Hedge fund founder braces for a wave of financiers in Miami

Hi, Aaron Weinman here. Miami's a hot destination, both literally and figuratively, for Wall Street firms.

Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, said last week that the firm is building a new headquarters in South Florida. James Koutoulas, the founder of Typhon Capital who moved to Miami four years ago, reckons more firms will follow in Citadel's footsteps.

Let's unpack some of the Typhon founder's thoughts.

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1. James Koutoulas moved to Miami from Chicago, and he broke down the pros and cons of life in the Magic City. With Ken Griffin's Citadel prepping for a move to Miami, Koutoulas has some timely advice for the Chicago-based hedge fund about food, crime, and the balmy weather.

Koutoulas, the founder of the $250 million hedge fund Typhon Capital, has become Miami's unofficial welcoming committee for Wall Streeters moving south. He loves Miami's pulsating cultural scene — one with a heavy Latin-American footprint — and is convinced Citadel's employees will love it too.

Like Ken Griffin, Koutoulas has spent a considerable chunk of his career in Chicago. But he said he came to Florida in 2018 because he saw "the writing on the wall."

"My hedge fund never had any major investors in Chicago, and life seemed a lot more affordable in Miami."

Miami, however, is not so easy on the wallet. At the end of April, Miami overtook Boston to become the US' third-most-expensive city to lease an apartment.

Insider's Reed Alexander interviewed Koutoulas and the hedge funder talked about rising living costs, weather, and why Miami could be the new mecca for finance.

In other news:

2. Staying with Ken Griffin and Miami, the Citadel founder was part of a record-breaking acquisition of a waterfront property in South Florida. Griffin and his company were behind a $363 million purchase at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, Bloomberg reported.

3. Jupiter Fund Management's CEO Andrew Formica also wants the beach, but he wants it so he can "do nothing." The 51-year-old Formica told Bloomberg he's leaving the $68 billion investment firm and headed to Australia to be closer to his folks and not think "about anything else."

4. Audit giant EY copped a $100 million fine because 49 staff sent or received answer keys to a CPA ethics exam. The fine is a record settlement with the SEC, which said in an order that "hundreds" of staff cheated on professional courses and exams. SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, however, dissented from the enforcement. See her full statement here.

5. Credit Suisse's new chief risk officer is preparing the bank to up its appetite for risk. David Wildermuth, who joined from Goldman Sachs in January, steps in as Credit Suisse distances itself from multiple crises that exposed its poor risk controls.

6. White Rock Management's sustainable crypto-mining techniques have helped it expand internationally. A bill — passed by New York State's legislature in June — could ban crypto miners from using the city's power grid. White Rock, however, uses techniques like hydro electricity, giving the firm an edge as authorities push for clean-energy themed initiatives.

7. Healthcare investors are pushing startups to take on more debt. Venture-capital investors want to shore up their portfolio companies' balance sheets as healthcare stocks sink on the back of market volatility.

8. JetBlue upped its bid for rival carrier Spirit Airlines. The low-cost airline on Monday raised its break-up fee by $50 million to $400 million, and increased a cash dividend to Spirit shareholders by $1, to $2.50 a share. Frontier — the airline that announced a $2.6 billion tie-up with Spirit in February — made its latest bid ($4.13 per Spirit share) last Friday. Spirit shareholders decide tomorrow.

9. Reveal Security just netted $23 million in Series A funding. Here's a look at the 27-page pitch deck the Israeli cyber startup used to nab the funds.

10. Wall Street's elite investors are convinced a recession is near. That's led some to believe that the stock-market collapse has just begun.

Done deals:

• Middle-market investment firm Alpine Investors acquired Hotel Effectiveness, a hotel labor-management SaaS company that seeks to mitigate companies' labor shortages.
• Owl Rock Capital-backed Wingspire Capital Holdings has agreed to buy Liberty Commercial Finance. Liberty specializes in equipment financing ranging from $1 million to $50 million.

Curated by Aaron Weinman in New York. Tips? Email aweinman@insider.com or tweet @aaronw11. Edited by Lisa Ryan (tweet @lisarya) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.