Trump's Scaramucci Used to Rich Man's Games

White House Advisor Anthony Scaramucci founded Skybridge Capital.  Scaramucci was the only Trump appointee to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos last week.  He described his experience at a Trump rally where he asked a number of supporters what brought them to the event.  Most had lost a job and were struggling to get by.  Anthony acted like he had nothing to do with jobs going overseas and corporate leaders prioritizing capital and fees/compensation over people. 

In 2006 Skybridge formed Skybridge Capital Cayman Ltd..  Ten years later they added another Cayman Islands fund, Skybridge Opportunity Fund Ltd and intended to begin fundraising.

As of September 30, 2016 a six month report for Skybridge Multi Advisor Hedge Fund Portfolios LLC stated:

The Company has analyzed tax positions taken or expect ed to be taken in the course of preparing the Company’s tax return for all open tax years and has concluded, as of September 30, 2016, no provision for income tax is required in the Company’s financial statements. 

Anthony Scaramucci is not a populist but the very person who benefited from preferred taxation for a decade while corporate leaders depopulated the U.S. workplace and gave pittance for raises.  

SEC filings show Scaramucci as an insider for two Skybridge vehicles,  The Skybridge G II Fund lists dozens of investments.  Starting at the top I researched Omega Capital Investors, which has billionaire Leon Cooperman at the helm.  The SEC charged Cooperman with insider trading in September 2016.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged hedge fund manager Leon G. Cooperman and his firm Omega Advisors with insider trading based on material nonpublic information he learned in confidence from a corporate executive.

 

The SEC alleges that Cooperman generated substantial illicit profits by purchasing securities in Atlas Pipeline Partners (APL) in advance of the sale of its natural gas processing facility in Elk City, Oklahoma.  Cooperman allegedly used his status as one of APL’s largest shareholders to gain access to the executive and obtain confidential details about the sale of this substantial company asset.  Cooperman and Omega Advisors allegedly accumulated APL securities despite explicitly agreeing not to use the material nonpublic information for trading purposes, and when APL publicly announced the asset sale its stock price jumped more than 31 percent. 

According to the SEC’s complaint, when Omega Advisors received a subpoena nearly a year-and-half later about its trading in APL securities, Cooperman contacted the executive and tried to fabricate a story to tell if questioned about this trading activity.  The executive was shocked and angered when he learned that Cooperman traded in advance of the public announcement. 

Skybridge G II's investment in Omega was relatively minor.  However, the end justifies the means nature of high finance portends Scaramucci will look after his insider class, not the populist group that put President Trump in the White House.