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CTAs are currently holding a net short position in commodities and developed market equities, and have increased their net long exposure to fixed income, in what signifies a clear, deflationary position. This defensive posture would suggest that managers are expecting further downward pressure on inflation expectations (to do with many factors, the most important being China’s slow down) and is a sign that CTAs think that further deflationary risks lie ahead.  This is a somewhat sombre, downbeat outlook for early 2016. The opening weeks of the year have been some of the worst on record for global stock markets. Over
Franklin Square Capital Partners, a manager of business development companies (BDCs), has originated a unitranche term loan for PSKW, LLC (PSKW), a developer and marketer of co-pay assistance (CPA) programs for pharmaceutical drugs. The financing supported the acquisition of PSKW by Genstar Capital (Genstar), a San Francisco, CA-based private equity investment firm focused on actively investing in high-quality companies for more than 20 years. In addition, the financing also supported PSKW's add-on acquisition of PDR Network, LLC, a provider of behaviour-based prescription management programs.   The financing was provided by FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC), FS Investment Corporation II (FSIC
Omni Partners has held the final close of its second secured lending fund, Omni Secured Lending Fund II (OSL II), with additional commitments of USD34 million, leaving total vintage II commitments at USD240 million. OSL II provides its underlying investors with exposure to short-term loans secured against UK residential and commercial properties. Since inception in April 2015 the fund has delivered a net IRR of 11.1 per cent   OSL II enforces strict lending requirements: all loans, which vary in duration from 6 to 18 months, are asset backed (thus helping to minimise losses) and have a maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV)
The Swiss Futures & Options Association (SFOA) is changing its name to the International Commodities and Derivatives Association (ICDA).  The change has been made to support the latest requirements of the Association’s members, who include global brokers, bankers, investment fund managers, commodities trading firms, market information providers and service companies, as well as exchanges and clearing houses. From now, ICDA is also accepting individual members for the first time in its long history.   Dan Day-Robinson, CEO, ICDA says: “We are delighted to be making these changes to our Association.  We have always been an international, all-inclusive organisation, so we
Lightkeeper a provider of portfolio intelligence tools to the hedge fund community, has made three key appointments – Stephen Scherock, Kate Martz, and John Connors.  Scherock joins Lightkeeper as Product Manager. He has spent the last 20 years at Morgan Stanley, and for the past decade has focused exclusively on the needs of the hedge fund community. Scherock's specialty is performance and risk analysis, most recently as an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley's Prime Brokerage Group. He has helped hedge funds by configuring systems, reports and insights for day-to-day monitoring of performance and risk calculations. Previously at Morgan Stanley, Scherock helped
Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) have agreed to settle separate SEC cases finding that they violated federal securities laws while operating alternative trading systems known as dark pools and Credit Suisse’s Light Pool. The New York Attorney General’s office is announcing parallel actions against the two firms.   Barclays agreed to settle the charges by admitting wrongdoing and paying USD35 million penalties to the SEC and the NYAG for a total of USD70 million.    Credit Suisse agreed to settle the charges by paying a USD30 million penalty to the SEC, a USD30 million penalty to the NYAG, and
Elementum Advisors has promoted Paul Barker to Principal & Portfolio Manager and Chris Cebula to Portfolio Manager, effective 1 February, 2016.  Barker joined the firm as a Catastrophe Modeling Analyst in 2011. He subsequently moved to Elementum’s Bermuda office in 2014 and transitioned to portfolio management with a focus on portfolio construction, hedging, and analysis of collateralized reinsurance investments.   Rettino, Founding Principal & Portfolio Manager, says: “Paul's commitment and leadership have been instrumental in improving our portfolio construction tools and processes.  His efforts across multiple areas have benefited the firm greatly.”   Cebula joined Elementum in 2010 as an Analyst
Fixed-income electronic trading platform MarketAxess saw record global Emerging Market (EM) trading volumes of USD146 billion during 2015, a 30 per cent increase in trading volumes compared to the previous year.   MarketAxess further expanded its group of global liquidity providers for EM trading during 2015, and added to its breadth of currencies available on the platform. Local market debt trading was the fastest growing product on MarketAxess during 2015, up 208 per cent compared to 2014.      Kevin McPherson, Global Head of Sales at MarketAxess, says: "We're in a new phase of uncertainty for emerging market fixed-income. Trends in volatility
Eze Software Group experienced record growth in 2015 across its product lines within the Eze Software Investment Suite.  Since its formation in 2013, the company has focused on integration of order management, execution management, portfolio accounting, data management, compliance, and commission management within the Investment Suite, with customers increasingly adopting more integrated solutions in the past year. In 2015, the company added 275 new clients using one or more application in Eze Software Investment Suite across all major market regions. The EMEA region saw particularly strong growth versus 2014, with over 50 deals closed. Notably, more clients have been signing on
Jefferies has joined hedge fund intelligence platform AltX’s growing list of investment bank clients. AltX helps firms who service, target and invest in the hedge fund industry find new clients and know their existing clients better. AltX integrates machine learning, proprietary algorithms, behavioural science, relationship mapping, as well as traditional financial analytics, to improve workflow processes and ultimately allow users to make smarter, faster and more informed investment decisions in the hedge fund market. AltX is used by multiple groups within financial institutions including Prime Brokerage, Equity and Credit Sales, Coverage, Asset Managers, Pension Funds, Investor Relations, and Family Offices,

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