Latest News
By Ian Swallow – A framework, not an endorsement: The popularity of the UCITS ‘brand’ is beyond question and this continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments of the fund-management industry. Indeed, our own anecdotal experience suggests that investors outside of Europe often prefer to invest in a fund under the UCITS banner.
One of the issues associated with the ability to label a product as UCITS-compliant is that this status alone can influence the perspective of investors over its potential suitability. For example, a risk-averse investor may incorrectly consider that each and every UCITS vehicle is effectively approved by local
- 29/07/2014
- 29/07/2014
“Over the first six months of this year there’s been an acceleration of AuM growth. According to our database, assets in alternative UCITS have grown by 24 per cent. This is the largest growth, in percentage terms, since we started tracking the universe at the end of 2009,” says Louis Zanolin (pictured), CEO of Alix Capital which runs the UCITS Alternative Index series.
At the end of 2013, assets were roughly EUR190bn. That figure has since climbed to EUR235bn. When one considers that the average fund is only up 0.94 per cent year-to-date, and returned 4.12 per cent in 2013, the
- 29/07/2014
Towards the end of 2013 Harcourt Investment Consulting, the alternatives arm of Vontobel Asset Management, launched a family of three funds under the moniker of “Research-Driven Strategies” (RDS). The objective of these funds was simple: to harvest strategy-specific risk premia in a UCITS fund structure and deliver to investors an absolute return profile independent of market conditions.
The three funds launched in October and December of 2013 are:
• Vontobel Fund – Pure Momentum Strategy;
• Vontobel Fund – Pure Dividend Strategy;
• Vontobel Fund – Pure Premium Strategy.
The collective aim of the three funds is to
- 29/07/2014
Last year, the average long/short equity alternative UCITS fund returned 11.07 per cent according to Alix Capital. It was the first sign that these regulated funds could hold their own against their freewheeling offshore equivalents.
Little wonder, then, that investor sentiment for equity-based strategies (including market neutral and event-driven) has grown. One major beneficiary of this has been Schroders, whose GAIA platform has grown from USD3.4bn of assets at the end of 2013 to approximately USD6bn year-to-date.
This has been helped by the launch of four successful fund products.
“Last November we launched Schroder GAIA Cat Bond (a
- 29/07/2014
- 29/07/2014
Last February, just before ESMA published its updated guidelines on ETFs and UCITS, Lyxor Asset Management made its first foray into the alternative UCITS space. Hand picked from its managed account platform, Lyxor launched the Lyxor/Tiedemann Arbitrage Strategy Fund, a merger arbitrage strategy run by TIG Advisors.
It was a wise decision. In a little over 12 months the strategy run on the Lyxor platform has grown to approximately USD650m with the majority of assets in the UCITS fund. Two other UCITS funds currently sit on the platform: a version of Winton Capital’s Diversified Program (above USD215m) and the Lyxor/Canyon
- 29/07/2014
Market regulation and the desire among investors for regulated alternative funds has proven to be a fantastic opportunity for platform operators, particularly those supporting alternative UCITS.
This asset class, which had its critics a few years back, has grown from strength to strength. Through June this year, assets have climbed to around EUR240bn (according to Alix Capital), up 20 per cent on end of year assets of EUR190bn.
All of which is good news for banks and independent platform providers. But for hedge fund managers considering such a fund, choosing who to partner up with requires careful consideration.
- 29/07/2014
Ramius has filed a proxy statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission seeking shareholder approval to hire State Street Global Advisors to serve as sub-advisor to the Ramius Trading Strategies Managed Futures Fund.
The fund is an open-end mutual fund that gives investors exposure to a high-conviction portfolio of managed futures managers on the Ramius managed account platform.
The fund’s board has approved the appointment of State Street as sub-advisor, subject to approval of the fund’s shareholders.
As part of the proposed sub-advisory relationship, State Street will hire the fund’s existing portfolio management team, which will preserve
- 29/07/2014
Context Asset Management’s alternative mutual fund, the Context Alternative Strategies Fund, is now available for purchase on three mutual fund platforms – Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab and Pershing.
"At a time when many retail and institutional investors are seeking access to the strategies of highly knowledgeable hedge-fund managers, we are providing this exposure in a liquid and transparent investment vehicle," says Steve Kneeley, chief executive officer of Context. "We are glad that these three respected mutual fund marketplaces recognise the attributes of our fund, and we look forward to working with them to bring our absolute-return strategy to as many
- 29/07/2014
By Holland Grant – The Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) was established as a private, for-profit company in September 1999 and is the only securities exchange in The Bahamas to be regulated under the Securities Industry Act, 2011.
BISX was founded with the goal of bringing transparency, price discovery and market efficiency to the Bahamian Capital markets. With this goal in mind, BISX began formal listing and trading of securities in May, 2000 with nine domestic companies listing their ordinary shares on the Exchange resulting in a market capitalization of approximately $820 million. As at December 31, 2013, BISX had
- 29/07/2014
Markets keep grinding higher with equities buoyed by corporate earnings in the US and sovereign bond yields undeterred by the appetite for risk assets.
The Lyxor HFI Index was up 0.5 per cent last week, with CTA funds leading the pack thanks to gains on both asset classes, according to Philippe Ferreira, head of research at Lyxor’s Managed Account Platform.
The S&P 500 is reaching all times high as the earnings season is reassuring investors. But the market sentiment towards credit has started to diverge. One consequence of Janet Yellen’s recent speech to the Congress, in which some detected
- 29/07/2014
Special Reports
FeatureD
- Intel
- April 26, 2024
- Intel
- April 25, 2024
- Intel
- April 24, 2024
- Intel
- April 23, 2024
- Intel
- April 22, 2024
- Intel
- April 19, 2024
- Intel
- April 18, 2024
- Intel
- April 17, 2024
