Funds
Morningstar has released a new report, Cross-Border Liquid Alternative Fund Landscape 2019, showing how the landscape for this fast-growing asset class has developed and transformed in the past decade, and what challenges lay ahead for investors and fund selectors in the asset class.
In the 10 years through the end of December 2018, the number of available open-ended alternative funds domiciled in Europe has risen by 76 per cent, which equates to 2,663 live open-ended funds in Morningstar’s database currently. This growth is higher than for any other asset class. In terms of assets, alternative managers oversaw EUR420 billion of
Saxo Bank, a fintech and regtech specialist focused on multi-asset trading and investment, is broadening access to Chinese securities, further cementing its position as a gateway to China for its international client base.
Qualified institutional clients are now able to trade mainland China bonds through Saxo Bank. The connectivity is enabled via the Hong Kong based Bond Connect mechanism, which is a mutual bond access programme launched in 2017, allowing overseas and Mainland China investors to trade in each other’s bond markets. The launch of mainland China bonds further strengthens Saxo Bank’s unparalleled global multi-asset trading and investment platforms –
Man Group has announced net inflows of USD10.8 billion for the financial year ended 31 December, down from the USD12.8 billion seen in 2017.
Funds under Management (FUM) totalled USD108.5 billion as at 31 December 2018 compared with USD109.1 billion in 2017, while adjusted profit before tax (PBT) fell to USD251 million in for the year from USD384 million in 2017.
Luke Ellis (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of Man, says: “2018 was a more difficult year for the asset management industry, characterised by periods of higher volatility which impacted performance across asset classes and investment styles. Against this backdrop
The LF Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF) has sold some of the portfolio’s individual unquoted stocks to Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) in exchange for shares in WPCT. This step signals the start of a strategy to switch the fund’s unquoted exposure from individual unquoted holdings to shares in WPCT.
WEIF acquired the new WPCT shares primarily for a “non-cash consideration” by transferring five unquoted holdings to the value of GBP72.9 million to WPCT and subscribing for the remaining GBP6 million in cash. This acquisition of assets by WPCT allows it to increase its position in companies that the Board
Gregory Property Group has secured forward funding and started on site to deliver a prominent, new 407-bed student residential scheme on the edge of Leeds city centre.
Planning consent was granted in November last year for the GBP30 million plus scheme located on a prominent site on Bingley Street. Until recently, the site was occupied for more than three decades by Maxi’s restaurant; the first purpose-built Chinese restaurant in the UK.
Gregory Property Group has secured forward funding from Curlew Alternative Asset Management (Curlew) and subsequently appointed Leeds based GMI Construction Group with a GBP21.5million contract to build ‘The
A corporate team from Carey Olsen Bermuda has advised Apex Group (Apex) on its purchase of Beacon Fund Services (Bermuda) Ltd, Beacon Corporate Services (Bermuda) Ltd and Beacon Management Limited (Beacon).
The acquisition of Beacon, a well-established Bermuda-based fund administrator, adds further weight to Apex’s hedge fund administration, corporate services and transfer agency solutions, while also adding USD10 billion in assets under administration to the Apex portfolio. Headquartered in Bermuda, Beacon was established in 1995 and delivers sophisticated service offerings to both offshore and domestic hedge funds and other international entities.
The Carey Olsen Bermuda team comprised partner Mary Ward
Pangea Blockchain Fund has held the close of its seed round and debuted its inaugural International fund focussed on transformative blockchain solutions.
The firm secured USD22 million and expects fundraising to be capped at USD200 million. Pangea Blockchain Fund’s Swiss-based investment adviser, Blockchain Investment Advisory Sagl, is led by a team of established asset management and blockchain industry veterans including founders James Duplessie and William Duplessie. The US-based sub-adviser, Blockchain Investment Advisory LLC, is managed by Jason Bonayer, Stephen Duplessie, Philip Plough and Jeffrey Engel. Together, the teams will position Pangea Blockchain Fund at the forefront of tech discoveries
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index rose 2.35 per cent in January 2019, recording its strongest January performance since 2006 as fund managers recovered from the losses sustained during the last few months of 2018.
The index ended 2018 with its weakest yearly showing since the global financial crisis, as it slumped 4.16 per cent.
Despite the strong performance of the hedge fund industry, preliminary data for January revealed that investor redemptions stood at USD5.3 billion, in contrast to the USD22.1 billion performance-driven growth recorded. Total asset under management for the global hedge fund industry stood at USD2,309.2 billion as of January 2019.
Mackenzie Investments has launched three new liquid alternative funds designed to manage the negative impact of market volatility and improve portfolio stability.
The funds join the Mackenzie Multi-Strategy Absolute Return Fund to form a suite of alternative solutions that can be used to help clients solve investment challenges by amplifying returns, mitigating volatility and managing inflation risk over the long term.
“We can now take a modern approach to portfolio construction that will create opportunities for stronger, better-diversified portfolios and outcomes for our investors,” says Michael Schnitman, Senior Vice-President, Product at Mackenzie Investments. “By using liquid alternatives’ winning
Carillon Tower Advisers, a multi-boutique asset-management firm with USD64.6 billion in assets under management and advisement, is to acquire ClariVest Asset Management.
Effective April, ClariVest will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Carillon Tower’s affiliate, Eagle Asset Management. The move follows Eagle’s purchase of an initial 45 per cent stake in ClariVest in 2012.
“We deeply value the partnership we have built with ClariVest in recent years, and we look forward to achieving an even stronger connection between Carillon Tower’s distribution capabilities and ClariVest’s unique investment products,” says Cooper Abbott (pictured), President of Carillon Tower. “ClariVest’s distinctive approach and experienced
