Howard Marks’ Words in 2016

By Hedge Fund Insight staff   Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Group, is a closely followed as a commentator on investment matters.  Here is a small selection of his comments and prognostications from this year.   “Experience is what you got when you didn’t get what you wanted.” “I view alternative investing as like […] Read more »

A Buyers’ Market in Energy M&A?

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From Merrill Corporation/DataSite.com   Introduction The oil and gas sector has been a significant contributor to global M&A activity in 2015, despite a more than 60 percent decline in crude oil prices. Both strategic and financial buyers have been active in pursuing mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Oil and gas was the third most active sector […] Read more »

Default Rates Rising in US Leveraged Loans & High Yield

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From Fitch Ratings, with additional content from Hedge Fund Insight staff   A total of $2 billion of loan defaults in November led by Millennium Health LLC pushes the trailing 12-month (TTM) default rate to 1.7% from 1.5% at the end of October, according to Fitch Ratings. Millennium’s $1.8 billion Chapter 11 filing on Nov. […] Read more »

Visium On Activism

A Q&A With Frank Gallagher and Peter Drippé, Portfolio Managers at Visium Funds     Q1: How important is shareholder activism as a key driver of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2015? We believe that shareholder activism activity will continue to grow in 2015. Recently we have seen more and significantly larger companies targeted […] Read more »

Top Alternative Investment Trends for 2015

By David Frank, CEO & Managing Partner, Stonehaven, LLC   Over Stonehaven’s 14 year history we have witnessed and played a role in many shifting dynamics across the alternative investment industry. We are well-positioned in the marketplace to see trends with a 26 person platform representing over 20 asset managers to the global investment community. […] Read more »

Energy Activism The Focus Of Vinson & Elkins

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From Activist Insight An Interview With Kai Liekefett and Stephen Gill of Vinson & Elkins   Have you noticed an upsurge in activism in the energy industry recently? Kai Liekefett: Up until 2012, activists weren’t really focused on this sector. But in the last three years, there were more than 30 reported activism campaigns in […] Read more »