Funds
Hedge Funds gained 0.37 per cent in June according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The index has risen every month this year, as well as in 11 of the past 12 months, and is up 4.41 per cent for 2017.
“The hedge fund industry continues to show broad strength,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge. “The continued rally in the US equity market combined with outsized returns in specific market segments have led the industry higher this year.”
Overall, 13 of 17 subindices showed gains in June. Among the winners, Healthcare and
Gabelli Merger Plus+ Trust PLC, a newly incorporated close-ended public limited company, has begun trading on the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Gabelli Merger Plus+ Trust PLC raised gross proceeds of USD100,111,000.
Robert Barnes, Global Head of Primary Markets and CEO Turquoise, London Stock Exchange Group, says: “Welcoming the second Gabelli fund to our markets today is a milestone for the company, having successfully raised over $100 million and testament to the strength of the UK fund industry. London Stock Exchange continues to finance a variety of issuers from across the world, with over £4.4
The Castlewood Select Opportunity Fund posted a 6.5 per cent return net of fees and expenses for the second-quarter.
According to Mark Wittenstei (pictured), Managing Partner of the Castlewood Select Funds, this puts Castlewood up 10.3 per cent through the first-half of 2017 and caps a 12-month return of 16.8 per cent for the Macro Fund.
“By some measures, investors rarely had an easier time making money than they did in the first-half of 2017. Markets put together several extended strings of ‘up days’ and there were almost no scary bouts of downside volatility to keep risk-takers honest,” says
MegaTrust Investments, a boutique fund manager specialising in Chinese equities, has launched the MegaTrust Yangtze Fund IV, the first offshore fund based on its award-winning A-share strategy with over nine years of track record.
The Fund is specifically created for global institutional investors wanting to invest in China A- shares through active management and stock selection.
The Yangtze Fund IV is a Cayman Islands-based vehicle designed to trade A-shares through China- Hong Kong Stock Connect, a cross-border access scheme covering roughly 1,500 A-share stocks. The Fund will seek to replicate the success of its on-shore predecessors in mainland China,
Alternative investment manager LCM Partners has acquired a UK portfolio of mainly unsecured assets totalling GBP1.75 billion. It is a secondary portfolio of loans originated by prime lenders and is purchased with a fifteen year track record.
“This is a seasoned portfolio that generates strong and consistent cash flows. Our sister company, Link Financial Outsourcing, has been servicer since origination and so we know the payment profiles very well. Our relationship with Link as in-house servicer is a key advantage for LCM Partners; in terms of investment origination, access to static pool data for underwriting and the enhanced due diligence we
Following a record result in the business year 2016, EEX Group has published its half year volumes for 2017, achieving notable increases in the markets for emission rights, agricultural products and global commodities (Freight) alongside decreases on the power derivatives market.
Double digit growth was also achieved on the natural gas spot business. A challenging regulatory environment, in particular the price zone debate and possible split of the German/Austria bidding zone has had an impact on the trading volumes in EEX’s power markets which was in line with the performance in the European power market as a whole.
In
Ocorian is to acquire MAS International (MAS), an independent fund administration and corporate services provider. The business operates in Luxembourg and Mauritius in addition to representation in the US.
Expected to close towards the end of 2017, the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will realise the next stage of the progressive trajectory for Ocorian, following the management buyout and successive rebranding of Bedell Trust in 2016. The acquisition expands Ocorian’s international presence and service capabilities, providing further depth for their existing jurisdictions.
All staff from MAS’s administration and corporate services business will join the combined operation to
Geneva-based Quaero Capital has re-named its ‘Argos Funds – Family Enterprise’ fund as the ‘Argos Funds – Smaller European Companies’ fund to better reflect its investment universe.
Fund managers, Marc St John Webb and Philip Best say the management philosophy will remain the same, as they continue to invest in European listed smaller family-owned companies with a Value-based, bottom-up fundamental approach.
Investing in listed family-owned companies has increasingly become a core focus for all the funds run by the Quaero Smaller Companies team, with over 50 per cent of the assets of the Argonaut and Swiss funds currently invested
The hedge fund industry continued its recent run of consistent gains in June, returning 0.57 per cent for the month, according to the latest figures released by Preqin.
This is the eighth consecutive month of positive performance for the industry, surpassing the seven-month period recorded in March-September 2016.
These gains have pushed 2017 YTD returns to 4.87 per cent, the highest H1 performance since the first half of 2009 (+16.94 per cent). It is also the first time since 2007 in which the first six months of the year have all recorded positive returns.
Equity strategies funds recorded
Crystal Century Investment has launched a multi-asset alternative investment fund aimed at providing institutional clients and retail investors with access to an actively managed alternative fund.
As uncertain market conditions continue to pressure investors into taking on more equity risk, the fund aims to relieve stress enhanced positions by participating through a range of alternative classes whose performance is less reliant on favourable market conditions.
“With the introduction of our liquid alternative multi-asset fund, we have addressed a number of investor concerns in response to an uneasy imbalance of the current risk-benefit equation. At both the institutional level and
