Tone Grant convicted

In mid April, former Refco owner Tone N. Grant was convicted of all five charges related to the $2.4 billion Refco fraud. He faces 85 years in prison. Grant and former CEO Phillip R. Bennett staged round trip transactions to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in trading losses. Grant received $16 million from a leveraged buyout of the firm. On Oct. 10, 2005, Refco revealed that an entity owned by Bennett owed Refco $430 million, initiating Refco's plunge into scandal and bankruptcy. Grant is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 7; Bennett faces 130 years and sentencing is scheduled for May 20.

Joseph P. Collins, former partner with law firm Mayer Brown, is still awaiting trial on fraud charges related to the Refco case.

Customer Connections - The Heart of the Hedge

By Chris McMahon While hedge funds are better known for seeking alpha than philanthropy, many channel their generosity through innovative non-profit organizations and foundations. They just do not usually talk about it. With the economy limping, charities are concerned. The 2008 Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy found that between 2005 and 2007, charitable giving increased for nearly all high net-worth households, except for those with $5 million or more in income. The study said charitable giving dropped 9.7 percent, to $80,249, for those households in 2007 from $88,845 in 2005, after adjusting for inflation. That was before the recession. While many fear charitable giving will decline even more in the face of the global economic downturn, hedge-fund sponsored philanthropies appear to be weathering the storm better than most. Philanthropy professionals say it is due in large part to the active participation by hedge fund leadership in such organizations. << Read th

Dollar Recovery: Real or Illusionary?

Note: This feature length cover story by Chris McMahon originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Futures Magazine. Dollar Recovery: Real or Illusionary? Link to original @ Futures Magazine With the U.S. dollar index trading in the low 70s through much of 2008, the Bush administration's so called 'strong dollar' policy had become a running joke. But the weak U.S. dollar served an important function, lubricating the global economy, and was one of the main propellants of the rise in commodity and equity prices. It took the bursting of the housing and credit bubbles and the resulting flight to quality to make the U.S. strong dollar policy real. "Because people needed to raise cash immediately, they panicked and liquidated the only other asset they had: their investments. And for most people, 90% of that is stocks and bonds," explains Jason Alan Jankovsky, analyst and trader for Core Financial Group. "Now everyone thinks it's the end of the world

The Year of the Ox: Is It a Bull for China?

Note: This feature length cover story by Chris McMahon originally appeared in the November 2009 issue of SFO Magazine. Link to original @ SFO Magazine “At this critical juncture of countering the financial crisis, I called for perseverance, as perseverance will lead us to final victory. The dark cloud of the financial crisis will disperse. Let us work together for a more splendid future.” The Year of the Ox: Is It a Bull for China? ~ Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao In Chinese astrology, 2009 is the year of the ox, a symbol of wealth created by strength, hard work and perseverance. Those born under the sign of the ox are thought to be quiet, patient and determined. That’s an auspicious sign for China’s stimulus plan and newly resurgent economy. But those born under the sign are also thought to be stubborn, eccentric and quick to anger. As the global economic slowdown approaches the end of its second year, China’s economy appears to have pulled out of the downturn and to have don

Chris McMahon, MSJ

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