research looking for stocks with major upside potential. Netflix Shares of Netflix are down 46.8% this year, but analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich is standing by the streaming giant. Kroger Kroger shares have gained nearly 2.6% this year, but the stock has a lot more room to run, according to analyst Robert Ohmes. ... We rate Solo Brands' shares Buy as we believe its unique platform strategy should enable its high growth Leisure brands."

☆ Fintechs are opening up access to alternative investments previously reserved for sophisticated investors, but some VCs question if that's a good thing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But some don't think retail investors are ready for the level of risk in the asset class. Alternative investments, as the name suggests, is an asset outside of traditional investments like stocks, bonds, and cash. Investors choose from private-equity funds, venture capital, hedge funds, real estate, and art, among other areas. Such returns have attracted state pension funds, university endowments, and, most recently, individual investors from the ultra-high-net-worth to the Joe Schmoes. Companies like iCapital, Allocate, RealBlocks and CAIS (pronounced case) launched to help wealth-management firms usher their clients into sought-after private market funds.

☆ Access to alternative investments have never been easier, but some VCs don't think that's a good thing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Insider's Asia Martin spoke to some VCs who were skeptical about startups broadening access into these risky, illiquid assets. It's a common dilemma in fintech, as Asia pointed out to me, as access often takes precedence over education. Click here to read more about opening up access to alternatives and why some VCs are questioning it. From political donations to sports teams, this is everything the FTX founder spent money on. We asked top VCs to identify the best startups that help developers build apps for the cloud.

☆ AllianceBernstein's CEO leans into private assets and ETFs as active managers face the worst market in decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AB CEO Seth Bernstein spoke with Insider recently about the active asset manager's plans. Portfolio managers of active ETFs are actively overseeing a basket of securities, while typical passive ETFs track indices. Branded black water bottles promoting the new products read: "AB ETFs. Its first two ETFs are fixed income products — the AB Ultra Short Income ETF and the AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF. "We will continue to diversify the platform into private alts," Bernstein said during the Morgan Stanley conference in June.

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