Funds
Managed futures posted positive results overall in February with a 0.32 per cent return for the month according to the Barclay CTA Index. Despite February’s positive results, however, the index is down 0.16 per cent year to date.
Five of eight of the CTA sectors tracked in the Barclay CTA indices were in positive territory for February, though the agriculture and currency sectors were a drag on performance.
“CTA funds got in step with equity markets in February, and those able to sit out a week-long energy reversal at the beginning of the month were rewarded by month-end,” says Sol
Morgan Creek Digital is to be the lead anchor investor in Ikigai Asset Management’s flagship fund focused on executing systematic and fundamental liquid hedge fund strategies as well as opportunistic venture-stage crypto asset investments.
Ikigai is a crypto asset management firm launched in December 2018 by former Point72 Portfolio Manager Travis Kling and partners Timothy Lewis, and Anthony Emtman.
Morgan Creek Digital, founded by Mark Yusko (pictured), Jason A Williams, and Anthony Pompliano raised USD40 million and is the only blockchain venture fund to-date to have publicly received investments from public pension funds. Alongside Ikigai, Morgan Creek Digital has previously
Thinknum, a leading provider of web-sourced alternative data, has secured USD11.6 million in Series A funding round. Participants included Green Visor Capital, one of the original investors in the firm’s USD1 million seed round in 2014.
Thinknum will use the fresh capital to fund its continuing growth and allow it to further penetrate the institutional investment community and corporate market.
Thinknum’s SaaS-based platform empowers anyone who allocates capital – from “quantamental”-style investors to corporate strategy groups seeking an edge on the competition – to harness the disparate, unstructured data sources available today as a result of online commerce and
Medalist Partners, an alternative asset management firm specialising in structured credit and asset-backed lending, has acquired a majority stake in JMP Credit Advisors (JMP Credit Advisors), a US-based investment manager with expertise in managing collateralised loan obligations (CLOs), from a subsidiary of JMP Group.
The vendor will remain as a minority investor in JMP Credit Advisors and an investor in the CLOs that JMP Credit Advisors manages.
As a result of the transaction, JMP Credit Advisors has been renamed Medalist Partners Corporate Finance, and it will continue to manage three CLOs with approximately USD1.2 billion in assets under management. JMP Credit
Janney Montgomery Scott, a full-service wealth management, capital markets, and asset management firm, is to acquire FIG Partners, an Atlanta-based investment banking and research firm.
The experienced team at FIG Partners brings nationally recognised expertise within the community bank sector to Janney’s existing financial institutions sector coverage. The transaction, expected to close in the second quarter, is Janney’s second investment bank acquisition in less than 12 months, following the addition of HighBank Advisors in May 2018.
“We are thrilled to add FIG Partners to the Janney team. This is a unique opportunity for two firms with shared values and similar
Acuris, a BC Partners and GIC-backed provider of global data, intelligence, research and analysis, has acquired Blackpeak, an investigative research firm.
Co-founded by Jack Clode and Chris Leahy in 2011, Blackpeak has grown to become a premier provider of complex due diligence, research and investigation services, particularly in relation to capital markets, M&A and private equity. The team’s experience, strong brand and deep customer relationships have allowed Blackpeak to gain a market leadership position and expand internationally, all while generating consistent profitability.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Blackpeak now operates from key financial and economic centers, including Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing,
Learnlight, a global language, intercultural skills and soft skills training provider, has acquired Arenalingua, a leading German language training company, as part of its European expansion strategy.
The acquisition, backed by Beech Tree Private Equity and Learnlight’s management team, follows Learnlight’s merger of Ispeakuspeak and Training Express and the subsequent acquisition of Communicaid nearly two years ago. The Arenalingua acquisition consolidates Learnlight’s position in the German market, where it already has Blue Chip clients such as Siemens and Deutsche Telekom.
Arenalingua was founded in 2003 and has offices in key commercial centres in Germany comprising Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and
INTL FCStone’s Singaporean subsidiary is to acquire the futures and options brokerage and clearing business of UOB Bullion and Futures Limited, a subsidiary of United Overseas Bank Limited.
Closing is conditional upon receiving regulatory approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Greg Kallinikos, Deputy CEO, Asia, says: “Adding such a well-established, Asian-focused futures and options brokerage and clearing business to the INTL FCStone group gives us critical mass in our regional capabilities, provides us access to a solid and reputable client base, and enhances our global product offering out of Singapore. This acquisition solidifies our strong commitment to the
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index gained 0.89 per cent in February, bringing its year-to-date return to 3.26 per cent, according to the March 2019 Eurekahedge Report.
The risk-on sentiment among investors driven by the Fed’s patient stance and optimism over the potential resolution of the US-China trade tension persisted through the month, sending global equity markets on a rally through February.
The global hedge fund industry saw performance growth totalling USD39.5 billion over the first two months of 2019, supported by the global equity market performance since the beginning of the year. Despite the positive performance figures, net investor redemptions
The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index, which provides a representative baseline for how the broad liquid alternative investment category performs, returned 0.56 per cent in February, slightly underperforming the 0.63 per cent monthly return of the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index.
The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index family is a joint offering between Wilshire Funds Management, the global investment management business unit of Wilshire Associates Incorporated, and Wilshire Analytics, creator of the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index.
“February marked a continuation of the renewed risk appetite seen in January, propelling equity and credit assets higher, while the volatility index continued to
