Don’t mess with Paul Singer.
Singer wrote a strongly worded letter to clients last week, saying he “learned the identities of certain individuals who breached their confidentiality obligations” by sharing Elliott Management’s quarterly investor letters with “unauthorized recipients,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Singer says Elliott is seeking monetary damages from the violators, as it takes the privacy of its investment information seriously. “We are a private investment fund, and we have an obligation to protect our ability to communicate such information to our investors confidentially,” Elliott wrote.
Singer’s targets aren’t Elliott investors, but could be others on its distribution list, including consultants, lawyers, and accountants, a source told the Journal. Nonetheless, anyone hearing that threat will likely think twice before sharing any information. Writes the Wall Street Journal:
“This can be a very frustrating issue for managers,” said Laurel FitzPatrick, a partner in the hedge-fund practice at Ropes & Gray LLP in New York. “They really, at some level, feel betrayed at times. Managers believe the people they share letters with should be treating the information confidentially.”
Singer is known to be heavy handed. In 2012 he caused the detainment of an Argentine Navy vessel when Elliott wanted Argentinian debt repaid. And in 2010, Elliott went to court to force a trade publication to reveal the name of a source that had supplied a copy of its investor letter.
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