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Markit is to acquire the position reconciliation technology assets of DTCC Loan/SERV (Loan/SERV), a subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Nearly 400 asset managers representing approximately 6,000 funds in the global syndicated loan market use the Loan/SERV Loan Position Reconcilement Service to reconcile over one million positions with the records maintained by administrative agent banks.   Scott Kostyra (pictured), managing director and head of Loan Settlement in Markit’s Processing division, says: “Adding position reconciliation is an important step for our loan franchise as we integrate Loan/SERV's position reconciliation service into our Markit Clear loan inventory platform and
Athena Systems has launched Spark, a new cloud-­based platform to help new hedge fund launches meet current and emerging DDQ requirements necessary to compete for assets with more established funds. The pricing model of the platform is tied to a fund’s AUM and is designed to make implementing Spark an affordable an realistic option for funds at launch.   Standard features of the new platform include: pricing and security data; position, P&L, trade, compliance, risk, cash, recon, accounting (limited), etc; electronic trading with pre­certified broker/EMS connections; coverage of global equity, CFDs, options, FX, forwards, futures and vanilla FI; and SSAE­16
Neuberger Berman has acquired an investment team that manages collateralised index-based options portfolios that seek to capture global volatility premiums, from Horizon Kinetics. The team’s investment track records, proprietary research and client assets have also transferred to Neuberger Berman.   Neuberger Berman’s new options investment team is overseen by Doug Kramer, who joined the firm in November 2015 as Co-Head of Quantitative & Multi-Asset Class Investments (working alongside current Multi-Asset Class Chief Investment Officer Erik Knutzen). Derek Devens also joins Neuberger Berman from Horizon Kinetics as a Managing Director and senior portfolio manager along with research analysts, Rory Ewing and
We enter 2016 with the same slow and fragile conditions as experienced at the end of 2015. Contradictory macro policies, such as tighter regulations vs. accommodative monetary policies, competitive easing and devaluations, has resulted in conflicting impacts on the markets. Those supporting volatility and dispersion should prevail – though unevenly across assets. The trading backdrop would remain similar to last year, with frequent rotations, hovering liquidity risk, erratic flows with rich valuations, and markets overshooting fundamental changes.
Vista Fund Services (Vista) has selected Linedata Admin Edge to run all its fund administration services in Gibraltar as demand for its specialist services grows. With business expanding, Vista decided to move away from its in-house system to one designed and supported by investment software specialists. This move was prompted by a growing fund and investor base and the need to adapt to new regulatory regimes, particularly AIFMD.   Craig Wilson (pictured), Finance Director at Vista, says: “We are a specialist administrator offering a range of services; from assisting start-up managers wanting to launch a new fund to the administration
New York-based hedge fund company Signal Capital Management is prepping the launch of VX Alpha, a new long/short strategy that focuses on systematic volatility management. The initial launch of the product is based around a Separately Managed Account platform, although Signal plans to introduce a fund structure as well, after at least a year of audited performance. Signal expects to begin trading with the new product by the second quarter of 2016, with at least USD20 million under management from a small number of high net worth investors.   VX Alpha is based in New York and will be managed
Research Affiliates’ Vice Chairman and Co-Founder, Dr Jason Hsu, will lead Rayliant Global Advisors, an Asia-focused investment firm based in Hong Kong, as Chairman, CEO and majority owner. Research Affiliates will retain a substantial minority interest in Rayliant (formerly Research Affiliates Global Advisors, the East Asia unit of Research Affiliates), which will focus on smart beta strategies tailored to the Asian market, as well as strategies based on Greater China equities and/or bonds which are designed for foreign institutional investors. Dr Hsu will continue to operate in a non-executive capacity at Research Affiliates as Vice Chairman and remain a partner
Hedge funds posted declines in December, led by Energy and Quantitative CTA strategies, to conclude a volatile, turbulent year in financial markets, according to data released today by HFR. The year began with major dislocations in currency markets, included steep declines for oil and energy commodities, as well as Emerging Markets, and concluded with rising geopolitical and terrorism threats as well as the first US interest rate increase in nearly a decade. Oscillating between positive and negative performance throughout the year, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index® posted a decline of -0.85 per cent in December, ending the year down
Multiple and powerful pressures are impacting the hedge fund industry, but two are particularly prominent: a dramatically increased regulatory burden, and investor demands for greater transparency and lower fees.  Far-reaching and complex new rules continue to reshape the environment, from Dodd-Frank and EMIR to FATCA and AIFMD. To meet these stringent regulatory responsibilities, and keep pace with evolving investor best practices, hedge funds will need to adopt a firm-wide “culture of compliance.” Non-compliance not an option Satisfying regulatory rules and investor demands may seem like a costly headache, but compliance is simply good business. Poor or non-compliance risks: More frequent
Steven A Cohen has been prohibited from supervising hedge funds that manage outside money for two years after reaching a settlement with the SEC over charges that he failed to supervise a portfolio manager who engaged in insider trading while employed at his firm.   The ban imposed by the ’neither admit nor deny settlement’, which means Cohen did not have to admit to any of the SEC's substantive allegations to end the case, runs until 31 December, 2017. Until that time, Cohen will continue to be able to run his large Family Office, Point 72 Asset Management, although the firm will

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