Zach Schreiber’s PointState opens up two new funds, PointBridge and PointArgentum, earmarked for investments in Argentina

Zach Schreiber’s PointState Capital has raised $486 million for two new funds, PointBridge and PointArgentum, which are specifically aimed at investments in Argentina (h/t Bloomberg Briefs). Argentina has gotten a lot of bad press for its ongoing fight with Elliot Capital Management, but PointState isn’t the first to see opportunity there. Other Hedge Funds including Maglan Capital and Brevan Howard have also opened Argentina-focused funds in the last year

PointState divides Argentina strategy into two parts

According to PointState’s SEC filing, the two funds have broad mandates including long/short equities, macro, distressed debt, special situations – they can even invest outside of Argentina. But it also says that PointBridge will focus on sovereign and provincial debt and it sounds like PointArgentum will invest primarily in Argentinean companies, though there may be some overlap between the two funds.

Under the description of PointBridge’s investment strategy the filing points out that it may invest in “debt issued by the Republic of Argentina, denominated in Argentinian pesos, U.S. dollars or foreign currencies and governed by the laws of the Republic of Argentina, the United States or other foreign jurisdictions,” a pretty clear reference to Argentina’s attempts to re-issue its debt locally so that future payments don’t have to be approved by the US courts.

Schreiber known for calling the oil shock

Schreiber, who is a protégé of Stan Druckenmiller, is best known for having called last year’s fall in oil prices that caught nearly everyone else off guard. Speaking at the Ira Sohn Conference last May, Schreiber said that the increase in US production had yet to make an impact on prices, and that oil longs had grown complacent after years of strong crude oil prices and that “complacency is a killer”.

Of course you can always find someone who was betting against a particular asset before a big crash, but it’s worth noting how Schreiber’s analysis from last year matches what most analysts will now tell you with the benefit of hindsight – that supply disruptions abroad were masking the effect of growing US production. More than betting correctly, having the right insight a full six months before the rest of the market is reason to watch where Schreiber is investing next.

Date: April 8, 2015

Source: http://www.valuewalk.com/2015/04/zach-schreiber-to-invest-in-argentina/