#hedgefund

Cromwell Long Short is the hedge fund MoA announced with some fanfare but has barely mentioned since. After raising $100 million in 2024, the fund has lagged its benchmark by about 12.5%. MoA waived fees every year — first 40 bps, then 190 bps—so the numbers are inflated. The firm has now started charging a lower 170 bps fee.

That $100 million was the largest single account MoA has ever won and played a role in Rich becoming CEO. Even so, the client has pulled about $40 million over the two years, roughly a third of the original capital, despite 32% returns since inception. Those redemptions are the real reason the firm has gone quiet on the fund.

Cromwell Long Short is a quant fund or they use 3rd party quant model to get buys and sells. Supposedly MoA shares fees with the model provider. Results kind of speak for themselves.

Hey, Ai. what are the odds? ...fees remain a headwind. Gross expense ratios sit around 2.0–2.3%; the net/capped level is ~1.70% institutional / 1.95% investor after waivers (management fee is 1.40%). That is expensive for a strategy that delivers substantial equity beta.
Assets have stayed around $90–93 million. The earlier $100 million commitment and subsequent redemptions (roughly one-third of capital) signal limited conviction. Small AUM makes it harder to attract new capital or justify the resources.

DE Shaw has accumulated a stake worth more than $1bn in Sysco, adding significant weight to the hedge fund’s long-standing investment in the US food distribution giant as the company seeks to accelerate growth and cut costs through AI, according to a report by Reuters.

https://www.hedgeweek.com/de-shaw-builds-1bn-plus-sysco-position/

Would elliott management push for more latoffs?
The stock is down after results,

Martha is playing with Medtronic’s core businesses that have paid the light bill for decades.

I believe he is turning MDT into a venture capital fund, selling off BUs because they don’t meet his +50% groth rate just to use the fresh capital for M&A of long shot small start ups that will require intense capital to get them off the ground.

Wouldn’t be surprised if he dipped into the pension fund.

Remember to vote- combine voices will be heard

I get the argument that hedge funds have a bigger voice

L3Harris is dead. The point of the L3+Harris merger and any goal has fully blown up, and all executive leadership and a lot more has turned over multiple times. There's no one left in upper mgmt who knows what actually works, and especially no one left who respects the scientists and engineers who made it happen. All history has been thrown away, to transform the company into a cash extraction hedge fund.

If you're hanging on to the way things were, it's long gone. If you're waiting for things to improve, best hope for a quick divestiture to a buyer that's not another hedge fund.

Don't dismiss why Jana Partners is taking a position.

1. Speed - let's be honest, Fiserv has become a slow company from a client view.
2. Growth - you can't cut your way to prosperity, growth requires prioritization, focus and execution. Sadly every thing at Fiserv is a priority therefore nothing is. Best example is Toast - unheard of five years ago, today completely pushed Clover out of restaurants.
3. Too much expensive management who seems themselves as the center of the universe vs the inverter pyramid where the people who do the work are at the top of the pyramid.
4. Arrogance - you can't treat investor, clients and employees the way you are and think all will be well.

Please come talk to me. I’ve read your assessment and you were spot on. Amazing that someone from the outside could be that accurate of the needs of a company revitalizing. #1 opportunity was franchise and you were 💯% correct and to settle for anything else is a true loss. Didn’t think it was in your nature to lose! It’s not too late. Huge investment on the line, I would ether pull out or get what you came for$$$$$.

Buckle up Pepsico for a bumpy ride.

https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/pepsico-nears-settlement-with-activist-investor-elliott-dbda9a2a

Elliott made a play at $1.2 billion new debt at over 10% interest nielsen has to pay. New debt mean more ways to cut cost to show profit. Sign Elliott is ready to cash out and move on. When do we think the IPO will be?