Funds
Hedge funds posted gains in September extending a record streak of HFRI positive performance to 11 consecutive months. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index (FWC) advanced 0.5 per cent for the month, led by gains in Equity Hedge and Event-Driven strategies.
Risk Parity strategies posted mixed performance in September, with the HFR Risk Parity Vol 10 Index gaining 0.11 percent, the HFR Risk Parity Vol 12 Index adding 0.42 per cent, and the HFR Risk Parity Vol 15 Index falling 0.26 per cent. The September gain for the Vol 10 Index brings YTD performance to +8.5 per cent, approaching the
Q&A with Stephen Paris, Director and Financial Services Industry Leader at Deloitte, & Patrick Mangion, Principal, Financial Services Industry at Deloitte
Over the past decade, the regulatory landscape for funds has undergone a number of major developments at both European and national level. What was the impact on the fund industry?
To say that the regulatory environment for funds has undergone anything short of a transformation in recent years would be an understatement. Since the 2008 financial crisis, a tremendous effort has been made at a European level to harmonise pockets of financial services legislation that were previously regulated in
There is never an easy time to launch a hedge fund. With a raft of regulatory compliance considerations, the latest – and potentially most ominous – being MiFID 2 when it comes into effect on 3 January, costs are rising. And at the same time, investors continue to apply fee pressures.
Factor in that the markets themselves have not been easy in recent times, making the search for alpha a constant challenge, and there is little wonder that fund jurisdictions have seen a slowdown in fund growth.
“It is really the result of a plethora of issues that managers must
Optima Fund Management, a hedge funds and hedge fund investment firm, has been awarded prestigious awards by two major industry groups.
First, Optima Fund Management won the ‘Best Specialist Fund of Hedge Funds’ category at the Hedgeweek USA Awards 2017 ceremony in New York on 22 September. Then, the firm’s flagship fund was named the top ‘US Strategies – 1 Year’ fund by InvestHedge at its award ceremony on 28 September.
Optima is no stranger to awards which recognise the quality and range of its investment performance. The two new plaudits add to the roll-call of six victories since
The Castlewood Select Funds flagship fund, the Castlewood Select Opportunity Fund, posted a 3.2 per cent return net of fees and expenses for the third-quarter 2017, its fourteenth consecutive monthly gain.
Mark Wittenstein (pictured), Managing Partner of the Castlewood Select Funds, says this puts the Fund up 13.8 per cent YTD through September 2017 and caps a 12-month return of 18.7 per cent for the Macro Fund.
“The market logged its sixth straight month of gains in September and continues on its streak of all-time highs to open the final quarter of 2017. For its part – with a
All bar one of MV Index Solutions’s (MVIS) seven investable Long/Short Equity Indices recorded positive performance in September.
Each index is constructed using transparent, liquid ETFs and US Treasury securities to produce hedge fund-style returns without hedge fund pricing, opaqueness and redemption restrictions.
The MVIS Global Event Long/Short Equity Index led the way with a return of 1.28 per cent, closely followed by the MVIS Global Long/Short Equity Index (1.22 per cent).
The other positive performers for the month were the MVIS Asia (Developed) Long/Short Equity Index (1.04 per cent), the MVIS Emerging Markets Long/Short Equity Index (0.96
PEGAS, the pan-European gas trading platform operated by Powernext, saw one of its best ever months in September with a total volume of 184 TWh, up 21 per cent compared to the previous year (September 2016: 152,4 TWh).
This strong development was supported by a volume of 60.9 TWh on PEGAS Spot added to a total of 123.2 TWh on PEGAS Futures, including a record for the Italian PSV market area with 6.0 TWh.

Spot trading volumes in September reached 60.9 TWh , an increase of 12 per cent on the previous year (54.2 TWh). The Dutch market area TTF
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) achieved a total volume of 265.8 TWh on its power derivatives markets in September 2017 (September 2016: 373.3 TWh).
The September volume comprised 139.2 TWh traded at EEX via Trade Registration with subsequent clearing. Clearing and settlement of all exchange transactions was executed by European Commodity Clearing (ECC).
In the Phelix-DE Future, the new reference product for European power trading, EEX achieved its highest volume since the launch of these products in April at 35.1 TWh, exceeding the previous record from August by 53% (August 2017: 22.9 TWh). Also on the Dutch power market,
Two developments reverberated in hedge funds this week, with asset and sector rotations accelerating as US yields kept on adjusting to the Fed, which gives every sign it will proceed with normalisation, while President Trump also unveiled his tax blueprint.
That’s according to the latest Weekly Brief from Lyxor’s Cross Asset Research Team.
Lyxor writes: “On the losing side this week, CTAs were hit on their equities as well as on their short dollar positions, partially offset by their short on agricultural. CTAs allocations materially changed. They have fully rebuilt very long European and US bond exposures. They also
Guernsey’s Private Investment Fund regime was launched in November last year and has so far proved to be a popular route to launch a private fund. As the regime approaches its first anniversary, Annette Alexander (pictured) of Carey Olsen, on behalf of the Guernsey Investment Fund Association, explains the PIF’s key features and the reasons behind its popularity.
Guernsey’s new Private Investment Fund (PIF) regime, launched in November 2016, has been keenly welcomed by industry participants. Aimed at circumstances where a special relationship exists between managers and investors, the new regime dispenses with any formal requirements for information
