Latest news with #BoazWeinstein
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Hedge fund raider must be opposed by Third Point investors, says ALEX BRUMMER
Labour efforts to bulldoze the rules governing listed London companies are designed to encourage growth and bolster the London Stock Exchange. Sometimes government should question what it has wished for. Regulatory changes make it easier for sharpshooting hedge funds to undermine the rights of minority investors. Magnate Dan Loeb, of US-based Third Point – supported by activist Boaz Weinstein of Saba infamy – is seeking to do just that at British-listed fund Third Point Investors Limited (TPIL). Loeb and his associates will this week seek approval at an extraordinary general meeting to hijack TPIL and its shareholders and inject its £500million of capital into Third Point-controlled reinsurance fund Malibu, based in the Cayman Islands. The transaction, approved by a Loeb-dominated TPIL board, has outraged asset managers at AVI, Evelyn Partners, Metage Capital, Staude Capital and Almitas Capital. Advisers say the funds are being 'mugged' and capital funds managed on behalf of clients, including retail investors, are at risk of being trapped in the Caymans. Prior to the change in listing rules, a related party transaction, such as that proposed by Loeb, would have required an independent poll. That would have prevented Third Point from using its own voting shares to railroad a contentious deal. Voting advisory group ISS recommends votes against eight resolutions at the EGM designed to usher through the change. A note from JPMorgan Cazenove describes the proposals as 'sub-optimal'. Dissenting investors note that most of the existing board members will join the Malibu reinsurance vehicle and have access to better remuneration of between £0.5m and £1.5m as well as share incentives. If Dan Loeb were prevented from exercising his votes at the special meeting this week, the transaction would be defeated by the rebels currently speaking for around 24pc of the stock. Investors are blindly being led into Malibu without any prospectus or business plan from what is an unproven enterprise. The intention of changes to the listing regulations was to encourage equity investment in Britain. Instead, relaxed rules offer ruthless hedge funds the opportunity to run roughshod over shareholder rights. Loeb's assault must be opposed. Buyout risks Rolls-Royce finance director Helen McCabe describes the offload of the group's £4.3billion UK pension fund, servicing 36,000 present and former workers, to the Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) as a 'win-win'. Certainly, it relieves the Rolls Royce balance sheet of a big liability and the group of a responsibility, which potentially could be a distraction to core engineering operations. PIC is respectable enough. But it lacks some of the transparency and reputation of insurance giants Legal & General and Aviva – two leaders in pension buyouts. What the Rolls-Royce announcement doesn't say is that PIC is being bought by Athora for £5.7billion. Headed by former Prudential chief executive Mike Wells, Athora would appear to be in good hands. It doesn't end there. Athora is an offshoot of US hedge fund Apollo which holds a 25 per cent 'strategic' stake and chooses five members of the board. Apollo was founded by Leon Black who stepped down in 2021 after it was revealed that he had entrusted some £118million of funds to the care of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The stain is behind Apollo. But it should be remembered that the Bank of England in its July Financial Stability Report warned of 'key vulnerabilities' associated with 'high leverage' in private markets, especially for insurers and reinsurers. Maybe not such a win after all. Bejewelled sale Aficionados of the BBC's Antiques Road Show will be more than aware of the flushes and weak knees which infect even the most phlegmatic of dealers when jewellery fabricated by Faberge turns up. Tech entrepreneur Sergei Mosunov has gone one better by snapping up the whole shebang for £37million from miner Gemfields. Over the decades, the St Petersburg connection has faded. The collection is designed in Britain and made where craftsmanship is alive, in Switzerland and Italy.
Business Wire
04-08-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Saba Capital Reaches Agreements with the Eaton Vance California Municipal Bond Fund and the Eaton Vance New York Municipal Bond Fund
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Saba Capital Management, L.P. (together with certain of its affiliates, 'Saba'), which is the largest shareholder of the Eaton Vance California Municipal Bond Fund (NYSE: EVM) and of the Eaton Vance New York Municipal Bond Fund (NYSE: ENX) (collectively, the 'Funds'), today announced that it has entered into standstill agreements (collectively, the 'Agreements') with Eaton Vance Management with respect to the Funds. Consistent with the terms of the Agreements, Eaton Vance Management has recommended to each Fund's Board that the Boards approve, subject to shareholder approval, the liquidation and termination of each Fund. The terms of the Agreements also provide for Saba withdrawing its previously submitted proposals and trustee nominations in connection with the Funds' 2025 annual meetings of shareholders. The Agreements also contain customary standstill provisions and voting commitments. About Saba Capital Saba Capital Management, L.P. is a global alternative asset management firm that seeks to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for a diverse group of clients. Founded in 2009 by Boaz Weinstein, Saba is a pioneer of credit relative value strategies and capital structure arbitrage. Saba has offices in New York City and London. Learn more at
Daily Mail
01-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Investment trusts rise up from the ashes
A cloud can have a sizeable silver lining. The failure by Wall Street hotshot Boaz Weinstein to acquire seven investment trusts cheaply this year is sparking a rebound of the sector. Multi-millionaire Weinstein, who is chief investment officer of the activist Saba Capital hedge fund, may have thought shareholders would, unquestioningly, back his campaign. But they rejected his approaches, recognising the true value of their stakes in these trusts. Their resistance is bringing about an upheaval. It's time to think again if you thought trusts – some set up in Victorian days – were an anachronism. Darius McDermott, boss at funds ratings agency Fundcalibre, says: 'The sector was on its knees – no buyers, only sellers, and discounts and yields at record highs.' A trust is at a discount if its share price is below its net asset value (NAV). McDermott says: 'Sentiment has started to recover, and we think the best opportunities lie ahead. Professionals have spotted the value. It's time private investors took notice too.' Boards are taking tough decisions to shrink discounts. They are also exploring mergers or ordering reviews of their trusts' futures. The continued existence of more trusts is in question. New activist investors are emerging – and pressing for change. The main players are management groups Harwood Capital, which operates investment trust Achilles, and Asset Value Investors. The Asset Value Investors stable includes the Migo Opportunities trust, whose co-manager Charlotte Cuthbertson says: 'Activist agitation is the primary catalyst for returns now and can deliver a wealth of opportunities from once-in-a-generation discount levels.' She argues it is necessary: 'Sentiment alone won't close the gap between prices and NAVs.' Emma Bird, head of investment trust research at trader Winterflood Securities, says mergers will produce 'larger and more liquid trusts', presenting a more compelling long-term proposition. One illustration is last month's get-together of Henderson European and Fidelity European. But there is bid activity too. In May the FTSE 100 real estate investment trust (Reit) LondonMetric, which owns pubs, shops and Warwick Castle, paid £699m for the FTSE 350 'mega-shed' specialist Reit Urban Logistics. The bid price was an 11 per cent premium on Urban Logistics' price back in April, valuing the trust at a 5 per cent discount to its NAV. The deal was triggered by the Achilles trust, an investor in Urban Logistics. If you have been dismayed by the performance of trusts you hold, it makes sense to sit tight and hope that the shake-up gives a lift. But if you want to take advantage of disruption by activists, follow this guide. MIND THE GAP At the beginning of 2025, the average investment trust discount was 16pc –largely due to the superior returns paid by less risky deposit account and bonds. This has narrowed to 13 per cent – although brokers Stifel say the gap between price and NAV at 50 trusts is now 5 per cent or less. Biotech trust Syncona may be at a 50 per cent discount, but Seraphim Space has shrunk from 53 per cent to 15 per cent thanks to the recognition that its military application satellite investments will be boosted by increased defence spending. Bird says that share buybacks are one strategy being deployed by boards to reduce discounts. If you acquire a trust at a discount, you're buying assets for less. But there is an element of jeopardy, as no mechanism is guaranteed to minimise the gap between share price and the NAV. HOW TO BACK BRITAIN Winterflood's Emma Bird comments: 'There are arguably too many UK equity income trusts, which is why the board of Murray Income last month commissioned a review.' Murray is at a discount of 7 per cent. Directors may seek a merger or replace its managers Aberdeen. People with money in this trust, like me, will be happy for some resolution of the problem. It is also worth taking a closer look at the UK Equity Income sector. The best-buy City of London trust is at a premium of 1 per cent, but Diverse Income, another recommended trust, is at a discount of 4 per cent. Temple Bar, whose discount is just 0.41 per cent, is one of my backing-Britain investments; its portfolio encompasses Aviva, Marks & Spencer and NatWest. GET AN ENERGY BOOST In the infrastructure and renewable energy sector, yawning discounts indicate that bargains are to be found for those with patience. The typical discount on an infrastructure trust that invests in bridges, hospitals, roads etc, is about 14 per cent. This rises to about 25 per cent for trusts that back renewable energy projects, which has put them in the sights of the Migo Opportunities trust. Cuthbertson comments: 'This is where the next wave of activism is focused, and so are we.' Downing Renewables & Infrastructure has succumbed to a bid, at a 24 per cent premium to the price on June 19, but still below its NAV. As an investor I could have hoped for more but the dividend yield has been some compensation. The Law Debenture trust has just taken stakes in Greencoat UK Wind, where the discount is 19 per cent, and HICL Infrastructure which is at a discount of 20 per cent. HICL's holdings include hospitals and the Home Office building. Law Debenture managers consider the discounts on these two trusts to be 'unjustifiably high'. Both offer generous dividends which makes it worth waiting for developments. The SDCL Energy Efficiency trust has an attractive 11 per cent yield, as McDermott highlights – but is at a 38 per cent discount, so strong nerves are needed. Ben Yearsley of Fairview Investing is a fan of two other renewables trusts: Foresight Solar (discount 18 per cent) and Greencoat Renewables (24 per cent). BRICKS AND MORTAR Reits are an area where activists are hoping to exploit falling borrowing costs and rising rents. McDermott picks TR Property, which is at a 7 per cent discount. Cuthbertson cites Aberdeen European Logistics Income which has been selling chunks of its portfolio to address its discount of 18 per cent. She argues that further improvements should be in the offing. If you are up for an adventure, McDermott points to Chrysalis (discount 27 per cent) where holdings include the Swedish buy now, pay later group Klarna. Yearsley's pick is Artemis UK Future Leaders (15 per cent), a smaller companies trust. Or you could take a gamble on the activists producing a much better return. Achilles is at a tiny 0.19 per cent discount. Migo Opportunities, which has stakes in Chrysalis and SDCL Energy Efficiency, is at a discount of 4 per cent. This attention to the level of their own discounts bodes well for their ability to impress on other trusts the vital importance of this feature.
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Supreme Court to Decide on Controlling-Investor Challenges
The US Supreme Court will consider whether activist investors can use an 85-year-old law to challenge corporate moves bolstering controlling shareholders, in a case being closely watched by some of Wall Street's biggest investment funds. In a setback to hedge fund manager Boaz Weinstein, the court agreed to review a decision allowing a lawsuit against closed-end fund provider FS Credit Opportunities Corp. and others, including BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager.
Bloomberg
27-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Boaz Weinstein on Card Counting, Private Credit and Night Sweats
Boaz Weinstein, founder and chief investment officer of Saba Capital, spoke with Sonali Basak at a blackjack table in Atlantic City. (Source: Bloomberg)
