Digital Assets Report

Latest News

First Derivatives (FD), a provider of software and consulting services, has acquired the entire issued share capital of QuantumKDB in a deal worth up to up to GBP2.2 million. The acquisition provides the Group with complementary consultancy expertise to support the growth of its Kx business and is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first full year following acquisition.       Quantum was founded in 2011 by its CEO Kieran Lucid and provides Kx consulting in the UK, US and Hong Kong. The majority of its clients operate in capital markets and the acquisition will strengthen the Group’s relationship with
The Pittsburgh office of global law firm K&L Gates has appointed Brian Vargo and Michelle Repp as partners in the firm’s investment management, hedge funds and alternative investments and corporate/M&A practices, respectively. Vargo joins the firm from Dechert LLP, while Repp returns to K&L Gates from II-VI Incorporated, where she served as Corporate Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs.   Vargo advises investment management firms and private and registered funds on matters relating to organisation, governance, and operations, including compliance with securities and commodities laws and regulations. A founding member, officer, and former chairman of the board of the Mid-Atlantic Hedge Fund
Societe Generale Prime Services has created the new SG CTA Mutual Fund Index, a performance benchmark for 1940 Act US registered mutual funds that pursue managed futures strategies. The new CTA Mutual Fund Index is the fourth daily index designed and calculated by Societe Generale, joining the SG CTA Index, the SG Trend Index, and the SG Short-Term Traders Index in teh company’s offering. The Prime Services daily indices are an industry leading suite of performance benchmarks, based on the largest CTA programs. The indices calculate the daily rate of return for an equally weighted group of the largest CTAs
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

Special Reports

FeatureD

Events

16 May, 2024 – 8:30 am

Directory Listings