Digital Assets Report

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Neuberger Berman has broadened its suite of alternative investment solutions with the launch of two UCITS funds employing collateralised index put writing strategies.   The Neuberger Berman US Equity Index PutWrite and Global Equity Index PutWrite funds seek to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the harvesting of premiums from selling put options on US and global equity indices, respectively, and the conservative investment of underlying collateral.   Volatility of this strategy is generally lower than the underlying equity indices as investors typically experience lower up market and down market capture than the underliers. Therefore, over time, this strategy aims to
The Hedge Fund Standards Board (HFSB), the global standard-setting body for the alternative investment industry, has become co-chair of the Open Protocol Working Group.   The Open Protocol template standardises the collection and representation of risk information of hedge funds and other types of investment funds, and currently is used by funds with over USD1 trillion in assets under management.   Open Protocol, which is an open standard which all investors and managers are free to adopt, will be added to the HFSB Toolbox. The Toolbox complements the HFSB’s standard-setting activities by providing additional guidance on practical issues to managers,
Citi is to sell its fixed income analytics and index businesses to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) for a total cash consideration of USD685 million, subject to customary adjustments.   The transaction includes Citi’s fixed income analytics platform, The Yield Book, and Citi Fixed Income Indices which include the World Government Bond Index (WGBI).   Subject to regulatory clearance and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is anticipated to close in the second half of 2017.   Citi made the decision to divest the businesses following a strategic review process. Citi believes that LSEG is a partner that will optimise
Alternative investment fund manager SQN Capital Management has appointed Dawn Kendall as managing director of SQN Asset Management Ltd, the UK manager of the SQN Secured Income Fund (LSE-SSIF).   Kendall joins SQN from TwentyFour Asset Management where she was a partner, portfolio manager and a member of the executive committee.   She started her career at SG Warburg (now UBS), and has since held senior investment and management positions at Newton, Axa (Architas), and Investec Wealth & Investment as well as at TwentyFour.    Her primary specialism is fixed income with an extensive background in investment trusts, structured finance, product development, marketing, risk, derivatives
Nasdaq and Astana International Financial Centre JSC (AIFC) have signed a new agreement for the development of Kazakhstan’s nascent stock exchange, the AIFC Exchange.   The exchange is targeted to launch in late-2017 and will initially trade equities and fixed income with other asset classes for future phases.   Within the framework of the agreement, the Nasdaq Matching Engine will be implemented and go through several rigorous testing and acceptance stages before official deployment. The Nasdaq Machine Engine is the most widely-used matching engine in the world that combines extraordinary performance with extensive functionality to cost-effectively meet current and future business and
Signs of economic growth, steady US yields and a calm dollar greenlit a rebound in global risk assets after last week’s declines, according to the latest Weekly Brief from Lyxor’s Cross Asset Research team.   Less noise about the controversial Trump’s ties to Russia and a relatively innocuous Fed statement helped US equities to recover.   While the minutes reinforced expectations for a fully-priced June rate hike, they didn’t change investors’ prospects for at most two hikes in 2017.   It supported dollar assets, including EM markets and non-energy commodities.   Meanwhile, Eurozone assets had to contend with the firmer
The Billion Dollar Club of hedge fund investors continues to expand, as new members join their ranks and total combined allocations to the asset class rise, according to Preqin.   This group of those investors allocating USD1 billion or more to the industry has seen a net increase of eight members in the 12 months to June 2017, and now stands at 242 institutions.   Furthermore, the level of capital invested in hedge funds by these investors has grown by 6 per cent over the past year, and now stands at USD805 billion. The Billion Dollar Club of investors collectively
From a structuring perspective, infrastructure funds are most frequently established as either a limited partnership or a limited company. Partnerships are the familiar vehicle for private funds, whereas companies will be used for listed vehicles.  Obviously there will be nuances, depending on the asset class and the type of investors being targeted. “You can give limited companies characteristics that resemble a limited partnership, particularly in offshore jurisdictions like Guernsey, but generally it will be one of the two options described,” says Craig Cordle (pictured), investment funds Group Partner from Ogier in Guernsey.  There are some inherent difficulties with infrastructure funds,
Cetera Financial Institutions (CFI), part of Cetera Financial Group, has appointed industry veteran Britt Woods as vice president, head of relationship management, effective immediately.   In his new role overseeing adviser recruiting and business consulting activities for CFI, Woods will report directly to the firm’s president, LeAnn Rummel. He will be based in Franklin, TN, while spending significant time in the field with CFI’s business consultants and recruiters, together with the bank and credit union wealth management programs and financial advisors they support.    Cetera Financial Institutions is the Cetera firm specifically focused on serving the wealth management programs of banks
Irish Funds, the representative body for the cross-border investment funds industry in Ireland, has launched a guidebook for Chinese asset managers in partnership with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC).   The Guidebook is the latest initiative in the funds industry’s ongoing drive to develop and grow the industry in Ireland by partnering with the global asset management community.   By bringing together the unique skills and expertise of both the Chinese and Irish industries it provides a foundation for greater understanding and cooperation.   The Guidebook provides a detailed set of resources to support inbound investment and the

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