ARK, Ron Beller, and subprime mortgages

Schillings law firm state that:

'The EIM Group has absolutely nothing to do with subprime mortgages and never has done. Further, Arpad Busson, the Chairman of EIM Group also has nothing to do with, and never has had anything to do with, subprime mortgages. The Posting links to a pdf document prepared by EIM concerning subprime mortgages. The document is an information only document which would be clear from any detailed consideration of its contents.'


So, EIM Group produces a lengthy 'information only' document about subprime mortgages.


Schillings' letter caused a forum outage on the 911Truth website on 17th December:

 http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?p=129255&sid=6fae88b1ea1705d20706cf93b8ae8b09

Due to a threatening legal letter from Schillings lawyers dated 16th December 2008 the site was suspended by Simon at United Hosting. Schillings were acting for Arpad Busson, EIM Group and ARK schools and complaining about allegations entitled ARK, EIM and Subprime Mortgages. now hidden


Ron Beller, trustee of 'Ark Academies', most certainly has been heavily involved in subprime mortgages, from which he made money 'hand over fist' via his hedge-fund Peloton. The supposed collapsed of Peloton is documented here:


 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3465296.ece

The collapsed Peloton fund invested entirely in mortgage-backed securities, bonds created by pooling together home loans taken out all over the world. Peloton’s strategy was considered a relatively safe one. It would buy only the highest quality, AAA-rated mortgage bonds, where there was little chance of the customer falling behind with payments. At the same time, Beller and his team were making bets that the poorest-quality sub-prime mortgages would fall in value by short-selling the securities. The $2 billion or so of equity in the fund was constantly leveraged four or five times over, giving the fund a portfolio of assets worth some $9 billion. The high-quality mortgages in Peloton’s portfolio were used as collateral to back the leveraged positions. It was its bets on the falling value of sub-prime mortgages that led to huge profits last year. Until early last month Beller was sitting pretty in his chic London office. In January the firm celebrated its third anniversary. During this time its flagship Peloton Partners fund returned an annualised 27%. And the partners were prepared to keep betting the ranch on their own success.


According to the following, from 'business.timesonline' in March 2008:

'Peloton Partners, the London-based hedge fund, is liquidating its two funds and shutting up shop.'  http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3492287.ece


And again:

 http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3465233.ece

'FEARS of a hedge-fund meltdown are rippling through the City, with dozens more funds said to be close to following Peloton into collapse.

Peloton began to liquidate its $9 billion (£4.5 billion) credit portfolio on Friday after coming under pressure from its bankers.'


Strangely, though, Peloton Partners is clearly still in business a year later, and has aquired another office, in the US:

 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=25694969

Peloton Partners, LLP is an employee owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm primarily provides its services to pooled investment vehicles. It manages hedge funds for its clients. The firm invests in the public equity, fixed income, commodity, and hedging markets across the globe. Peloton Partners was founded in June 2005 and is based in London, United Kingdom.

Peloton Partners' website here:  http://www.pelotonpartners.com/



Further to Ron Beller having accumulated vast amounts of money from subprime mortgages, we have EIM rubbing shoulders with Beller at his hedge-fund Peloton:


 http://www.technologyinvestor.com/login/2004/May12-08.php

Throughout its first full year, Peloton's flagship Multistrategy Fund struggled with meager returns. Some investors, such as EIM, left. But in late 2006, Mr. Beller expanded on a promising strategy: Bet heavily against the U.S. housing market. That became the focus of the Peloton ABS Fund, which he launched with about $500 million of investor money from the Multistrategy Fund.

The timing was good. By July, the ABS fund was up 34.45% as subprime borrowers began defaulting. At the same time, Mr. Beller was making a counter bet: That highly rated mortgage securities, which were trading at only 90 to 95 cents on the dollar amid the market turmoil, would ultimately pay off in full even amid heavy borrower defaults.

Some investors weren't happy with the shift into mortgage securities. Several withdrew money, including Key Asset Management and Goldman's asset-management arm. In August, Goldman's prime-brokerage unit sharply increased the amount of collateral Peloton had to put up for short-term loans.

The move infuriated Mr. Beller, according to people familiar with the situation.

Jaw-Dropping Gains

He berated some investors who decamped, questioning why they would forgo Peloton's gains, which by November 2007 had reached a stunning 87.6%, largely on the bearish housing bet. In late January, Peloton won two awards at a black-tie ceremony hosted by trade publication EuroHedge. Some attendees gasped when Peloton's returns were announced.