Let's get real, people. Despite the passage of the Volcker Rule via Dodd-Frank, Goldman Sachs is reportedly considering an investment in a hedge fund being set up by Lee Robinson, the founder of London-based Trafalgar Asset Management, which is 20 percent owned by Goldman Sachs' Petershill private equity fund.
The Petershill fund is apparently part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Robinson recently left Trafalgar in a cloud of controversy in order to set up another fund, the Altana Sovereign Diversity Fund, which will make massive bets against Western economies, notably the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and others, according to the Financial Times. FT also reports that "negotiations are understood to be under way over the possibility of Goldman Sachs taking a stake in Altana."
Now this might not be a horrible bet-as a hedge, but it certainly opens the bank up to more criticism from those who see the bank as somehow immoral. I will spare you the somewhat obligatory reference to a certain sea animal. The PR folks will have a lot to say about this. A large investment in Altana could easily be spun in into a very negative news story. My sense is that the Volcker Rule alone will make it hard to invest in more hedge funds. A fund that is essentially shorting America will only compound the problems. You cannot disregard the optics of a move like this.
On the other hand
Read more: Will Goldman Sachs make a massive bet against Western economies? - FierceFinance http://www.fiercefinance.com/story/will-goldman-sachs-make-massive-bet-against-western-economies/2011-08-05?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal#ixzz1USkBDmRA
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