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US short-seller <keyword id="20016892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindenburg-Research" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Hindenburg Research" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Hindenburg Research">Hindenburg Research</keyword> alleged that it suspects <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Sebi" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Sebi">SEBI</keyword>'s unwillingness to act against <keyword id="19955648" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Adani Group" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Adani Group">Adani group</keyword> may be because its head Madhabi Puri Buch had stakes in <keyword id="20311680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="offshore-funds" source="keywords">offshore funds</keyword> linked to the conglomerate - an allegation slammed by the SEBI head as "baseless" while Adani group said it never had any commercial relations with Buch. Hindenburg alleged that Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in obscure offshore funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by <keyword id="20283220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vinod-Adani" source="keywords">Vinod Adani</keyword> - the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani - to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices. SEBI, in October 2020, began a probe into the shareholding structure of Adani group companies after red flags were raised over the high concentration of foreign holdings in the conglomerate's listed companies. An investigation was launched to determine if the foreign investors were genuine public shareholders or acting as fronts for the promoters. SEBI, last year had told a Supreme Court-appointed panel that it was investigating 13 opaque offshore entities that held between 14-20% across five publicly traded stocks of the conglomerate. It hasn't stated if the two probes have since been completed, something which Hindenburg used to attack the market regulator. Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch in a joint statement strongly denied the "baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report". The same, they said, "are devoid of any truth". "Our life and finances are an open book," they said. "It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an enforcement action and issued a show cause notice, has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same." Buchs further said they have no hesitation in disclosing any financial documents, including those that relate to the period when we were strictly private citizens, to any and every authority that may seek them. While the statement did not talk about the questions Hindenburg raised over SEBI probe, the duo promised to come out with a detailed response. Separately, Adani group in a regulatory filing called the allegations by Hindenburg as "malicious, mischievous and manipulative selections of publicly available information to arrive at predetermined conclusions for personal profiteering with wanton disregard for facts and the law." "The Adani Group has absolutely no commercial relationship with the individuals or matters mentioned in this calculated deliberate effort to malign our standing," it said. "We remain steadfastly committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements". Rejecting the allegations, it said they were nothing but a "recycling of discredited claims that have been thoroughly investigated, proven to be baseless, and already dismissed by the Supreme Court in March 2023." "It is reiterated that our overseas holding structure is fully transparent, with all relevant details disclosed regularly in numerous public documents," Adani group said, adding Anil Ahuja was a nominee director of 3i investment fund in Adani Power (2007-2008) and, later, a director of Adani Enterprises until 2017. "For a discredited short-seller under the scanner for several violations of Indian securities laws, Hindenburg's allegations are no more than red herrings thrown by a desperate entity with total contempt for Indian laws," it added. Hindenburg on Saturday stated that the SEBI chairperson and her husband invested in offshore entities that were allegedly part of a fund structure managed by India Infoline, and in which Vinod Adani also had investments. These investments reportedly date back to 2015, well before her appointment as a full-time member of SEBI in 2017 and the subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022. It said the Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund, which allegedly was used by entities connected to Adani Group to trade in shares of group companies, had sub-funds. Buch and her husband were investors in one of these sub-funds in 2015. Citing "whistleblower documents", Hindenburg said, "<keyword id="22743118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Madhabi-Buch" source="keywords">Madhabi Buch</keyword>, the current chairperson of SEBI, and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani <keyword id="22743230" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="money-siphoning" source="keywords">money siphoning</keyword> scandal." SEBI, it claimed, has "shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani's alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities." Buch and her husband may have first opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5, 2015, in Singapore. IPE fund is a small offshore Mauritius fund set up by Vinod Adani director through India Infoline (IIFL), a wealth management firm with ties to the Wirecard embezzlement scandal. "Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani, used this structure to invest in Indian markets with funds allegedly siphoned from over-invoicing of power equipment to Adani Group," claimed Hindenburg. Latching on to the Hindenburg allegations, Congress said the revelations only reinforced its demand for setting up a "joint parliamentary committee to investigate the full scope of the Adani mega scam" while the Trinamool Congress said the SEBI chairperson must resign. "This raises fresh questions about Gautam Adani's two 2022 meetings in quick succession with Ms Buch shortly after she became SEBI chairperson. Recall that SEBI was supposedly investigating Adani transactions at the time," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said. In January last year, Hindenburg Research, which in the past has shorted - or bet against - companies like electric truck maker Nikola Corp and Twitter, accused Adani Group of pulling "the largest con in corporate history" by using a web of companies in tax havens to inflate its revenue and manipulate stock prices, even as debt piled up. Though the conglomerate vehemently denied all allegations, the damning report sent the group's shares into a free fall, wiping out over USD 150 billion in market value of the 10 listed entities at their lowest point. Most of the 10 listed companies have since recouped the losses. After the Hindenburg report, the Supreme Court asked market regulator SEBI to complete its investigation and set up a separate expert panel to look into regulatory lapses. The panel did not give any adverse report on Adani and the apex court too stated that no other probe other than one being done by SEBI was required. On June 26 this year, SEBI in a show cause notice charged Hindenburg of "deliberately sensationalizing and distorting certain facts" as well as working with a New York hedge fund to make its bet. Hindenburg had responded to that saying it made just USD 4.1 million from its declared positions on Adani stocks and criticized the regulator for not focusing its investigation into the January 2023 report "providing evidence" of the conglomerate creating "a vast network of offshore shell entities" and moving billions of dollars "surreptitiously" into and out of Adani public and private entities. The group led by billionaire Gautam Adani, who was the world's third-richest man before Hindenburg, in an epic comeback strategy raised USD 15 billion in equity and debt, sold some assets, repaid loans that were raised pledging shares, reined in expenses, repaid some debt and refocused energies on core business. Adani is now ranked 12th richest in the world, one notch and USD 6 billion shy of rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The group has also made some acquisitions, buying cement company Sanghi Industries and the news agency IANS. Adani has insisted the Hindenburg report has not changed operations at his companies, which include ports, airports, renewable parks generating electricity from sunlight and wind energy, gas distribution, cement processors, data centers, and even apple farms. 360 One Wam Ltd, formerly known as IIFL Wealth Management Ltd, separately said IPE-Plus Fund 1, a fully compliant and regulated fund, was launched in October 2013 and operated until October 2019. "Throughout the fund's tenure, IPE-Plus Fund 1 made zero investments in any shares of the Adani Group either directly or indirectly through any fund," it said. "At its peak, the fund's Assets Under Management (AUM) reached approximately USD 48 million, with over 90% of the fund consistently invested in bonds." The fund, it said, was managed as a discretionary fund by the Investment Manager. "No investor had any involvement in the fund's operations or investment decisions. Mrs. Madhabi Buch &amp; Mr. Dhaval Buch's holdings in the fund were less than 1.5% of the total inflow into the fund." Hindenburg on Saturday alleged that just weeks before Buch's appointment to SEBI, her husband requested the transfer of their investments into his sole control, potentially to avoid any scrutiny related to her new regulatory role. The couple's investments were reportedly funneled through a complex, multi-layered offshore structure, raising questions about their legitimacy and purpose. On March 22, 2017, just weeks ahead of Buch's appointment as SEBI Wholetime Member, her husband, Dhaval Buch, wrote to Mauritius fund administrator Trident Trust. That communication was regarding his and his wife's investment in the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund (GDOF), the US firm alleged. "In the letter, Dhaval Buch requested to"be the sole person authorized to operate the accounts", seemingly moving the assets out of his wife's name ahead of the politically sensitive appointment," Hindenburg alleged. Dhaval Buch is currently a senior advisor at Blackstone and at Alvarez &amp; Marsal. He also serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Gildan. "In a later account statement dated February 26, 2018, addressed to Madhabi Buch's private email, the full details of the structure are revealed: "GDOF Cell 90 (IPEplus Fund 1)". Again, this is the same Mauritius-registered "cell" of the fund, found several layers deep in a convoluted structure, reportedly used by Vinod Adani," Hindenburg alleged. From April 2017 to March 2022, while Buch was a Wholetime member and Chairperson at SEBI, she had a 100 % interest in an offshore Singaporean consulting firm, called Agora Partners, it alleged adding On March 16, 2022, two weeks after she was appointed SEBI Chairperson, she quietly transferred the shares to her husband. To date, SEBI has taken no action against these funds, it claimed. "If SEBI wanted to find the offshore fund holders, perhaps the SEBI Chairperson could have started by looking in the mirror," Hindenburg said. In response to requests from the Supreme Court to investigate the Adani matter, SEBI is said to have hit a wall unveiling the holders of the offshore funds. The Supreme Court said that while SEBI seemingly agreed with its concerns over who funded Adani's offshore shareholders, "it is evident that SEBI has drawn a blank in this investigation", the firm alleged.

Hindenburg target SEBI chief, she calls charges baseless, Adani says no commercial relationship with SEBI head

US short-seller <keyword id="20016892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindenburg-Research" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Hindenburg Research" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Hindenburg Research">Hindenburg Research</keyword> has alleged that it suspects <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sebi" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Sebi" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Sebi">SEBI</keyword>'s unwillingness to act against <keyword id="19955648" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Adani Group" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Adani Group">Adani Group</keyword> may be because of its head Madhabi Puri Buch had stakes in <keyword id="20311680" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="offshore-funds" source="keywords">offshore funds</keyword> linked to the conglomerate - an allegation that the SEBI head called "baseless" and an attempt of "character assassination". Hindenburg alleged that Buch and her husband had undisclosed investments in <keyword id="22746661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="obscure-offshore" source="keywords">obscure offshore</keyword> funds in Bermuda and Mauritius, the same entities allegedly used by <keyword id="20283220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vinod-Adani" source="keywords">Vinod Adani</keyword> - the elder brother of group chairman Gautam Adani - to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices. SEBI in October 2020 began a probe into the shareholding structure of Adani Group companies after red flags were raised over high concentration of foreign holdings in the conglomerate's listed companies. Investigation was launched to determine if the foreign investors are genuine public shareholders or acting as fronts for the promoters. SEBI last year had told a Supreme Court-appointed panel that it was investigating 13 opaque offshore entities that held between 14 per cent and 20 per cent across five publicly traded stocks of the conglomerate. It hasn't stated if the two incomplete probes have since been completed, something which Hindenburg used to attack the market regulator. Madhabi and her husband Dhaval Buch in a joint statement strongly denied the "baseless allegations and insinuations made in the report". The same, they said, "are devoid of any truth". "Our life and finances are an open book," they said. "It is unfortunate that Hindenburg Research against whom SEBI has taken an enforcement action and issued a show cause notice has chosen to attempt character assassination in response to the same." While the statement did not talk on the questions Hindenburg raised over SEBI probe, the duo promised to come out with a detailed response. Hindenburg on Saturday stated that the Madhabi and her husband invested in offshore entities that were allegedly part of a fund structure managed by India Infoline and in which Vinod Adani also had investments. These investments reportedly date back to 2015, well before her appointment as a whole-time member of SEBI in 2017 and the subsequent elevation as chairperson in March 2022. It said Bermuda-based Global Opportunities Fund, which allegedly was used by entities connected to Adani Group to trade in shares of group companies, had sub-funds. Buch and her husband were investors in one of these sub-funds in 2015. Citing "whistleblower documents", Hindenburg said, "<keyword id="22743118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Madhabi-Buch" source="keywords">Madhabi Buch</keyword>, the current chairperson of SEBI, and her husband had stakes in both obscure offshore funds used in the Adani <keyword id="22743230" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="money-siphoning" source="keywords">money siphoning</keyword> scandal." SEBI, it claimed, has "shown a surprising lack of interest in Adani's alleged undisclosed web of Mauritius and offshore shell entities." The Buchs may have first opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5, 2015 in Singapore. IPE fund is a small offshore Mauritius fund set up by Vinod Adani through India Infoline (IIFL), a wealth management firm with ties to the Wirecard embezzlement scandal. "Vinod...used this structure to invest in Indian markets with funds allegedly siphoned from over invoicing of power equipment to Adani Group," claimed Hindenburg. Latching on to the Hindenburg allegations, Congress said the revelations only reinforced its demand for setting up a "joint parliamentary committee to investigate the full scope of the Adani mega scam" while the Trinamool Congress said the SEBI chairperson must resign. In January last year, Hindenburg accused Adani Group of pulling "the largest con in corporate history" by using a web of companies in tax havens to inflate its revenue and manipulate stock prices, even as debt piled up. After the Hindenburg report, the SC asked SEBI to complete its investigation and set up a separate expert panel to look into regulatory lapses. The panel did not give any adverse report on Adani and the apex court too stated that no other probe other than one being done by SEBI was required. On June 26 this year, SEBI in a show cause notice charged Hindenburg of "deliberately sensationalising and distorting certain facts" as well as working with a New York hedge fund to make its bet. Hindenburg had responded to that saying it made just USD 4.1 million from its declared positions on Adani stocks and criticised the regulator for not focusing its investigation into the January 2023 report "providing evidence" of the group creating "a vast network of offshore shell entities" and moving billions of dollars "surreptitiously" into and out of Adani public and private entities. Gautam Adani, who was the world's third-richest man before Hindenburg, in an epic comeback strategy raised USD 15 billion in equity and debt, sold some assets, repaid loans that was raised pledging shares, reined in expenses and refocused energies on core business. Adani is now ranked 12th richest in the world. The group has also made some acquisitions, buying cement company Sanghi Industries and the news agency IANS. Hindenburg on Saturday alleged that just weeks before Buch's appointment to SEBI, her husband requested the transfer of their investments into his sole control, potentially to avoid any scrutiny related to her new regulatory role. The couple's investments were reportedly funnelled through a complex, multi-layered offshore structure, raising questions about their legitimacy and purpose. On March 22, 2017, just weeks ahead of Buch's appointment as SEBI whole-time member, Dhaval wrote to Mauritius fund administrator Trident Trust. That communication was regarding his and his wife's investment in the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund (GDOF), the US firm alleged. "In the letter, Dhaval requested to "be the sole person authorised to operate the Accounts", seemingly moving the assets out of his wife's name ahead of the politically sensitive appointment," Hindenburg alleged. Dhaval is a senior advisor at Blackstone and at Alvarez &amp; Marsal. He also serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Gildan.

After Adani, Hindenburg targets SEBI chief, she calls allegations baseless, character assassination

US-based firm <keyword id="20016892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindenburg-Research" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Hindenburg Research" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Hindenburg Research">Hindenburg Research</keyword> on August 10 alleged that SEBI's Chairperson <keyword id="22743118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="madhabi-buch" source="keywords">Madhabi Buch</keyword> and her husband had a stake in "both the obscure offshore entities used in the Admoney siphoning scandal." After putting out a teaser this morning, hinting at a significant disclosure involving India, Hindenburg by the end of the day published a new report that stated, "We had previously noted Adani's total confidence in continuing to operate without the risk of serious regulatory intervention, suggesting that this may be explained through Adani's relationship with <keyword id="20914154" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="SEBI-Chairperson" source="keywords">SEBI Chairperson</keyword>, Madhabi Buch." "What we hadn't realized: the current SEBI Chairperson and her husband, Dhaval Buch, had hidden stakes in the exact same obscure offshore Bermuda and Mauritius funds, found in the same complex nested structure, used by Vinod Adani," the report by the US hedge firm said. The link to the entire report was posted on the 'X' account of Hindenburg Research. "New from us," read the tweet adding "<keyword id="22746637" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="whistleblower-documents" source="keywords">Whistleblower Documents</keyword> Reveal SEBI's Chairperson Had Stake In Obscure Offshore Entities Used In Adani <keyword id="22743230" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="money-siphoning" source="keywords">Money Siphoning</keyword> Scandal" Hindenburg Research said it has made the new allegations based on documents provided by a whistleblower and investigations carried out by other entities. "Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch first appear to have opened their account with IPE Plus Fund 1 on June 5, 2015, in Singapore, per whistleblower documents. A declaration of funds, signed by a principal at IIFL states that the source of the investment is "salary" and the couple's net worth is estimated at USD 10 million," the report stated. In January 2023, Hindenburg published a report accusing the Adani Group of <keyword id="20054376" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-irregularities" source="keywords">financial irregularities</keyword>, leading to a significant drop in the company's stock price. The group at the time had rubbished these claims. The Hindenburg report alleged <keyword id="20055139" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="stock-manipulation" source="keywords">stock manipulation</keyword> and fraud by the conglomerate. The case is related to the allegations (part of a report by Hindenburg Research) that Adani had inflated its share prices. After these allegations were published, there was a sharp fall in the shares of various Adani group companies stocks, reportedly to the tune of over USD 100 billion. The US short seller's 2023 January report was published two days before a USD 2.5 billion follow-up public offering was issued by Adani Enterprises. The Adani group has repeatedly denied all the accusations in the Hindenburg Research report.

Hindenburg alleges SEBI Chairperson, her husband had hidden stakes in obscure offshore funds with links to Adani scandal

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The University of California, Berkeley, is the top producer of alumni starting tech companies.</li><li>Founded by Jeremy Fiance, The House Fund targets Berkeley-affiliated startups like Databricks.</li></ul>In the last year, tech investors have plowed tens of millions of dollars into Perplexity, the developer of a search engine built from scratch with artificial intelligence. The two-year-old startup <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/perplexity-raising-new-funding-generative-ai-2024">takes in cash like oxygen,</a> having raised <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-rapid-funding-rounds-2024-9">back-to-back funding rounds</a> just months apart, and is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-startup-perplexity-in-funding-talks-to-more-than-double-valuation-to-8-billion-54d36787">said to be in talks</a> to raise a fourth round that would value the startup at $8 billion.Landing a spot on Perplexity's cap table is fiercely competitive, making it all the more noteworthy that The House Fund, a bespoke venture capital firm born from the University of California, Berkeley's ecosystem, secured a place.In 2016, tech investor Jeremy Fiance set up a venture capital firm at his alma mater to invest in startups with ties to top-tier public schools. From an office across from the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, investors at The House Fund scour their networks for students, faculty, and alumni working to build the next Perplexity, whose CEO Aravind Srinivas is a Berkeley alum, or Databricks, one of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/databricks-acquires-startup-lilac-ai-to-beef-up-its-llm-offerings-2024-3">world's most important data science firms</a> with a private valuation of $43 billion, started by a group of seven Berkeley researchers. The House Fund has backed both."There are only so many companies that matter every year, full stop, in venture," said Zachary Hargreaves, a managing partner at The House Fund. Each year, more firms are "birthed out of Berkeley."<div type="image" title="Two men looking relaxed smile for a photo against a black backdrop." height="2250" width="3000" msid="114433088" hostid="261" sizebytes="116306"></div>In early 2020, Hargreaves <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/30-rising-venture-capitalist-investors-silicon-valley-tech-2018-4">left Founders Fund</a>, where he worked closely with startups like SpaceX and Stemcentrx, to run his own playbook as an advisor and angel investor. During this period, an old classmate from Berkeley, Fiance, started asking his advice about which companies in the portfolio he should reinvest in."I was learning more and more about what The House Fund is from the outside in," Hargreaves said. "It feels very small but then from the inside out, it's actually very big in terms of the opportunity set."In the two years since Hargreaves went full-time, The House Fund has deployed over $125 million into companies. His move from Founders Fund to The House Fund hasn't been previously reported.Investors pay much attention to Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for their conveyor belts of entrepreneurial talent. Neither have spawned quite as many startup founders in the last decade at Berkeley. According to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pitchbook-university-rankings">PitchBook data</a>, Berkeley has the highest tally of alumni entrepreneurs who have raised venture capital of any public or private school worldwide.Hargreaves predicts that the group will grow as the use of artificial intelligence makes it cheaper and faster for students and alumni to spin up new businesses. "You can actually be three kids in a garage and launch pretty fierce products," he said.With Hargreaves on board, Fiance hopes to invest later in companies it previously backed. His hiring gives the firm the resources and knowledge to help founders shape their businesses into the next generation of Berkeley-born unicorns, as well as diligence them for potential follow-on financing. The House Fund said it can write checks up to $10 million.The House Fund has raised over $330 million from backers, including the Berkeley Endowment Management Company, UC Investments (the office that manages the working capital, retirement savings, and endowment funds for the University of California system), and Ahoy Capital, a boutique fund manager.Hargreaves put the firm's value add this way: "If we are on your cap table, we are a shortcut to anything Berkeley."

These tech investors are trawling UC Berkeley to fund the next Perplexity or Databricks

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Starboard Value has taken a $1 billion stake in drugmaker Pfizer.</li><li>The hedge fund, headed by Jeff Smith, has become one of the most feared activist investors.</li></ul>Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer got a wake up call Sunday evening when one of Wall Street's most feared activist investors revealed a stake in the company.Starboard Value <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starboard-activist-significant-stake-in-drugmaker-pfizer-2024-10">informed the drugmaker</a> it had taken a position in the firm valued at $1 billion.An activist's aims, whether that's pushing for breakup, M&amp;A, or cost reductions, vary depending on the target. Starboard's turnaround strategy is not yet clear, but Pfizer's share price and revenues have tumbled from the record highs achieved during the pandemic's heights, and Starboard, led by its 52-year-old cofounder Jeff Smith, has a long history of wielding minority stakes to extract board seats and profits from name-brand companies.Over the past decade, Smith has more than doubled the hedge fund's assets under management to $8.5 billion by taking on targets including Salesforce, Starbucks, and the owner of Olive Garden. In that time Starboard has gained a reputation for making life uncomfortable for — and sometimes jettisoning — executives and directors who resist his overtures for change.Pfizer, with a market cap north of $160 billion, is among the largest companies Starboard's Smith has ever targeted. Still, investors seemed to applaud news of its investments on Monday, sending Pfizer's stock up about 3% in morning trading, adding nearly $5 billion to the company's market cap.Moreover, Starboard has reportedly secured support from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/activist-starboard-value-takes-1-billion-stake-in-pfizer-89591cb6?mod=hp_lead_pos4">former Pfizer executives</a> Ian Read and Frank D'Amelio for its campaign.Starboard has experience across the spectrum but is especially good at instilling discipline at the board level and "improving margins and cutting costs at companies that are bloated," said Ken Squire, the founder and president of 13D Monitor, a research firm specializing in shareholder activism.Starboard declined to comment.<h2 id="44e54273-f674-45fa-9c95-4d5153293525">Who is Jeff Smith?</h2>Investor activism has exploded in recent years. The 147 new campaigns globally in the first half of 2024 is a record, building on the all-time high 252 campaigns reached in 2023, according to a July report from investment bank Lazard.Starboard has become one of the most formidable names in the business, even if Smith hasn't yet reached the name recognition of activist investors like Paul Singer (Elliott Management), Carl Icahn (Icahn Enterprises), and Dan Loeb (Third Point Capital).Smith launched Starboard in 2011, spinning it out of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cowen.com/news/ramius-announces-spin-off-of-value-and-opportunity-business/">small unit at Cowen Group</a> along with a couple of partners, including Peter Feld. Early targets included AOL, where Starboard lost a proxy battle but agitated for changes that boosted the company's stock by 250%, and Office Depot, where Starboard won three board seats, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://fortune.com/2014/12/03/starboard-capitals-jeff-smith-activist-investor-darden-restaurants/">a 2014 story in Fortune</a>.Starboard put corporate America on notice with its campaign in 2013 against Darden Restaurants, the owner of Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, among other dining chains. With less than a 10% stake Smith replaced the entire 12-person board and assumed the role of chairman. By the time Smith stepped down in 2016, Darden <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/activists-reap-olive-garden-bounty-1459902161">stock had gained nearly 50%</a> and Starboard had accrued more than $500 million in profits.One of the hedge fund's greatest claims to fame involved its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/activists-reap-olive-garden-bounty-1459902161">improvements to Olive Garden's breadsticks</a>, which Starboard predicted could save the company up to $5 million a year, according to a Wall Street Journal report from 2015.In 2022, Starboard took a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-profit-margins-starboard-value-turnaround-2023-8">stake in software giant Salesforce</a>, urging the company to cut costs and improve margins. The company's shares have nearly doubled in the two years since.<div type="image" title="Photo of Marc Benioff of Salesforce speaking on stage." height="1333" width="2000" msid="114027436" hostid="261" sizebytes="41886"></div>Starboard's record isn't without blemishes. Its campaign against meat <a target="_blank" href="https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/a-primer-on-starboard-the-activist-that-pushed-for-a-staples-office-depot-merger/">processor Smithfield Foods</a> in 2013 fizzled. The hedge fund <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/09/box-wins-proxy-board-battle-with-activist-">lost a proxy battle</a> with software maker Box in 2021. And in 2019 it dropped a bid to have Bristol-Myers Squibb scrap its merger with Celgene after failing to win over <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/29/starboard-drops-out-of-celgene-fight-as-proxy-firms-back-bristol-myers-bid.html">two major proxy advisory firms</a>.In total, Starboard has initiated 151 activist campaigns, which have generated an average return of 25%, according to data from 13D Monitor.<h2 id="fc0d4b73-d1a3-4a74-a386-7908a74761a7">Ignore at your peril</h2>More recently, the hedge fund has taken positions in dating app owner Match Group, software company Autodesk, and Starbucks.Squire said Smith has a reputation as intense but intelligent and candid. Starboard "can be friendly, but if they're ignored they can also be feared — and they can get tough."In August, Starbucks replaced its CEO amid a campaign from Starboard and Elliott Management.Given Smith's record of winning corporate concessions — or prying them away by force — Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla may be next in the hot seat. Bourla took over in 2019 and guided the drugmaker through the pandemic, boosting annual revenues to $100 billion in 2022 thanks to sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.But missteps ensued. Pfizer misjudged future demand for COVID remedies, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/pfizer-drug-company-cost-cutting-2da7524d?mod=article_inline">according to a WSJ report</a>, and revenues cratered. It has since undertaken multibillion-dollar cost cutting campaigns.For its next act, Pfizer executives wagered heavily on cancer treatments. It shelled out $43 billion last year to acquire Seagen, a Washington-based biotech company focused on developing novel cancer medicines. It expects Seagen's products to yield $3.1 billion in revenue this year and $10 billion in annual revenues by 2030.Still, its share price has fallen more than 50% since reaching an all-time high in December 2021.Starboard's targets cut across industries, including 23 campaigns in the healthcare sector, according to 13D Monitor. Besides Bristol-Myers Squibb, other prior targets include CVS and medical records and technology company Cerner.Pfizer did not respond to a request for comment. <h4 id="cbcdd8ad-013b-426e-8431-6c2b54c6859d">Greatest hits</h4><ul><li>2012: Starboard is credited with spurring AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to sell assets, including the sale of 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.1 billion.</li><li>2013: Starboard secured three seats on the board of Office Depot, which later agreed to merge with Staples before the Federal Trade Commission blocked the merger, citing antitrust reasons.</li><li>2014: Starboard replaced the entire board of Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden. By 2015, Starboard was widely credited with turning Darden Restaurants around in part by rethinking how Olive Garden served its iconic breadsticks.</li><li>2019: Jeff Smith is named chairman of the board of pizza chain Papa John's. He immediately expanded the board by bringing in two new independent directors.</li><li>2022: Starboard urged software giant Salesforce to cut costs and improve its margins. The stock has nearly doubled since Starboard acquired a stake.</li><li>2024: After facing pressure from Elliott Management and Starboard, Starbucks replaced its CEO.</li></ul>

Meet Jeff Smith, the hedge-fund investor taking on Pfizer

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A senior Two Sigma quant researcher is leaving for Cubist.</li><li>Kan Huang co-led a key machine-learning unit known as techniques forecasting.</li></ul>A senior leader in one of Two Sigma's key research units is leaving the firm for quant rival Cubist Systematic Strategies, according to people familiar with the matter.Kan Huang, a quant researcher at the firm since 2011 and an MD since 2018, has resigned from Two Sigma and is expected to join Cubist, the quant arm of Steve Cohen's hedge fund Point72, according to four people familiar with the matter, who were granted anonymity to discuss private information.Huang is a leader of a Two Sigma unit that develops machine-learning models and other advanced strategies from various data sources and trading signals. Referred to as "techniques forecasting" or simply "techniques," the group is one of a number of teams employing machine-learning methods at the hedge fund, but it is among the longest-running and most profitable at the firm, according three people familiar with the group.Huang's offer to join Cubist was in the range of $30 million, according to people with knowledge of the move, though such deals are typically nuanced, spanning several years and accounting for variables including deferred compensation and bonus incentives. A spokesperson for Cubist declined to comment. Huang did not respond to requests for comment.Huang and Jin Choi were named interim coheads of the techniques group in May after Ken Baron, a veteran leader of the firm, stepped down to begin charting "his course towards retirement," according to an internal memo reported on by Bloomberg.Choi, who has also been at Two Sigma since 2011 and a key member of the techniques group, has been named sole head of the group, a person familiar with the matter said. This is Huang's last week at the firm, the person said.Two Sigma, which manages $60 billion in assets, has undergone a rash of leadership changes over the last 18 months since it disclosed to investors that its billionaire founders, John Overdeck and David Siegel, were embroiled in a feud that was hampering the management of the firm. The most recent shift came at the end of August when the pair told investors they were stepping back from day-to-day management of the firm and installing as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/two-sigma-founders-step-down-as-ceos-new-leadership-2024-8">co-CEOs Scott Hoffman and Carter Lyons</a>.Ali-Milan Nekmouche, who was named CIO of Two Sigma Investments as part of the shakeup, was tapped in May to lead a new artificial intelligence and machine-learning team, including oversight of Huang and Choi's techniques unit."Techniques" is also the group that housed Jian Wu, the former quant researcher who was accused by the firm of tweaking models without permission, resulting in his termination and an investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission, people familiar with the matter said. The trading scandal, which came to light in 2023, is expected to result in a settlement with the regulator of as much as $100 million, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/hedge-fund-two-sigma-is-in-settlement-talks-with-sec-5c7a1183">a September report from The Wall Street Journal</a>.

A quant research leader from Two Sigma's vaunted 'techniques' squad is leaving for Cubist

The <keyword id="20340200" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="assets-under-management" source="keywords">Assets Under Management</keyword> (<keyword id="20019621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AUM" source="keywords">AUM</keyword>) of <keyword id="20300870" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="equity-mutual-funds" source="keywords">equity mutual funds</keyword> have <keyword id="20641508" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="surged" source="keywords">surged</keyword> by 5.37 per cent sequentially to Rs 25,12,845.59 crore in July 2024 from Rs 23,84,727.69 crore in June 2024, <keyword id="22838645" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PL-Wealth-Management" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="PL Wealth Management" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="PL Wealth Management">PL Wealth Management</keyword> said in a statement. The observation, which is based on 283 open-ended equity diversified funds, cited that 39 per cent of these funds have outperformed their respective benchmarks over the past month, ending July 31st, 2024, The cumulative total of funds that outperformed stood at 109 during the month ending July 2024 (one month). AUM measures the total market value of assets that a person or entity manages for clients or on behalf of investors. Under the <keyword id="21184260" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="large-cap-funds" source="keywords">large-cap funds</keyword>, about 58 per cent of <keyword id="19915334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="schemes" source="keywords">schemes</keyword> outperformed on S&amp;P BSE 100 - TRI benchmark, out of 31 schemes observed by <keyword id="19999821" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prabhudas-Lilladher" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Prabhudas Lilladher" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Prabhudas Lilladher">Prabhudas Lilladher</keyword>'s wealth management arm. About 24 per cent of schemes outperformed under the large and mid-cap funds, of which 29 were observed. Under the multi-cap funds about 40 per cent of schemes outperformed, whereas in the flexi-cap funds, the percentage of schemes outperforming was 33 per cent. Going further, about 38 per cent of schemes under the midcap outperformed. Interestingly, the data observed that not a single scheme in small-cap funds manages to outperform their respective benchmarks. According to the observations made by L Wealth Management, Value Contra Div Yield Funds was the best-performing category, where 78 per cent of the schemes outperformed the benchmark. It was followed by schemes of large-cap funds and multi-cap funds, which outperformed their respective benchmarks by 58 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, during July 2024. Large and mid-cap funds were the least performing fund category, with only 24 per cent of funds outperforming the benchmark, as shown in the analysis. <keyword id="22838646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PL-Capital-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="PL Capital Group" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="PL Capital Group">PL Capital Group</keyword> specialises in research-driven advisory services in the Indian capital markets. The company's business is spread across 200 plus cities in India, catering to institutions, corporations, family offices, HNIs, and retail clients in India and globally.

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Assets Under Management of equity mutual funds surged 5.4% sequentially in July: PL Wealth Management

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