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Buffett spoke hours after Berkshire posted a $35.5 billion quarterly profit and said it bought back $4.4 billion of its own stock, a sign it considered the shares undervalued. The meeting features Buffett, 92, who is Berkshire's chairman and chief executive, and Charlie Munger, 99, a vice chairman, answering five hours of shareholder questions. Many recognized it could be one of their last chances to see Buffett and Munger, given their advanced ages. Yongsheng Zhao, who lives in Shanghai and is a researcher for an asset management firm, said he showed up at midnight to attend his eighth Berkshire meeting. "I am inspired by their passion and normalcy," he said, referring to Buffett and Munger.

☆ Buffett says Apple is Berkshire portfolio's best business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OMAHA/NEW YORK May 6 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett said on Saturday that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) is a better business than any other in Berkshire Hathaway Inc's (BRKa.N) portfolio. "Apple is different than the other businesses we own. It just happens to be a better business," said Buffett during Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Berkshire has recently held a 5.6% stake in Apple, and Buffett said it could buy more. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Omaha, Nebraska and Carolina Mandl in New York; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

OMAHA, Nebraska, May 6 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday offered a vote of confidence in the United States, saying he could not imagine the government letting it default on its debt and risk letting the world's financial system "go into turmoil." Buffett, 92, who is Berkshire's chairman and chief executive, and Charlie Munger, 99, a vice chairman, are answering five hours of shareholder questions at the meeting. Many recognized it could be one of their last chances to see Buffett and Munger, given their advanced ages. Yongsheng Zhao, who lives in Shanghai and is a researcher for an asset management firm, said he showed up at midnight to attend his eighth Berkshire meeting. "I am inspired by their passion and normalcy," he said, referring to Buffett and Munger.

NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - The practice of short selling is coming under increased scrutiny as shares of regional banks remain under pressure, with some calls for more regulatory oversight of the practice. Short sellers, who borrow shares they expect to fall and hope to repay the loan for less later to pocket the difference, have profited from the banking crisis. During the financial crisis, short selling was temporarily banned in the U.S., although a New York Federal Reserve review later showed the curb did not achieve the intended effect. The SEC declined to comment on Thursday when asked if it should impose a short selling ban. While some market participants criticized the practice, others, like non-profit group Better Markets, said short sellers warned markets about the challenges regional banks were facing.

[1/2] David Hunt President and CEO, PGIM, speaks at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2023. As Wall Street money managers, banking executives and pension fund managers gathered at the Milken Institute Global Conference, the main topic over cocktails on Sunday night and in conference rooms the following morning was JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) purchase of First Republic Bank. Policymakers, executives and investors at the conference said constrained lending as a result of banking sector regulation could choke off credit to the economy. Nevertheless, betting against bank stocks has been a profitable endeavor this year, which has seen the high-profile failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, in addition to First Republic and a state-engineered rescue of Credit Suisse by the Swiss government. The KBW Regional Banking Index, which fell 2.7% on Monday, is down almost 23.6% year-to-date, while First Republic’s shares are off 97% since January.

Instead, fixed income, which was unpopular when rates were low, is back in favor and seeing strong capital flows into products like bond funds, said fund managers at the Milken Institute Global Conference this week. Attendees also discussed whether federal regulators should raise FDIC deposit insurance after First Republic Bank was seized and sold to JPMorgan, and how markets will react to even higher interest rates and potentially more market volatility. Others warned that companies will soon have to refinance their debt at higher rates, making them less attractive. Instead, thanks to higher interest rates, fixed income is once again playing a bigger role in portfolios. "The Fed has helped us put the income back in fixed income," said Anne Walsh, Chief Investment Officer for Guggenheim Partners Investment Management.

BEVERLY HILLS, May 2 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) CEO Charlie Scharf said on Tuesday the banking industry is "extremely strong" but added he expects more volatility as market participants assess the health of financial institutions. "Talking about regional banks as one - it just makes absolutely no sense," Scharf said at the Milken Institute Global Conference. "Unfortunately, there will be a lot of volatility and turmoil," he said, adding that "the majority of the banks that we look at are still extremely strong." He did not expect more bank failures comparable to the recent collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank. Lazard advised First Republic Bank (FRC.N) before it was seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan on Monday.

☆ How asset managers see the investment outlook at Milken
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Edwin Conway Global Head, BlackRock Alternatives, speaks at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mike BlakeBEVERLY HILLS, May 1 (Reuters) - Big money managers gathered at the Milken Institute Global Conference, in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday to discuss the environment for investments amid higher interest rates, sticky inflation, banking turmoil and geopolitical tension. KAREN KARNIOL-TAMBOUR, CO-CIO AT BRIDGEWATER ASSOCIATES"The problem is that when you get paradigm shifts that really change the nature of the market environment, it takes a long time for that to get fully digested by investors." So fixed income long-short hedge fund managers feel that there's going to be very interesting distressed opportunities in eight, ten, twelve months." Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Svea Herbst-Bayliss, in Beverly Hills; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ QUOTE BOX How asset managers see the investment outlook at Milken
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Edwin Conway Global Head, BlackRock Alternatives, speaks at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mike BlakeBEVERLY HILLS, May 1 (Reuters) - Big money managers gathered at the Milken Institute Global Conference, in Beverly Hills, California, on Monday to discuss the environment for investments amid higher interest rates, sticky inflation, banking turmoil and geopolitical tension. See below some of their comments:EDWIN CONWAY, GLOBAL HEAD OF BLACKROCK ALTERNATIVES:"This is a difficult environment to navigate. KAREN KARNIOL-TAMBOUR, CO-CEO AT BRIDGEWATER ASSOCIATES"The problem is that when you get paradigm shifts that really change the nature of the market environment, it takes a long time for that to get fully digested by investors." Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Svea Herbst-Bayliss, in Beverly Hills; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Citi's Fraser warns U.S. debt ceiling debate has serious consequences
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEVERLY HILLS, May 1 (Reuters) - Citigroup chief executive officer Jane Fraser said on Monday that debate about the debt ceiling in the United States had serious consequences even as the investing world breathes a sigh of relief that an ailing bank was rescued by a bigger competitor the same day. The debt ceiling turmoil is "more worrying" than previous events, Fraser said at the Milken Institute Global Conference. Facing uncertainty, Fraser stopped short of saying there is a world financial crisis but she said the stress will be there and will be targeted in certain sectors. She also said that she expected a lot of people to make a lot of money. Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Carolina Mandl; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The hedge funds said they can share ideas, but cannot reveal their trading positions for regulatory reasons. Reddy said he preferred senior unsecured bank debt, that allowed bondholders payment ahead of some other creditors in the event of an insolvency. Taking bearish positions on banks that lend to smaller and medium sized firms could prove opportunistic if the economy weakens, he added. Trend-wise the Japanese yen should continue to weaken," said Chua, noting that central banks in Asia have slowed or paused rate hikes. Insurers, which holds commercial mortgage-backed securities and property, will likely feel pressures on CRE, he said.

Things are calmer now, but seven traders who spoke to Reuters, some heading rates desks at big global banks, said March's mayhem continues to reverberate, with fears of further volatility in traditionally stable bond markets muting activity. Investors rely on government bond markets to translate central bank interest rates into a stable benchmark for borrowing costs, from corporate loans to household mortgages. Yield shifts in government bond markets have become bigger - occasionally hitting 20 bps a day - since central banks started ramping up rate hikes last year to tame surging inflation. For some, March's turmoil is the latest sign of how post-2008 regulations constraining dealer balance sheets are affecting bond market functioning. Others noted markets were leaving behind an era of low volatility for good as rates rise.

☆ Big investors dump China shares, add oil to portfolios -Goldman
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Big global money managers got rid of a high volume of Chinese equities in recent days, while adding U.S. energy shares to portfolios at a near-record pace, according to a Goldman Sachs report. Managers decided to sell Chinese equities amid heightened geopolitical tensions between the world's second largest economy and the United States. "As concerns heightened around geopolitics, Chinese equities were net sold for the first time in a month, driven by risk unwinds with long sales outpacing short covers," Goldman Sachs said, adding investors had sold both offshore and onshore shares. Goldman Sachs compiled data from its clients, which include hedge funds and other big money managers, for the period between April 7 and April 13. While selling China, hedge funds net bought U.S. energy shares at the fastest pace in three months, Goldman Sachs said.

☆ Hedge funds bought financial stocks amid banking turmoil, says S&P
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Hedge funds increased their exposure to stocks in the financial sector amid the banking turmoil in March, as they saw a buying opportunity at lower prices, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a note on Thursday. Hedge funds raised their exposure to financials more than any other sector, according to S&P, which tracks assets listed in the U.S.. Hedge funds added $13.5 billion in stocks in all sectors in March. Hedge funds' positioning in the banking sector came in a month when U.S. banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed, followed by Credit Suisse's rescue. Overall, the financials sector has not recovered from the losses.

Firms that concentrate on stocks, however, rode a late month market rally to small gains, according to investors and industry data. Many hedge funds are still compiling March and first quarter numbers, but preliminary reports from research firm Hedge Fund Research showed the average hedge fund was off 1% last month and ended the quarter flat. The macro hedge fund is down nearly 9.5% year-to-date through March, the source added. The Balyasny Atlas Enhanced fund gained 0.8% in March and is up 1% for the year. A Goldman Sachs report, based on returns posted by the bank's prime brokerage's clients, showed fundamental long/short funds gained 1.04% in March.

Macro and trend-following hedge funds dropped 3.2% this month through March 29, while algorithmic commodity trading advisor funds (CTAs) dove 6.8%. Hedge fund strategies based around macroeconomic ideas like those run by Rokos, DG Parters and EDL Capital fund posted negative performances in March, sources and bank data said. Trend-following hedge funds, which trade on systematically programmed ideas, also posted big losses. The bank decided not to change clients' borrowing limits, but it has increased diligence oversight on the hedge fund exposure, including new clients, the broker said. Trend-following funds tend to bail quickly on trades that stop working, said a pension fund director who invests in hedge funds.

☆ Hedge funds flee banks, lending-related stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Global hedge funds cut their exposure to U.S. banking stocks to a near 10-year record low and fled lending-sensitive shares amid the banking turmoil that began earlier this month, Goldman Sachs said in its prime services weekly report. An indicator of how bearish or bullish hedge funds are positioned showed that investors became more pessimistic. Their long positions in banking divided by short positions ended the period March 17-23 at 1.28, near 10-year lows. Despite their bearish views of financials, hedge funds scooped up stocks in healthcare and technology, media and telecom. Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hedge fund Rokos cuts risk after losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - London-based hedge fund Rokos Capital Management told investors in a letter on Saturday that it has decided to de-risk, following double-digit losses this month. "We have de-risked following this month's market price action," the hedge fund said in the letter which was seen by Reuters. Rokos lost 15.3% this month through March 17 and has lost 9.8% so far this year. On Friday, the Financial Times reported that SEC Chair Gary Gensler brought up Rokos in calls with UK regulators, following its losses. The hedge fund told investors it continues to have normal interactions with regulators and that they have not expressed any concern specific to the firm.

It will change the landscape of banking in Switzerland, where branches of Credit Suisse and UBS are dotted everywhere, sometimes just metres apart. The Credit Suisse rescue, orchestrated with public money, shows banks' continued vulnerability and how their problems can quickly rebound on their home country. But it also removes a competitor to Wall Street, with UBS planning to pare back much of Credit Suisse’s investment bank. During the great financial crash, it was UBS and not Credit Suisse that needed state support. UBS earned $7.6 billion in profit in 2022, while Credit Suisse lost $7.9 billion.

One hedge fund manager described trades in the financial sector as being "all over the map", with nobody agreeing on anything. Some breathed a sigh of relief that a competitor stepped in with a rescue offer for Credit Suisse. Others worried that the $3.2 billion UBS will pay is far less than the $9.5 billion Credit Suisse was valued at on Friday, and one investor said the market may not consider this to be a positive. loadingLater, short seller Jim Chanos tweeted his shock that $17 billion of Credit Suisse bonds would be wiped out, asking "What are the Swiss doing here…?!" There was also little agreement on how investors would be positioning themselves in smaller U.S. banks, including First Republic.

[1/2] Logos of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen in Zurich, Switzerland March 19, 2023. UBS will buy rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) and agreed to assume up to $5.4 billion in losses as it winds down the smaller peer's investment bank after a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities. The U.S., UK and Swiss central banks are all scheduled to meet in the week ahead. Even after Sunday's news on Credit Suisse, optimism from analysts was laced with caution and some scepticism. Others drew attention to the losses likely to be suffered by Credit Suisse junior bondholders.

[1/2] Logos of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen in Zurich, Switzerland March 19, 2023. UBS will buy rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) and agreed to assume up to $5.4 billion in losses as it winds down the smaller peer's investment bank after a shotgun merger engineered by Swiss authorities. The failure of two U.S. banks and a rout in Credit Suisse shares have sent shock waves through markets over the past week, reviving memories of the 2008 financial crisis. The U.S., UK and Swiss central banks are all scheduled to meet in the week ahead. Others drew attention to the losses likely to be suffered by Credit Suisse junior bondholders.

Commodity trading advisers (CTAs) - funds that try to profit by buying or selling when there is a clear direction in markets - slumped 4.3% in the three days to Monday, according to analysis from UBS. "We have seen certainly on (last) Friday and Monday capitulation trades from hedge funds, so all hedge funds have been short duration positioned and we have heard a lot of desks needed to shut down their risk," said Kaspar Hense, a senior portfolio manager at BlueBay Asset Management. Hedge funds felt this "brutally" in Japanese markets, Hense said, where positioning from hedge funds and CTAs had been particularly "one sided" in anticipation of an end to the Bank of Japan's yield curve control policy. British macro hedge fund manager Crispin Odey's main fund posted a minus 4.7% February performance and is down 3% so far this year, said a note from his hedge fund to clients. Very few macro economic funds tracked by bank research seen by Reuters have reported March numbers.

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Hedge funds are watching growing U.S.-Chinese geopolitical tensions and have spotted ways to trade them. Taking a short position on investment grade bonds would make up for losses on long positions elsewhere, he said. If tensions were resolved, being caught with a negative view on Chinese stocks would not be beneficial, and therefore she would not short Chinese AI firms but invest in U.S. ones instead. "The most sensitive commodity to a break down in trade between China and Russia and the West is graphite," he added. "Supply chains are already shifting to Penang, and they are receiving investment from both China and the U.S.

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