As inflation continues to loom large over markets, Peter Stage, EJF Capital’s co-senior managing director in Europe, discussed how the financials-focused asset manager is navigating the unfolding investment environment.
With the European Central Bank starting to wind down its emergency bond-buying pandemic support programme, Stage told Hedgeweek how EJF Capital – which invests long-only and long/short in both equities and credit across banks, insurance companies and specialty finance – is positioning its strategies as central bank policy decisions drive markets over the coming quarter.
Portfolio managers at Altana Wealth, the credit, currency and special situations-focused hedge fund led by industry veteran Lee Robinson, meanwhile spelled out how the firm is zeroing in on the offshore oil and gas services sector.
Steffen Dietel and George Yacoub Nadda, co-portfolio managers of the Altana Distressed Opportunities Fund, said the assortment of themes and trades across equities and credit stemming from the rebound in oil demand offer opportunities “rarely seen” in their investment careers.
Elsewhere, currency-focused investment manager Millennium Global Investments has rolled out a new systematic long/short currency hedge fund strategy aimed at capitalising on investor demand for non-correlated returns. The fund trades nine developed market currencies against the US dollar, using a proprietary systematic programme that captures forward-looking momentum signals to build long and short positions.
New industry data published separately by BarclayHedge and eVestment underlines how emerging markets-focused hedge funds and Asia-focused strategies have helped fuel recent gains for the industry, which last month rebounded back into double-digit territory.
100 Women in Finance, the 20,000-member global industry association for hedge fund, alternatives and investment management professionals which aims to empower women within the global finance industry, has picked more than 300 female fund managers to participate in this year’s Global FundWomen Week, its annual flagship capital introduction event.
The event – which is taking place virtually for the second year between 20-24 September – has more than 300 registered institutional allocators, and will feature expert panel discussions, fireside chats and one-on-one capital introduction opportunities.
In a guest column, Juan Cruz, founding partner and CIO, Cygnus Asset Management, discusses how different sectors will look to readjust their activity on the path to a zero emissions world. Cruz’s wide-ranging commentary reflects on how hedge funds’ and other asset managers’ expertise will prove vital in identifying winners and losers, company valuations and market expectations in the coming years, as the renewables revolution upends economies and industries in the coming years.
Hugh Leask
Editor, Hedgeweek