Funds
Hedge funds gained 0.50 per cent in May according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is up 4.13 per cent in 2017.
The Barclay Hedge Fund Index has now been profitable for seven months in a row, with a cumulative gain of 6.10 per cent. The Barclay Technology Index has gained 12.27 per cent in the first five months of 2017, its strongest start in 18 years.
“Concerns based on weak retail sales, two consecutive monthly declines in consumer confidence, and uncertainty over Trump’s ability to deliver on infrastructure spending and tax cut plans drove
For the first time in several years, investors have begun expressing an interest in opportunities in Asia, according to Agecroft Partners.
The firm says that investors have shared increasing concerns about the high valuations of both the US equity and fixed income markets (pushed further by the Trump rally in the US equity markets). In addition, as many US and European based managers’ performance has lagged, investors have looked to diversify their portfolios and enhance returns. Evidence of asset flows into a strategy or region usually takes about 9 to 12 months to materialise due to the lengthy due diligence period
Hedge funds returned an average of 0.21 per cent in May 2017, and aggregate returns are +3.20 per cent YTD in 2017, according to eVestment’s Hedge Fund Industry Asset Flow Report for May 2017.
May performance was led by funds focused on corporate capital structures, while commodity and currency funds continue to be the primary drag on industry performance.
Asset flows for the month stood at USD10.52 billion for the month, bringing YTD flows to USD23.32 billion. Total industry AUM sits at USD3.130 trillion, with multi-strategy, directional credit and macro funds seeing strong investor interest.
Convertible arbitrage strategies
The SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator for June 2017 measured 3.59 per cent, up from 3.08 per cent in May.
“SS&C GlobeOp’s Forward Redemption Indicator for June 2017 was 3.59 per cent, reflecting a sharp drop from the 4.88 per cent reported a year ago for June 2016,” says Bill Stone (pictured), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SS&C Technologies. “This marks the fifth consecutive month of lower year over year redemptions, a very positive trend for the hedge fund industry.”
The SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator represents the sum of forward redemption notices received from investors in hedge funds administered by
Up until recently, machine intelligence could only be used by large sell-side institutions and sophisticated quantitative trading groups to improve how they operated in the marketplace. But as technology advances continue to push the depth and breadth of machine learning capabilities, it is allowing financial firms of all shapes and sizes to improve their compliance and trading capabilities.
Such is the importance of machine intelligence that it has the capacity to help clients improve their business models by finding new meanings in data, from the front to the back office, and then convert those insights into performance returns.
Machine-driven insights
Luxembourg is one of the world’s leading onshore domiciles where, over the last 30 years, it has become the default option for managers wishing to establish UCITS funds. It is, by size, the world’s second largest fund centre after the US, and, from a funds expertise perspective, offers managers everything they need; not just for UCITS funds but also unregulated or regulated alternative fund structures under AIFMD.
Through February 2017, total Assets under Management (AuM) for Luxembourg funds had risen 13.6 per cent year-on-year to EUR3.86 trillion, according to the latest statistics by the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry.
Typically there are three options for managing external money: using managed accounts, setting up a dedicated fund structure or launching a fund on a regulated fund platform.
The latter is best thought of as a halfway house option and is particularly suitable to those launching with EUR10 to EUR30 million in AUM, or even less. The beauty of the fund platform is not only does it provide efficient speed to market, it allows fund managers to concentrate on what they are good at, operating with a lean team that helps to keep management company costs to a minimum.
The Lawson
MPL Management (Luxembourg) SA is a third-party `Super Management Company’ providing fund governance, operational support and oversight to both UCITS funds and AIFs. It is part of MPL Group, founded by William Jones in 2006, who has, over the past 26 years, helped set up more than 100 funds in his career.
In 2008, Jones decided upon Luxembourg as his preferred European base for directorship services. At the time, he had no specific interest in setting up a management company.
“The premise I operate from – and why I refer to MPL as the `anti-ManCo’ ManCo – is that the
When setting up as a new hedge fund manager, one of the most important relationships to establish is that of the prime broker. With banks facing regulatory pressures in the form of Basel 3, many are re-appraising their client book to ensure that they are getting a suitable return on investment for the balance sheet they provide. Consequently, the first point for start-ups to focus on is to articulate what they will be doing with the fund they are planning to launch.
“They should have a well developed outline of the investment strategy, investment process and the type of portfolio
Across most EU jurisdictions, either the management company or the AIF needs to be licensed and requires some form of approval process. The Netherlands, however, is the exception to the rule. Under its light regime, neither needs to be licensed or supervised at all. This makes it a fast, efficient and cost-effective option for start-up managers.
Provided the manager runs an AIF with less than EUR100 million in AUM, he can avoid licensing and apply for an exemption, although he will be subject to certain registration and reporting obligations. For example, the manager must include a selling restriction in a
