Latest News
Private equity fundraising through the first quarter is examined in this extract from the Preqin Quarterly Update: Private Equity, Q1 2015.
Q1 2015 has seen a marked drop in the number of private equity funds closed, down from 324 in Q4 2014 to just 166 in the first quarter of the new year (Fig. 1). When compared with Q1 2014, the same downward trend is apparent, with 263 vehicles closed in the first quarter of 2014. However, despite a decline in number of funds, the level of aggregate capital raised has not fallen proportionally. Private equity vehicles closed in
- 30/04/2015
The Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) has formed a strategic partnership with law firm, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) to develop the legal and regulatory framework for investment funds in Cyprus.
KWM will conduct a comprehensive review of the Cypriot investment funds framework, including corporate tax arrangements and registration laws, to enhance Cyprus’ position as an international jurisdiction for the domiciliation and management of funds.
The findings of the consultative review are expected to be published later in 2015 whereupon KWM will work with CIFA to promote Cyprus as a gateway to Europe for regional fund managers, particularly in
- 30/04/2015
BNY Mellon has been appointed trustee and paying agent for Bosphorus CLO I Limited. It is Commerzbank’s first European CLO and is being managed by the bank’s Debt Fund Management division.
The EUR233.4 million collateralised loan obligation (CLO) will securitise a portfolio of senior secured loans and bonds granted to European companies. Sterne Agee & Leach, Inc is acting as arranger and also making its debut in the European CLO market.
CLO issuance in Europe in 2014 reached EUR14.29 billion, which was double the issuance of the previous year. BNY Mellon acted as either paying agent or trustee on more
- 30/04/2015
Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services has launched its Portfolio Analytics and Compliance (PAC) service, a guideline testing and portfolio metrics service for hedge fund managers, managed account platform sponsors.
The PAC service allows clients on Northern Trust’s Omnium technology platform to monitor characteristics and guidelines at every level of their portfolios.
Using a proprietary reporting engine fully integrated into Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services’ platform, PAC can produce reports with custom metrics and calculations based on virtually any data element maintained by the system. Examples include, but are not limited to:
• Daily investment guideline testing against investment restrictions such
- 30/04/2015
In the Bain & Co Global Healthcare Private Equity Report 2015, the prominence of early stage investments in the healthcare sector is a recurring theme, detailing how larger funds are continuing the trend of investing down market. Preqin’s Funds in Market online service tracks 99 early stage venture capital vehicles currently in market with a focus on the healthcare industry, either solely or as part of a wider industry focus; these funds are collectively targeting USD7 billion in commitments.
Early stage healthcare venture capital fundraising has undoubtedly been strong in recent years: 2014 saw the highest ever amount of capital
- 29/04/2015
Following on from last week’s article, which identified groups that found success through the first three months of 2015, this extract from the Preqin Quarterly Update: Hedge Funds, Q1 2015 looks at which funds and strategies struggled to perform in Q1.
Discretionary CTAs
CTAs experienced a revival in the latter half of 2014 following several years of subdued performance. Trend followers in particular continue to benefit from reduced levels of correlation between markets; systematic CTAs tracked by Preqin’s Hedge Fund Analyst have returned on average 17.18 per cent over the last 12 months. This contrasts markedly with the performance
- 29/04/2015
A number of leading European asset management firms have declared their intention to trade the Euro-denominated Interest Rate Swap Constant Maturity Futures (CMF) contracts on GMEX Exchange via their prime brokers.
These include Lyxor Asset Management and Old Mutual Global Investors.
Many firms on the buy-side are seeking a much lower margin alternative to plain vanilla OTC interest rate swaps for hedging given the increased capital requirements relating to central clearing and front loading rules. The GMEX CMF contracts are more closely aligned to the interest rate swap market than any other exchange product currently available.
Orders will be electronically
- 29/04/2015
Hedge Connection, the alternative investment platform connecting investment managers with asset allocators, has selected five charities to benefit from The Pitch, a “Shark Tank” style asset allocation competition.
Each competing investment manager will donate to one of the five pre-selected charities: Family Centre, PRIDE Bermuda, Women’s Resource Centre, Bermuda National Gallery (four Bermuda-based charitable organisations) or Technoserve in Washington, DC. Hedge Connection will further support these five charities through its May 15 to June 21, 2015 stock picking contest “GFF Bermuda Challenge” organised by Portfolios with Purpose.
“We are very excited to integrate this charitable component within the
- 29/04/2015
The international credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, has updated its rating of Guernsey following December’s GBP330 million bond issue for the inaugural States of Guernsey Bond.
Guernsey remains at AA+ (Stable outlook), which represents an excellent assessment. It highlights a number of economic and financial strengths which include the States of Guernsey’s revenue flexibility and sizeable assets underpinned by the government's robust fiscal position.
AA+ is the highest that a jurisdiction such as Guernsey, without its own currency, can achieve under the ratings methodology.
Dominic Wheatley (pictured), Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance, says: “This continued strong rating is consistent
- 29/04/2015
Alter Domus, a provider of fund and corporate services for alternative investment funds and multinational corporations, has been authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to act as a depositary.
Alter Domus has been issued with a Category 4b Investment Services Licence to act as a custodian in relation to the type of AIFs indicate in SLC1.03 of Part B IV of the Investment Services Rules for Investment Services Providers.
Alter Domus has launched a depositary service to support the alternative investments industry in meeting the new requirement for funds captured under the AIFM Directive to appoint an independent
- 29/04/2015
Special Reports
FeatureD
- Intel
- April 18, 2024
- Intel
- April 17, 2024
- Intel
- April 16, 2024
- Intel
- April 15, 2024
- Intel
- April 12, 2024
- Intel
- April 11, 2024
- Intel
- April 10, 2024
- Intel
- April 9, 2024
