All Hedge Fund Managers Look The Same To Us - Congress

Oh, so congress is expected to actually look into the accusations they make now?

Hiring hedge funders for government work is a bit of a high-wire act in DC these days. Giving taxpayer dollars to everyone's favorite boogeymen is political suicide, and opens the door for facile populist attacks from either side of the aisle.

Like this one.

Congressmen slammed Obama administration officials this week for hiring a firm with a connection to a hedge fund manager that spectacularly blew up.
"Here we have somebody who lost millions of dollars, under investigation by the Department of Justice. We've got to figure out how in the world these people got the contract," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz on Wednesday in reference to Owen Li during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Congressman Chaffetz, a Tea Partier from Utah, was pretty rip-sh*t that the Obama administration would hire ant entity associated with Owen Li, whom Chaffetz knew to be the head of failed hedge fund Canarsie Capital.

Chaffetz was joined by other members of the committee - from both parties - in castigating the White House for even trying to engage with a filthy hedgie on their watch.

There was only one small hole in their argument.

Turns out the Owen Li on the board of CSID is not the same Owen Li who is (reportedly) under federal investigation. The gaffe appears to be the result of a case of mistaken identity.
The Owen Li who gained Wall Street notoriety earlier this year for losing $60 million of investors’ money in three weeks while acting as a principal of hedge fund Canarsie Capital is reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice and the SEC.
But that’s a different Owen Li from the CSID board member. The CSID Owen Li is a vice president at Investcorp, a Bahrain-based investment manager.


Well at least the moment can be used to educate other politicos from cozying up to hedge funders. And god help anyone named Steve Cohen trying to get a job inside the Beltway.

For presidential candidate Rand Paul it's a perfect precedent to show critics that names are confusing. Like, he just hired a guy named Mark Spitznagel to be a senior economic advisor on his campaign, and there's another Mark Spitznagel out there who runs a $6 billion hedge fund called Universa Investments and advocates crazy sh*t like using goats to save Detroit's economy.

Oh, it's the same Mark Spitznagel?

Holy sh*t, these guys do all look alike.

Chaffetz's blunder: Right name, wrong man in OPM flap [Politico]


Which Hedge Fund Manager's TV Commercial Are You Most Looking Forward To?

I take back whatever mildly negative things I may have said about the JOBS Act, since apparently in addition to making it easier for small startups to rip off investors, it will also make it easier for small hedge funds to rip off investors: President Barack Obama’s securities-law rollback known as the Jobs Act, expected to be signed into law next month, also contains a provision that would lift the ban on the marketing of private funds, potentially giving hedge funds, private-equity funds and others greater freedom in marketing their offerings to the public, industry attorneys said. Currently, private funds are allowed only to market to a small group of investors: those with whom they have pre-existing, “substantive” relationships. Under the bill, hedge funds could start sponsoring sporting events and begin advertising their funds in print, the lawyers said. The shift is “significant” and could provide a boost to small hedge funds trying to raise capital but that lack brand-name recognition or wide contacts, says Steve Nadel, a hedge-fund lawyer with Seward & Kissel LLP in New York; larger, more established firms sometimes have investors waiting to invest. The Journal goes on to talk about the free speech aspect of this, and I did that too, so yay, now you can tell strangers how awesome your hedge fund is, AND OF COURSE YOU WILL DO JUST THAT, and you probably are already and are surprised to learn that it's illegal*? Also, and more importantly, soon you will be able to give people money to induce them to tell strangers on the internet how awesome your hedge fund is, so, y'know, consider giving us some of that money, because we like money.