Michelle Bellefontaine of CBC News reports Alberta tries to legislate ban on lawsuits about AIMCo losses:

The Alberta government is proposing new legislation to prevent public sector pensions from suing the Alberta Investment Management Corp., or AIMCo, for decisions made before November 2024.

Bill 12, the Financial Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), introduced in the Alberta legislature Tuesday, aims to solve a problem for the government that has existed since 2020 when AIMCo lost $2.1 billion in trading.

AIMCo manages pensions for Alberta public sector workers. The Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP), the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) and the Special Forces Pension Plan (SFPP) have been trying to recover about $1.3 billion in losses since then via arbitration.

A Court of King’s Bench ruling from 2023 found that AIMCo and the Alberta government would both be held liable for the losses if the pension plans were successful in their arbitration case.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Nate Horner said the legislation is required to protect Alberta taxpayers. 

“There's no extra fund at AIMCo to cover something like this,” he said during a news conference at the Alberta legislature. 

“It would fall on the backs of Alberta taxpayers, and we're talking about $1.3 billion minimum. We've had lots of conversations about the borrowing the province is already undertaking, and it's something we're not willing to entertain.”

The government said the pension plans are well-funded and the AIMCo losses didn't reduce benefits for members.

Court Ellingson, the NDP MLA for Calgary-Foothills and Opposition critic for finance, said $1.3 billion is a large sum that impacts many people.

"The money still needs to be to be there to pay out those defined benefits," Ellingson said.

"If the money is not there, who's on the hook … who needs to start making up for this $1.3 billion in losses to ensure that those defined benefits continue to be paid?

The 2020 losses were attributed to an investment strategy called a volatility trading strategy, or VOLTS.  

Last year, Horner fired four AIMCo executives — including the CEO — and the entire board of directors, the second major management change in five years.  

Ah, that infamous volatility trading strategy (VOLTS) that cost AIMCo $2.1 billion in trading losses back in 2020.

I remember it well, the The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, surged nearly 25 points to close at a record high of 82.69 on March 16, 2020, surpassing the peak level of 80.74 on November 21 2008. 

All of a sudden, all those sophisticated pension funds selling volatility in strategies similar to VOLTS got caught with their pants down, and as losses mounted, board of directors panicked and pulled the plug on the strategy at the worst time (the VIX peaked there and subsequently dipped hard, AIMCo would have recovered all its losses but political pressure was too strong).

Anyways, that blowup cost former CEO Kevin Uebelein and former CIO Dale MacMaster their jobs but they received millions in severance pay over the next two years which tells me they had a strong case against the organization (still, optics of paying them over next two years looked horrible as it looked like paying off senior execs to walk away with millions after losing $2.1 billion on one strategy).

Now, I am not going to get into a long argument about this case above because I agree with the Government of Alberta, it's ridiculous to ask Alberta's taxpayers to pony up the $2.1 billion in losses from VOLTS.

If it was any other fund, that money would be lost forever but because AIMCo is backstopped by the government -- ie. taxpayers -- they think they are entitled to this money.

No, they are not, it's gone forever.

More importantly, AIMCo is doing a good job managing assets over the long run and these plans are not in a deficit, they're in good shape so they have more than enough assets to meet future liabilities.

Even if there was a huge shortfall, they are not entitled to the $2.1 billion that was lost from VOLTS. 

In other news, the Public Service Alliance of Canada  (PSAC) notes Budget 2025 hints at pension cut for federal workers:

PSAC is concerned the federal government may be preparing to claw back the hard-earned retirement benefits federal public service workers rely on.  

Under the "Equitable Public Sector Retirement Benefits" section of the 2025 budget, the government suggests that federal public service workers are “overcontributing” to their federal pension plans and the Canada or Quebec Pension Plans (CPP/QPP). The government aims to correct the issue, promising this will save money both for the government and federal workers.

But this language hints that they plan to reduce pension plan benefits for workers to compensate for recent changes to CPP and QPP. Any proposal that reduces the value of members’ pensions – while framing it as a cost saving for workers – is unacceptable.  

The federal government has already betrayed the trust of workers who contribute to the Public Service Pension Plan. Last year, the Liberal government raided $1.9 billion from pension plan, transferring the funds into the government’s own coffers. That decision directly undermined the retirement security of federal public service workers and set a dangerous precedent for treating the pension plan as a government piggy bank. 

Combined with massive job cuts and sweeping changes to federal labour legislation included in this budget, the pension change is yet another red flag about how this government intends to treat its workers. PSAC will fight any attempt to undermine workers’ rights — including any move that threatens the financial security of our members in retirement. 

Pensions are a core part of our members’ compensation – paid for and earned over a lifetime of service. Any change to pension benefits must be transparent, and should be brought to the unions at the bargaining table – not slipped into the budget as an accounting exercise. 

Prime Minister Carney’s government still has an opportunity to show leadership by protecting and strengthening the pensions workers depend on – not weakening them. 

PSAC is seeking immediate clarification from the federal government on the intent and impact of the pension language in Budget 2025. We will update members as soon as more information becomes available.  

CUPE also raised serious concerns on this issue and I am following it closely.

Still, one area where I disagree with PSAC is this:

The federal government has already betrayed the trust of workers who contribute to the Public Service Pension Plan. Last year, the Liberal government raided $1.9 billion from pension plan, transferring the funds into the government’s own coffers. That decision directly undermined the retirement security of federal public service workers and set a dangerous precedent for treating the pension plan as a government piggy bank. 

The federal government didn't raid your pension plan, there was a huge surplus and since the government backstops your pension, that surplus belongs to the government (ie. taxpayers). 

It really irks me when unions use divisive language and don't lay out the facts properly.

If the government (ie. taxpayers) owns the deficit of these plans, they sure as hell own the surplus too.

Alright, let me stop there, sometimes I read these articles and just can't believe what I'm reading.

Below, Alberta government has introduced Bill 12, the Financial Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), aiming to stop public sector pension plans from suing AIMCo over $1.3 billion in investment losses from before November 2024.

The New Indian Express reports CPP Investments and IndoSpace acquire six industrial and logistics parks across country:

CHENNAI: Professional investment management firm Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and supply chain infrastructure platform IndoSpace on Tuesday announced the acquisition of six industrial and logistics parks for Rs 30 billion (471 million Canadian dollars) by IndoSpace Core, a JV between CPP and IndoSpace set up in 2017.

This acquisition strengthens IndoSpace Core’s position as India’s largest operator of stabilised industrial and logistics real estate. CPP Investments will commit INR 14 billion (C$217 million) to fund the acquisition. CPP Investments owns 93% of IndoSpace Core.

The six assets collectively span 380 acres with a leasable area of approximately nine million square feet, adding to IndoSpace Core’s portfolio of fully developed, income-generating parks. These projects are located in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune.

“India’s logistics sector continues to benefit from strong structural growth, driven by urbanization and the expanding manufacturing footprint,” said Hari Krishna V, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate India & Mumbai Office Head, CPP Investments.

Anshuman Singh, MD & CEO, IndoSpace, said, “This transaction reflects how India’s logistics sector has evolved into a long-term investment story driven by stable demand and institutional confidence. With over 60 million square feet developed and under development, IndoSpace has established itself as the largest player in India’s industrial and logistics real estate sector.”

He added, “At IndoSpace, our strategy is to remain capital-efficient and proactive in pursuing new development opportunities. As India cements its status as a global manufacturing hub, we are witnessing an increasing demand for high-quality, compliant, and sustainable infrastructure. This is precisely where we envisage our next phase of growth unfolding.”

Following this transaction, IndoSpace Core’s portfolio will expand to 22 million square feet of leasable area across 948 acres, serving over 120 global and domestic companies across six major industrial hubs: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune. 

Earlier today, CPP Investments issued a press release stating it has entered into an agreement with IndoSpace to expand their joint venture with a US$300 million acquisition of six logistics parks:

MUMBAI, India (November 25, 2025) – Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and IndoSpace today announced the acquisition of six industrial and logistics parks, valued at INR 30 billion (C$471 million), by IndoSpace Core, a joint venture established in 2017 to acquire and develop logistics facilities across India.

This acquisition strengthens IndoSpace Core’s position as India’s largest operator of stabilized industrial and logistics real estate. CPP Investments will commit INR 14 billion (C$217 million) to fund the acquisition. CPP Investments owns 93% of IndoSpace Core.

The six assets collectively span 380 acres with a leasable area of approximately nine million square feet, adding to IndoSpace Core’s portfolio of fully developed, income-generating parks. These projects are located in India’s key logistics markets, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune.

“India’s logistics sector continues to benefit from strong structural growth, driven by urbanization and the expanding manufacturing footprint,” said Hari Krishna V, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate India & Mumbai Office Head, CPP Investments. “Our longstanding partnership with IndoSpace has enabled us to capture high-quality opportunities in this space. We believe this acquisition will deliver attractive, risk-adjusted returns for CPP contributors and beneficiaries.”

Commenting on the development, Anshuman Singh, MD & CEO, IndoSpace, said, “This transaction reflects how India’s logistics sector has evolved into a long-term investment story driven by stable demand and institutional confidence. With over 60 million square feet developed and under development, IndoSpace has established itself as the largest player in India’s industrial and logistics real estate sector. This acquisition further reinforces the strength of our partnership with CPP Investments, built on a shared belief in India’s potential as a global hub.”

He added, “At IndoSpace, our strategy is to remain capital-efficient and proactive in pursuing new development opportunities. As India cements its status as a global manufacturing hub, we are witnessing an increasing demand for high-quality, compliant, and sustainable infrastructure. This is precisely where we envisage our next phase of growth unfolding.”

Following this transaction, IndoSpace Core’s portfolio will expand to 22 million square feet of leasable area across 948 acres, serving over 120 global and domestic companies across six major industrial hubs: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune.

About CPP Investments

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments™) is a professional investment management organization that manages the Canada Pension Plan Fund in the best interest of the more than 22 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build diversified portfolios of assets, we make investments around the world in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure, fixed income and alternative strategies including in partnership with funds. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York City, San Francisco, São Paulo and Sydney, CPP Investments is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm’s length from governments. At September 30, 2025, the Fund totalled C$777.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.cppinvestments.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram or on X @CPPInvestments.

About IndoSpace

IndoSpace is India’s leading fully integrated supply chain infrastructure platform. With over 60 million sq. ft. of infrastructure across 50+ strategically located hubs since its inception in 2007, IndoSpace powers more than 150 industry leaders across manufacturing, electronics, 3PL, e-commerce, retail, and automotive sectors.

Aligned with the vision of PM Gati Shakti, the National Logistics Policy (NLP), and Make in India, IndoSpace contributes to India’s supply chain industry by delivering scalable and sustainable infrastructure solutions that enhance efficiency and accelerate manufacturing growth. By integrating technology, sustainability, and operational excellence, IndoSpace continues to shape logistics ecosystems and strengthen its role as a key enabler in India’s growth narrative. 

This is another great deal for CPP Investments partnering up with IndoSpace to secure great logistics properties in India.

By now, everyone knows that logistics is the place to be, especially in fast growing countries like India where the middle class is growing, urbanization is taking hold and more and more people are ordering their items online, similar to North America.

This summer, I read an interesting article that with 26% youth and growing middle-class population, India becomes attractive market for Korean brands:

Korean fashion and food companies are increasingly turning their attention to India, driven by growing interest from local youth and middle-class consumers in clothing worn and foods eaten by K-drama characters and K-pop stars.
 
“Out of India’s 1.4 billion people, 26 percent are in their teens or 20s, making them quick to embrace new cultures,” said an industry insider. “That appetite is now expanding into fashion and food consumption.” 

India has been among the world’s five largest economies since 2014, maintaining an average annual growth rate in the 7 percent range, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra).
 
The country’s fashion market, in particular, is showing strong growth. Market research firm Statista projects India’s fashion market will grow from $105.5 billion in 2024 to $122.4 billion by 2028. 

Korean companies are targeting India’s middle class, which numbers approximately 430 million. With rapid industrialization, this segment has expanded, and those with annual incomes between $10,000 and $25,000 are showing heightened interest in fashion. 

“India’s caste system previously hindered the development of the fashion industry,” said a fashion industry source. “Korean clothing, which features high-quality fabrics and design but is more affordable than European or American brands, has become popular.”
 
“The rise in India’s golf population — now at 3.5 million — has also boosted interest in golf wear, which benefits K-fashion,” the insider said.
  
Capitalizing on this trend, LF is preparing to introduce its fashion brand Hazzys to India. In March, it signed a strategic export agreement with local investment firm Asian Brands Corp and plans to open the first store under a local brand in the second half of this year — the first Korean fashion label to do so. 
 
“We will lead with golf wear and expand to various products, aiming to open 10 brand stores within three years,” said LF. 

The K-food market in India is also expanding. In addition to snacks like Pepero and Choco Pie and instant noodles, there is now growing demand for frozen foods such as ice cream and even alcoholic beverages. According to Kotra, Korea’s food exports to India grew from $3.77 million in 2019 to $8.26 million in 2022, and $11.64 million in 2023.
 
Lotte has been particularly aggressive. In February, Lotte Wellfood completed a factory in Pune, India, where it has added a frozen dessert line to produce frozen dessert brands such as Dweji Bar and Jaws Bar. The demand for frozen products is growing as India’s cold chain infrastructure improves. Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin attended the factory’s completion ceremony and emphasized, “India is a key milestone in Lotte’s global food business.”
 
Orion also made a fresh capital injection of 6.7 billion won ($4.9 million) into its Indian subsidiary this January to fund operations and production facilities. The company’s revenue in India surged from just 3.1 billion won in 2021 to 21.1 billion won last year, prompting continued investment. Traditional liquor maker Andong Soju also entered the Indian market last year, focusing on fruit-based liquors with alcohol contents of 16.5 percent and 12 percent.
 
“With Korea facing declining birthrate and slowing growth, India offers an attractive destination for expansion,” said a food industry insider. “We expect more investment in the near future.” 

What does South Korea's interest in India have to do with logistics properties? Well, all these multinationals from Asia to North America looking to gain a foothold into India's burgeoning market need facilities to store their items.

In other words, it's all related and the dominant trend driving all this is a growing young population with more disposable income.  

Lastly, a week ago I noted that OTPP disbanded its Asia real estate team and OMERS cut its Asia buyout team. 

Basically, they weren't producing the deal flow to justify their operations but as CPP Investments demonstrates, if you partner with the right groups in India, you can still land great deals.

Below, creating and operating the finest and largest network of industrial and logistics real estate assets in India, IndoSpace brings to you state-of-the-art Grade-A warehousing spaces that add value to your business. Great partner for CPP Investments.

Also, Girish Ramachandran, President of Growth Markets at Tata Consultancy Services, shared insights on the TCS‑TPG partnership, expansion into AI data centers, talent strategy, and growth prospects across emerging markets. He spoke exclusively with Haslinda Amin on the sidelines of Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum four days ago.

Privina Ramanan of Private Debt Investor reports La Caisse looks to double its private credit portfolio in the next five years: 

Private credit has become a significant asset class for Canadian institutional investor La Caisse (formerly CDPQ) as it looks to double its exposure in the next five years.

Speaking to Private Debt Investor, the institution revealed that the team sees a lot of opportunity in the asset class. A predominant portion of its private credit activities are reserved for direct lending, but in the past five years it has added exposure through other complementary strategies.

La Caisse has four verticals in which it invests in private credit – corporate credit, infrastructure financing, real estate finance and capital solutions, which focuses on opportunities in asset-backed strategies for tangible and financial assets.

For corporate credit, the team has been looking at large unitranche deals but it also covers mid-market opportunities in specific sectors of interest, namely technology and software, healthcare, education, financial and business services.

In terms of regions, while La Caisse is a global investor, the private credit teams primarily focus on opportunities in Europe and North America, due to the depth of these markets and their scalability.

Alright, I saw this last week and my first thought was why come out now and let the world know you want to double your allocation to private credit when the asset class has all sorts of cracks forming?

Four days ago, the Financial Times reported on Blue Owl’s private credit fund U-turn, stressing buyout firms, but today Reuters is reporting the firm is considering reviving merger of private credit funds, contingent on fund's share price.

As Bloomberg rightly notes, in private credit, Blue Owl is the sum of all investor fears. 

Basically, we have an asset class that has enjoyed unprecedented strength and growth and hasn't been battle tested in a recession and that makes investors nervous.

Still, some of the industry's biggest investors have come out recently to defend the asset class, stating people have 'lost their minds' over private credit fears.  

I don't know, I don't put Apollo and Blackstone in the same boat as a lot of newer funds trying to capitalize on a trend.

Getting back to La Caisse, the head of Private Credit there is Jérôme Marquis who leads the Corporate and Infrastructure Credit, Real Estate Finance, Capital Solutions and Private Credit Portfolio Analysis teams. 

Most of the lending they do in private credit is in assets they back and know extremely well, but they also do unitranche deals in mid-market spaces where they are active in private equity namely, technology and software, healthcare, education, financial and business services.

Jérôme Marquis reports to Martin Longchamps, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity and Private Credit. 

When Marc Cormier retired, Private Credit left the Fixed Income group to merge with Private Equity.

There are some governance issues there but I'm sure they've sorted them out (typically Private Credit is part of Fixed Income or part of an overall Credit group like at CPP Investments, not part of Private Equity because you don't want those investing in funds also investing in the credit tranches backing those funds).

Anyway, Jérôme and his team are smart, they know what they're doing and I wouldn't be surprised if they are privately hoping for major dislocations in the asset class over the next five years so they can capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

All this to say, the timing of this announcement might seem odd (top pf the private credit market?) but it makes sense when you take a step back and understand their business and what they are doing there.

I can't add more to this comment without a full on discussion with Jérôme Marquis and  Martin Longchamps but I doubt I will gain access to them.

People get really nervous when it comes to Private Credit, they like to keep things close to their chest.

Below, Blue Owl had just announced it was scrapping a planned merger of two of its private credit funds, backtracking on a plan revealed Nov. 5 after scrutiny arose over the potential losses some investors would have to swallow as part of the deal. The parent company’s shares had fallen this week to the lowest level since 2023. Listen to this Bloomberg podcast.

Also, Apollo's Marc Rowan says he’s not worried about Jamie Dimon’s reference to hidden “cockroaches” in private credit.

It's that time of the year again where we get a sneak peek into the portfolios of the world's top money managers, with a 45-day lag. And in this market, 45 days is a lifetime because things change on an hourly basis.

This was a crazy week trading. I will first give you the list of symbols I'm tracking daily this week: AAPL, GOOG, AMD, AVGO, MU, NVDA, MSFT, AMZN, TSLA, META, CLS, ORCL, BE, OKLO.

Then, let's see what were the worst performing large cap US stocks this week:

Not surprisingly, with bitcoin hitting a fresh low of $84,100, down 11% this week, anything related to crypto got obliterated.

But there were other stocks like Micron (MU) that also got hit hard as did Oracle (ORCL), Palantir (PLTR) and a bunch of other high flyers like quantum computing stocks (see the full list here). 

Why am I sharing you this list of stocks that got dinged hard this week? Because I'm 100% confident these are the stocks big hedge funds are buying to close out their year.

That data will only be available on February 15th but I've been doing this long enough to know when Wall Street is manufacturing a bogus selloff and this week was a bogus selloff. 

They waited till Nvidia reported another blowout earnings report to sell the news and it just feels too well orchestrated.  

Never mind what Ray Dalio said on CNBC, listen to me, the stocks on this list are all going to rip higher next month and in January. 

The Fed will cut rates in December and off we go again into another rally which is likely going to start next week before US Thanksgiving then go on till Christmas and beyond (Santa Claus rally).

All this to say, I couldn't care less what hedge funds were buying last quarter, I live in the moment, and having traded long enough, I can feel when it's a bogus selloff and when it's the real deal. 

This isn't the real deal, the AI bubble is alive, you'll see it come back with a vengeance as hedge funds use weakness to reload again.

So, take at these filings with a gain of salt, use the weakness to load up on Micron, Oracle, Meta, and plenty of more stocks that are down 30, 40% or more in two months.

That's my best advice to you, enjoy your weekend!

The links below take you straight to the top holdings of top money managers and then click to see where they increased and decreased their holdings.

Top multi-strategy, event driven hedge funds and large hedge fund managers

As the name implies, these hedge funds invest across a wide variety of hedge fund strategies like L/S Equity, L/S credit, global macro, convertible arbitrage, risk arbitrage, volatility arbitrage, merger arbitrage, distressed debt and statistical pair trading. Below are links to the holdings of some top multi-strategy hedge funds I track closely:

1) Appaloosa LP

2) Citadel Advisors

3) Balyasny Asset Management

4) Point72 Asset Management (Steve Cohen)

5) Millennium Management

6) Farallon Capital Management

7) Shonfeld Strategic Partners 

8) Walleye Capital 

9) Verition Fund Management 

10) Peak6 Investments

11) Kingdon Capital Management

12) HBK Investments

13) Highbridge Capital Management

14) Highland Capital Management

15) Hudson Bay Capital Management

16) Pentwater Capital Management

17) Sculptor Capital Management (formerly known as Och-Ziff Capital Management)

18) ExodusPoint Capital Management

19) Carlson Capital Management

20) Magnetar Capital

21) Whitebox Advisors

22) QVT Financial 

23) Paloma Partners

24) Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors

25) York Capital Management

Top Global Macro Hedge Funds and Family Offices

These hedge funds gained notoriety because of George Soros, arguably the best and most famous hedge fund manager. Global macros typically invest across fixed income, currency, commodity and equity markets.

George Soros, Carl Icahn, Stanley Druckenmiller, Julian Robertson  have converted their hedge funds into family offices to manage their own money.

1) Soros Fund Management

2) Icahn Associates

3) Duquesne Family Office (Stanley Druckenmiller)

4) Bridgewater Associates

5) Pointstate Capital Partners 

6) Caxton Associates (Bruce Kovner)

7) Tudor Investment Corporation (Paul Tudor Jones)

8) Discovery Capital Management (Rob Citrone)

9) Moore Capital Management

10) Rokos Capital Management

11) Element Capital

12) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust (Michael Larson, the man behind Gates)

Top Quant and Market Neutral Hedge Funds

These funds use sophisticated mathematical algorithms to make their returns, typically using high-frequency models so they churn their portfolios often. A few of them have outstanding long-term track records and many believe quants are taking over the world. They typically only hire PhDs in mathematics, physics and computer science to develop their algorithms. Market neutral funds will engage in pair trading to remove market beta. Some are large asset managers that specialize in factor investing.

1) Alyeska Investment Group

2) Renaissance Technologies

3) DE Shaw & Co.

4) Two Sigma Investments

5) Cubist Systematic Strategies (a quant division of Point72)

6) Man Group

7) Analytic Investors

8) AQR Capital Management

9) Dimensional Fund Advisors

10) Quantitative Investment Management

11) Oxford Asset Management

12) PDT Partners

13) TPG Angelo Gordon

14) Quantitative Systematic Strategies

15) Quantitative Investment Management

16) Bayesian Capital Management

17) SABA Capital Management

18) Quadrature Capital

19) Simplex Trading

Top Deep Value, Activist, Growth at a Reasonable Price, Event Driven and Distressed Debt Funds

These are among the top long-only funds that everyone tracks. They include funds run by legendary investors like Warren Buffet, Seth Klarman, Ron Baron and Ken Fisher. Activist investors like to make investments in companies where management lacks the proper incentives to maximize shareholder value. They differ from traditional L/S hedge funds by having a more concentrated portfolio. Distressed debt funds typically invest in debt of a company but sometimes take equity positions.

1) Abrams Capital Management (the one-man wealth machine)

2) Berkshire Hathaway

3) TCI Fund Management

4) Baron Partners Fund (click here to view other Baron funds)

5) BHR Capital

6) Fisher Asset Management

7) Baupost Group

8) Fairfax Financial Holdings

9) Fairholme Capital

10) Gotham Asset Management

11) Fir Tree Partners

12) Elliott Investment Management (Paul Singer)

13) Jana Partners

14) Miller Value Partners (Bill Miller)

15) Highfields Capital Management

16) Eminence Capital

17) Pershing Square Capital Management

18) New Mountain Vantage  Advisers

19) Atlantic Investment Management

20) Polaris Capital Management

21) Third Point

22) Marcato Capital Management

23) Glenview Capital Management

24) Apollo Management

25) Avenue Capital

26) Armistice Capital

27) Blue Harbor Group

28) Brigade Capital Management

29) Caspian Capital

30) Kerrisdale Advisers

31) Knighthead Capital Management

32) Relational Investors

33) Roystone Capital Management

34) Scopia Capital Management

35) Schneider Capital Management

36) ValueAct Capital

37) Vulcan Value Partners

38) Okumus Fund Management

39) Eagle Capital Management

40) Sasco Capital

41) Lyrical Asset Management

42) Gabelli Funds

43) Brave Warrior Advisors

44) Matrix Asset Advisors

45) Jet Capital

46) Conatus Capital Management

47) Starboard Value

48) Pzena Investment Management

49) Trian Fund Management

50) Oaktree Capital Management

51) Fayez Sarofim & Co 

52) Southeastern Asset Management 

Top Long/Short Hedge Funds

These hedge funds go long shares they think will rise in value and short those they think will fall. Along with global macro funds, they command the bulk of hedge fund assets. There are many L/S funds but here is a small sample of some well-known funds.

1) Adage Capital Management

2) Viking Global Investors

3) Greenlight Capital

4) Maverick Capital

5) Pointstate Capital Partners 

6) Marathon Asset Management

7) Tiger Global Management (Chase Coleman)

8) Coatue Management

9) D1 Capital Partners

10) Artis Capital Management

11) Fox Point Capital Management

12) Jabre Capital Partners

13) Lone Pine Capital

14) Paulson & Co.

15) Bronson Point Management

16) Hoplite Capital Management

17) LSV Asset Management

18) Hussman Strategic Advisors

19) Cantillon Capital Management

20) Brookside Capital Management

21) Blue Ridge Capital

22) Iridian Asset Management

23) Clough Capital Partners

24) GLG Partners LP

25) Cadence Capital Management

26) Honeycomb Asset Management

27) New Mountain Vantage

28) Penserra Capital Management

29) Eminence Capital

30) Steadfast Capital Management

31) Brookside Capital Management

32) PAR Capital Capital Management

33) Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co

34) Brahman Capital

35) Bridger Management 

36) Kensico Capital Management

37) Kynikos Associates

38) Soroban Capital Partners

39) Passport Capital

40) Pennant Capital Management

41) Mason Capital Management

42) Tide Point Capital Management

43) Sirios Capital Management 

44) Hayman Capital Management

45) Highside Capital Management

46) Tremblant Capital Group

47) Decade Capital Management

48) Suvretta Capital Management

49) Bloom Tree Partners

50) Cadian Capital Management

51) Matrix Capital Management

52) Senvest Partners

53) Falcon Edge Capital Management

54) Park West Asset Management

55) Melvin Capital Partners (Plotkin shut down Melvin after reeling rom Redditor attack)

56) Owl Creek Asset Management

57) Portolan Capital Management

58) Proxima Capital Management

59) Tourbillon Capital Partners

60) Impala Asset Management

61) Valinor Management

62) Marshall Wace

63) Light Street Capital Management

64) Rock Springs Capital Management

65) Rubric Capital Management

66) Whale Rock Capital

67) Skye Global Management

68) York Capital Management

69) Zweig-Dimenna Associates

Top Sector and Specialized Funds

I like tracking activity funds that specialize in real estate, biotech, healthcare, retail and other sectors like mid, small and micro caps. Here are some funds worth tracking closely.

1) Avoro Capital Advisors (formerly Venbio Select Advisors)

2) Baker Brothers Advisors

3) Perceptive Advisors

4) RTW Investments

5) Healthcor Management

6) Orbimed Advisors

7) Deerfield Management

8) BB Biotech AG

9) Birchview Capital

10) Ghost Tree Capital

11) Soleus Capital Management

12) Oracle Investment Management

13) Palo Alto Investors

14) Consonance Capital Management

15) Camber Capital Management

16) Redmile Group

17) Casdin Capital

18) Bridger Capital Management

19) Boxer Capital

20) Omega Fund Management

21) Bridgeway Capital Management

22) Cohen & Steers

23) Cardinal Capital Management

24) Munder Capital Management

25) Diamondhill Capital Management 

26) Cortina Asset Management

27) Geneva Capital Management

28) Criterion Capital Management

29) Daruma Capital Management

30) 12 West Capital Management

31) RA Capital Management

32) Sarissa Capital Management

33) Rock Springs Capital Management

34) Senzar Asset Management

35) Paradigm Biocapital Advisors

36) Sphera Funds

37) Tang Capital Management

38) Thomson Horstmann & Bryant

39) Ecor1 Capital

40) Opaleye Management

41) NEA Management Company

42) Sofinnova Investments 

43) Great Point Partners

44) Tekla Capital Management

45) Van Berkom and Associates

Mutual Funds and Asset Managers

Mutual funds and large asset managers are not hedge funds but their sheer size makes them important players. Some asset managers have excellent track records. Below, are a few funds investors track closely.

1) Fidelity

2) BlackRock Inc

3) Wellington Management

4) AQR Capital Management

5) Sands Capital Management

6) Brookfield Asset Management

7) Dodge & Cox

8) Eaton Vance Management

9) Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.

10) Geode Capital Management

11) Goldman Sachs Group

12) JP Morgan Chase & Co.

13) Morgan Stanley

14) Manulife Asset Management

15) UBS Asset Management

16) Barclays Global Investor

17) Epoch Investment Partners

18) Thornburg Investment Management

19) Kornitzer Capital Management

20) Batterymarch Financial Management

21) Tocqueville Asset Management

22) Neuberger Berman

23) Winslow Capital Management

24) Herndon Capital Management

25) Artisan Partners

26) Great West Life Insurance Management

27) Lazard Asset Management 

28) Janus Capital Management

29) Franklin Resources

30) Capital Research Global Investors

31) T. Rowe Price

32) First Eagle Investment Management

33) Frontier Capital Management

34) Akre Capital Management

35) Brandywine Global

36) Brown Capital Management

37) Victory Capital Management

38) Orbis Allan Gray

39) Ariel Investments 

40) ARK Investment Management

Canadian Asset Managers

Here are a few Canadian funds I track closely:

1) Addenda Capital

2) Letko, Brosseau and Associates

3) Fiera Capital Corporation

4) West Face Capital

5) Hexavest

6) 1832 Asset Management

7) Jarislowsky, Fraser

8) Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management

9) TD Asset Management

10) CIBC Asset Management

11) Beutel, Goodman & Co

12) Greystone Managed Investments

13) Mackenzie Financial Corporation

14) Great West Life Assurance Co

15) Guardian Capital

16) Scotia Capital

17) AGF Investments

18) Montrusco Bolton

19) CI Investments

20) Venator Capital Management

21) Van Berkom and Associates

22) Formula Growth

23) Hillsdale Investment Management

Pension Funds, Endowment Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Fed's Swiss Surrogate

Last but not least, I the track activity of some pension funds, endowment, sovereign wealth funds and the Swiss National Bank (aka the Fed's Swiss surrogate). Below, a sample of the funds I track closely:

1) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMco)

2) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

3) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

4) Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

5) OMERS Administration Corp.

6) Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

7) British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

8) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)

9) PGGM Investments

10) APG All Pensions Group

11) California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)

12) California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)

13) New York State Common Fund

14) New York State Teachers Retirement System

15) State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

16) State of Wisconsin Investment Board

17) State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund

18) Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

19) STRS Ohio

20) Teacher Retirement System of Texas

21) Virginia Retirement Systems

22) TIAA CREF investment Management

23) Harvard Management Co.

24) Norges Bank

25) Nordea Investment Management

26) Korea Investment Corp.

27) Singapore Temasek Holdings 

28) Yale Endowment Fund

29) Swiss National Bank (aka, the Fed's Swiss surrogate)

Below, Bill Eigen, JPMorgan Asset Management CIO of absolute return fixed income, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the Fed's interest rate decision, latest market trends, what to make of the recent volatility, health of the private credit market, and more.

Also, John Stoltzfus, Oppenheimer chief investment strategist, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss where to look for market opportunities, the sectors the strategist favors and much more.

Third, Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz chief economist, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the Federal Reserve's December rate decision, if equity markets will impact the Fed and much more.

Lastly, Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss concerns over an AI bubble, the history of economic bubbles, what investors can do in response to bubble fears, state of private credit market, problems around debt, his thoughts on bitcoin, and more.

Christie Ou of PERE reports OTPP disbands Asia real estate team amid regional retrenchment:

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is disbanding its Asia real estate team, marking the latest step in the Canadian pension fund’s gradual pullback from the region, PERE has learned.

The investor will transition oversight of its Asia real estate investments to its headquarters in Toronto by the end of 2026, according to PERE‘s sources. This decision follows the departure of Jun Ando, OTPP’s head of real estate Asia-Pacific, in September, per a prior PERE report. The organization has yet to name a new head of real estate for the region. Additionally, Singapore-based real estate director Waqar Zahid is set to relocate back to Toronto, according to two PERE sources.

“We recently made the strategic decision to transition oversight of our real estate portfolio in APAC to our Toronto office by the end of next year. This decision impacts a small number of our colleagues who will either relocate to Toronto or leave the organization in phases,” an OTPP spokesperson told PERE.

“This change simplifies our operating structure in real estate, which continues to be a core component of our diversified portfolio at approximately 11 percent of our asset mix. The Asia-Pacific region continues to be part of our long-term strategy, and we have approximately 8 percent of our asset mix in the region.”

As of December 31, 2024, OTPP reported C$29.4 billion ($21 billion; €18.1 billion) in real estate assets under management, with 64 percent of its portfolio in Canada, 16 percent in the US, 11 percent in Europe, 5 percent in Latin America and 4 percent in Asia-Pacific, according to its annual report.

The decision to disband the Asia real estate team comes just a few years after OTPP returned to the market in 2021, when it committed $400 million to Hines Asia Property Partners, marking the investor’s first property investment in the region since the early 2000s, according to a PERE report. In 2023, OTPP also partnered with Sydney-based manager Gateway Capital to launch the Gateway Capital Urban Logistics Partnership, a vehicle targeting a A$1 billion ($655 million; €566 million) portfolio of industrial and logistics assets along Australia’s east coast.

The dismantling of its Asia real estate team is part of a broader trend of OTPP scaling back its presence in the region. The pension fund currently has C$25 billion in total AUM across Asia-Pacific. In March, OTPP announced the closure of its Hong Kong office, which had been operational since 2013. This move followed a series of reductions, including the shuttering of its China equity investment team in 2023 and layoffs within its Asia venture and growth equity team in 2024, according to a Reuters report.

OTPP’s retrenchment in Asia has also been accompanied by significant leadership changes. In 2023, Ben Chan, head of Asia-Pacific, and Raju Ruparelia, who led direct investments in the region, both departed the organization, according to a report by affiliate title Private Equity International. These exits followed the dismantling of OTPP’s Asia-Pacific equity investment team, which resulted in the loss of five roles in Hong Kong.

The retrenchment reflects broader trends among global institutional investors, many of which are re-evaluating their exposure to Asia. Fellow Canadian public pension fund Alberta Investment Management Corporation, for example, closed its Asia office in Singapore in February, shortly after its opening in 2023, amid efforts to streamline resources.

Layan Odey and Echo Wong of Bloomberg also report Ontario Teachers to make cuts to Asia real estate team:

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will disband its Singapore-based Asia real estate team by the end of next year, further paring its physical presence in the region. 

“This change simplifies our operating structure in real estate,” a spokesperson for the Canadian pension fund said about its plan to wind down the Asia division. OTPP will transition oversight of its property investments in Asia to its Toronto office, and affected staffers in Singapore will either relocate there “or leave the organization in phases,” the spokesperson said.

The Singapore-based real estate team currently has around five individuals, a person familiar with the matter said. OTPP has 30 to 40 employees in the city-state, including investment professionals who focus on private equity and infrastructure assets in Asia.

OTPP earlier this year decided to shut down its Hong Kong office and reduce its exposure to China amid rising geopolitical tensions, Bloomberg News reported in March. That wind-down process is expected to take around 18 months.

“The Asia-Pacific region continues to be part of our long- term strategy,” the fund’s spokesman said, adding that OTPP has approximately 8% of its “asset mix” in the region.

Globally, real estate makes up 11% of the pension fund’s total assets, which stood at C$269.6 billion ($192 billion) at the end of June. Private Equity Real Estate earlier reported the Singapore real estate team changes.

Another Canadian pension fund, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, is cutting Asia buyout team as the pension reassesses its strategy, Bloomberg News reported last month.

You can read about OMERS dismissing its entire Asia buyout team here.

So what's this all about? Basically deal flow or lack of deal flow. 

If you're going to your board of directors to justify boots on the ground in Asia, paying them big compensation, they better deliver the goods or else shut it down the operations and invest in funds that are delivering the goods (pay more in fees but it's the price you pay to gain exposure in Asia).

Asia real estate is a tough market. OTPP isn't the only one that cut its staff there. London based ICG shut down its real estate business there after three years. 

OTPP's Head of Real Estate Pierre Cherki runs a lean team and their focus is mostly on North America and Europe.

He and Jenny Hammarlund recently discussed Ontario Teachers’ real estate reset and clearly the APAC region isn't part of their main focus now.

It's not that there aren't opportunities in Asia, there are especially in Tokyo, Singapore and Sidney, but if you don't have edge there, invest with those that do or get out of the market altogether. 

Moreover, while ULI and PwC found a mood of cautious optimism among real estate professionals in Asia, they report considerable disparities in markets and sectors across the region:

Stuart Porter, Asia Pacific real estate leader, PwC Global Real Estate leadership team, says: “Within a disparate Asia market, what you can discern is that rising rents have cushioned the prospects of rate pressures, global capital pivots further towards the robust markets of Japan and Australia, and construction costs have somewhat redirected focus from new development to disciplined asset management.

“Data centers remain the darlings of the investment world, though assumptions are subject to challenge by the bargaining power of tenants, power capacity constraints, and technological advances. AI [artificial intelligence] is in the early stages of transforming middle and back-office roles and operations while elevating the value of operational expertise. Use of AI might temper the office recovery, even as ‘work from home’ largely dissipates.”

Mark Cooper, senior director, Thought Leadership, ULI Asia Pacific, adds: “Real estate investors expect a more amenable interest rate environment in 2026, with falling rates in markets such as Australia and South Korea and only minor rises from a very low base in Japan. While Asia Pacific faces many challenges, it is still home to the bulk of the world’s growth, and this supports real estate investment in the long term.” 

You can read the full report here.

As far as OMERS, its new head of Private Equity, Alexander Fraser, is clearly outlining his strategy focusing on North America and Europe and will strategically do buyouts in Asia via funds where warranted.

There is not much else to report here, just keep in mind in order to justify employees in Asia or anywhere, they need to deliver to make up for their expenses and that's not always easy in every region.

Below, TPG's latest Investment Insights episode featuring Joel Thickins, Co-Head of TPG Asia and Head of Australia & New Zealand. He shares his perspective on Asia’s macro landscape, highlighting structural tailwinds and growth in alternatives across the region. 

He also explores investment opportunities in Australia, framed by increasing trade opportunities with the Asia-Pacific markets. With 30+ years in Asia, TPG combines sector specialization, operational value-add, and the strength of our global franchise and ecosystem to build regional market leaders and foster long-term growth.

My two cents, if you can't beat the TPGs and KKRs of this world in Asia-Pacific, you shouldn't have employees in this region trying to go it alone.