Bi-Weekly Finanial Technology Sector Report
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Fund Writing Loans Against Crypto Portfolios Market Trends Seen Culling Long/Short Herd Ex-Two Sigma Pro Markets Lockup Vehicle
JANUARY 10, 2018 Fund Writing Loans Against Crypto Portfolios A Denver startup has launched a first-of-its kind hedge fund that seeks returns 3 BIGGEST LAUNCHES OF 2017 from writing loans secured by cryptocurrencies. SALT Lending began originations through its Crypto Credit Opportunity Fund on 2 Minnesota Startup Mines Local Talent Dec. 27. It also operates a marketplace-lending platform to match individuals and 2 Buyer Emerges for Citco Stake businesses that wish to borrow dollars against their holdings of digital currencies with institutional lenders, including SALT’s hedge fund. 2 Ex-SAC Staffer Preps Quant Fund In marketing the fund, SALT is highlighting the opportunity for investors to gain exposure to a rapidly emerging asset class without the operational headaches of 4 Suit Casts Doubt on SkyBridge Deal owning digital currencies directly. The firm also emphasizes the potential to reap 4 BNP Takes New Approach to Cap Intro high-yield returns on secured debt at a time when interest rates continue to hover near historic lows. 6 Year-Ago Consensus Too Cautious Still, SALT faces the difficult task of winning over investors who might be put off by See CRYPTO on Page 5 7 Gauging the Lure of Crypto Returns 8 New Path for Industrial-Stock Pro Market Trends Seen Culling Long/Short Herd 8 Crypto Fund Tally Still Growing The field of long/short equity funds — the oldest and still-largest category of 8 INFLOWS/OUTFLOWS BY STRATEGY hedge funds — is poised to contract by as much as a third due to ongoing structural changes in the stock market. -
Alphabet Company 2021 Report
Alphabet Company 2021 Report 22 January 2021 ALPHABET ALPHABET COMPANY COMPANY OVERVIEW Alphabet, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the business of acquisition and operation of different companies. It operates through the Google and Other Bets segments. The Google segment includes its main Internet products such as ads, Android, Chrome, hardware, Google Cloud, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The Other Bets segment consists of businesses such as Access, Calico, CapitalG, GV, Verily, Waymo, and X. The company was founded by Lawrence E. Page and Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin on October 2, 2015 and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA. The company currently falls under ‘Mega-Cap’ category with current market capitalization of 1100 B. Market capitalization usually refers to the total value of a company’s stock within the entire market. Google’s namesake search engine and YouTube video service are gateways to the internet for billions of people and have become more essential as they transact and entertain online to avoid the virus. Advertisers have turned to Google’s ad system to let shoppers know about deals and adjusted service offerings as the economy chugs along again. ALPHABET FINANCIALS - Q3 2020 The company beat estimates across the board, following its first-ever revenue decline in Q2. The results showed a strong rebound in its core advertising business, which was hit hard by customer spending pullbacks amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Total revenues of $46.2 billion in the third quarter reflect broad based growth led by an increase in advertiser spend in Search and YouTube as well as continued strength in Google Cloud and Play $46.17 BILLION On the company’s earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai said, “This year, including this REVENUE quarter, showed how valuable Google’s founding product, search, has been to people.” Pichai said starting next quarter, it will report operating income for its cloud $16.40 business, joining Amazon in giving investors EARNINGS PER SHARE more details. -
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1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 2 3 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE ................................................................................. 8 4 III. PARTIES .................................................................................................................... 9 5 A. Plaintiffs .......................................................................................................... 9 6 B. Defendants ....................................................................................................... 9 7 IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS ................................................................................... 17 8 A. Alphabet’s Reputation as a “Good” Company is Key to Recruiting Valuable Employees and Collecting the User Data that Powers Its 9 Products ......................................................................................................... 17 10 B. Defendants Breached their Fiduciary Duties by Protecting and Rewarding Male Harassers ............................................................................ 19 11 1. The Board Has Allowed a Culture Hostile to Women to Fester 12 for Years ............................................................................................. 19 13 a) Sex Discrimination in Pay and Promotions: ........................... 20 14 b) Sex Stereotyping and Sexual Harassment: .............................. 23 15 2. The New York Times Reveals the Board’s Pattern -
Steven Cohen's Point72 Is Accused of Sexism in Workplace
Steven Cohen's Point72 Is Accused of Sexism in Workplace www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/steve-cohen-s-point72-accused-in-lawsuit-of-sexism-in-workplace Just as billionaire Steven Cohen stages a comeback as a hedge fund manager, a current employee sued his Point72 Asset Management accusing it of discriminating against women and promoting a culture of sexism. Lauren Bonner, an associate director at the firm, also accused President Doug Haynes of using an inappropriate term on a white board in his office and leaving it there for weeks, according to the complaint filed in federal court in New York on Monday. Haynes, a former McKinsey & Co. director, was hired in 2014 and led efforts to revamp Cohen’s business after it pleaded guilty to securities fraud and paid a record fine. Bonner, who joined Point72 in August 2016, runs the firm’s talent analytics team and manages 14 people, according to the complaint. She alleges the firm hired and promoted fewer women than men, paid her less than male counterparts with equal or fewer responsibilities and had only one woman portfolio manager and only one female managing director. Point72 “emphatically denies these allegations and will defend itself in a more appropriate venue than the media,” the Stamford, Connecticut-based firm said in an emailed statement. ‘Vital Members’ “We stand by our record of hiring and developing women,” the firm said. “In an industry where women are historically underrepresented, the hundreds of women at Point72 are vital members of every part of our organization. Our female investment professional workforce exceeds published industry averages -- a direct result of our concerted and sustained focus on promoting diversity at Point72.” Bonner’s attorneys at Wigdor LLP said in an emailed statement that the lawsuit “exposes the structural sexism at Point72.” Along with Point72, Cohen and Haynes are named as defendants in the case. -
Alphabet Board of Directors
WMHSMUN XXXIV Alphabet Board of Directors Background Guide “Unprecedented committees. Unparalleled debate. Unmatched fun.” Letters From the Directors Dear Delegates, Hello delegates! My name is Katie Weinsheimer, and I am looking forward to meeting you all on Zoom this fall at WMHSMUN XXXIV. The world of international Internet governance and the moral/ethical issues that arise from the introduction of ‘smart’ technology have been an interest of mine throughout my college career, so I am very excited to delve into these issues as your committee director for the Alphabet Board of Directors. I am a senior international relations major from Silver Spring, MD. I am in the St. Andrews William & Mary Joint Degree Programme, which means I am coming back to W&M after studying abroad in Scotland for two years. I joined William & Mary’s International Relations Club as a freshman after doing model United Nations in high school like all of you. I have loved my time in the club and have loved being involved in all of the conferences the College hosts. I am currently the registration director for our middle school conference, WMIDMUN XIX. Outside of model UN, I love reading, traveling, and cooking/trying new restaurants. But enough about me, you are here for stock market domination! As the Alphabet Board of Directors, you are responsible for the financial health of Alphabet and its subsidiary companies. Directors are charged with assessing and managing the risk associated with Alphabet’s various investments. This committee will take place in November 2020. With COVID-19 raging and poised to worsen in the winter months, the Board will have to make tough decisions about current and future investments. -
Desktop Research Reports
BANKSETA Research Chair in Digitalisation: Desktop Research Reports CONTRACT NUMBER 475.4710.644 START DATE 05 October 2018 END DATE 28 February 2020 TRANCHE TWO 30 June 2019 REASEARCH PROJECTS Desktop Research Projects: • Fintech Development in South Africa • Post School Education and Training and 4IR CONTACT DETAILS (RESEARCH Dr Surendra Thakur CHAIR IN DIGITILISATION): 031 3736991 Name, Telephone & Email [email protected] Approval and Sign-off 30 June 2019 ________________________ _______________ DUT (Date) ________________________ _______________ Head of Research: BANKSETA (Date) Contents BANKSETA Research Plan: Topic 1 ........................................................................................................................ 1 Analyse the state of current fintech development in South Africa and prepare a business case for the establishment or support for a fintech incubator working closely with the South African Reserve Bank on their approach to Fintech Development. ......................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Research Process ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1: Understanding FinTechs ..................................................................................................................... -
The Quants Run Wall Street Now - WSJ 5/24/17, 11:08 AM
The QuantsTHE Run Wall Street Now - WSJ QUANTS RUN5/24/17, 11:08 AM WALL STREET SHARE NOW For decades, investors imagined a time when data-driven traders would dominate financial markets. That day has arrived. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-quants-run-wall-street-now-1495389108 Page 1 of 14 The Quants Run Wall Street Now - WSJ 5/24/17, 11:08 AM BY GREGORY ZUCKERMAN AND BRADLEY HOPE Alexey Poyarkov, a former gold-medal winner of the International Mathematical Olympiad for high-school students, spent most of his early career honing algorithms ? at technology companies such as Microsoft Corp. , where he helped make the Bing search engine smarter at ferreting out pornography. Last year, a bidding war for Mr. Poyarkov broke out among hedge-fund heavyweights Renaissance Technologies LLC, Citadel LLC and TGS Management Co. When it was over, he went to work at TGS in Irvine, Calif., and could earn as much as $700,000 in his first year, say people familiar with the contract. The Russian-born software engineer, who declined to comment, as did the hedge funds, had almost no financial experience. What TGS wanted was his wizardry at designing algorithms, sets of rules used to power calculations and problem- solving, which in the investment world can quickly parse data and decide what to buy and sell, often with little human involvement. Up and down Wall Street, algorithmic-driven trading WSJ PODCAST and the quants who use sophisticated statistical models to find attractive trades are taking over the The Quants: Today’s Kings investment world. -
Appendix D: Profitability of Google and Facebook
Appendix D: Profitability of Google and Facebook Introduction 1. As part of the market study, we have undertaken an analysis into the financial performance of Alphabet Group (Google) and Facebook (this includes Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger). 2. We have undertaken financial analysis for both platforms to enable us to establish whether the platforms are generating returns persistently higher than if they were operating in a more competitive market. 3. We have undertaken analysis of the following elements of financial performance for Google and Facebook: • the overall financial performance, including a review of profits, return on capital, and certain other measures reflecting trends in monetisation; and • the returns earned relative to benchmarks, including the relationship between their returns on investment and their cost of capital. Alphabet Group Financial performance of the Group 4. In assessing Google’s financial performance, we have started with Google’s group financial statements. In October 2015, Google established a new parent company, Alphabet Inc. Alphabet splits its reported performance into two operating segments for US financial reporting purposes: • Google; and • Other Bets. 5. Our market study is interested in the performance of businesses within the Google segment, and this appendix seeks to understand the level of profitability of the search business, in particular. The businesses most relevant to our study form the great majority of the Google segment by revenue including search, YouTube, Maps, Android, digital advertising, Chrome and Google Play. Many of the ‘business units’ in the Google segment are not directly monetised. Brands such as Android, Chrome and Gmail are monetised largely through their role in developing what is often referred to as an ‘ecosystem’ within which Google is the default search provider, allowing Google to monetise these activities through digital advertising. -
Ex-Commonwealth PM Set to Launch $500M Macro Fund LAUNCH
The long and the short of it www.hfmweek.com ISSUE 497 3 MAY 2018 INFRAHEDGE CEO BRUCE KEITH DEPARTS AFTER 7 YEARS HFM EUROPEAN 2018 $30bn MAP co-founder to be replaced by Andrew Allright PEOPLE MOVES 03 PERFORMANCE AWARDS DEUTSCHE PUTS PRIME FINANCE BUSINESS UNDER REVIEW HF head Tarun Nagpal to leave bank after 15 years PRIME BROKERAGE 07 EX-GRUSS CAPITAL PROS PREP EVENT-DRIVEN FUND HFMWEEK REVEALS ALL Indar Capital expected to launch later this year LAUNCHES 10 THE WINNERS AWARDS 23 Ex-CommonWealth PM set to launch $500m macro fund Christopher Wheeler readies between 2013 and 2016. London-based CJW Capital CommonWealth closed BY SAM MACDONALD down last year as Fisher depart- ed to join $26bn Soros Fund FORMER CITADEL AND Management. CommonWealth Opportunity From November 2016 until Capital portfolio manager Chris- March this year, Wheeler is topher Wheeler is set to launch a understood to have traded a sub- LAUNCH macro fund with at least $500m stantial macro sleeve for Citadel. initial investment, HFMWeek He previously spent five years has learned. with London-based liquid multi- ANALYSIS Wheeler is starting London- asset business Talisman Global NUMBERS SURGE IN 2017 based CJW Capital Management Asset Management. He earlier with backing from a large asset worked at Morgan Stanley. manager and is looking to begin CJW Capital could become trading this year, HFMWeek one of this year’s largest HFM Global’s annual survey shows understands. European start-ups, amid a num- He registered the firm with ber of prominent macro hedge equity strategies remained most in UK Companies House on 23 fund launches. -
The Second Coming of Steven Cohen
cnbc.com Kate Kelly Conceived as an emergency exit strategy and incubated under intense pressure, Steve Cohen's second corporate incarnation has developed into a childhood prodigy. Adam Jeffery | CNBC Steve Cohen at Point 72 Asset Management. While the average hedge fund fell by 1 percent last year, Cohen's so-called family office, Point72 Asset Management, rose close to 16 percent in 2015. A fleet of consultants is scrubbing his tarnished public image through collegiate investment contests, charitable giving and other initiatives. On the legal front, once an all-consuming distraction, he now has much less worry: a pair of landmark insider-trading cases, which had strong bearing on a third case involving an employee, were repudiated by an esteemed judicial panel and turned down for a hearing by the Supreme Court. In large part as a result of that, on Friday, a civil case against Cohen brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged failures to supervise errant employees in 2013 settled quietly without an admission of guilt or a financial penalty. In an email to CNBC after the settlement was announced, Cohen said it was "nice to have it over with." To employees, he wrote, "the longer the pending litigation lingered, the more it distracted from the world-class firm that we are building. Resolving the case gives us certainty and opens a path to raising outside capital in the future." At the same time, Andrew Ceresney, the SEC's head of enforcement, said in a statement that the resolution of his agency's 2½-year undertaking is one that "achieves significant and immediate investor protection and deterrence," thanks to a two-year ban on the supervision of outside capital that's been placed on Cohen and the requirement to implement a compliance monitor inside Point72. -