Funds
Managed futures traders lost 1.47 per cent in March according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is now up 1.36 per cent after three months in 2016.
“Trend reversals in the USD, energy, and emerging markets dragged down returns in March,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge. “Sixty-seven per cent of the CTAs on the BarclayHedge database had losses for the month.”
Seven of the eight Barclay CTA indices had negative returns for the month. The Diversified Traders Index lost 2.14 per cent, Systematic Traders were down 1.63 per cent, Financial/Metals Traders declined
The latest Preqin research finds that having made gains of 7.54 per cent in 2015, Asia-Pacific-focused hedge funds recorded losses of 2.02 per cent through the opening quarter of the year, the lowest performance of any region.
While the hedge fund industry as a whole saw returns of -0.43 per cent in the quarter, monthly returns for Asia-Pacific funds were the most volatile of any region, as Preqin’s benchmark ranged from -4.19 per cent in January to 4.13 per cent in March. Europe-focused funds also struggled in Q1 2016, recording losses of 1.97 per cent, while North America-focused funds posted
Hedge fund capital declined in Q1 2016, as volatile markets and early quarter performance resulted in falling investor risk tolerance and led to redemptions from underperforming strategies, according to the latest HFR Global Hedge Fund Industry Report.
Total global hedge fund capital declined to USD2.86 trillion, including investor outflows of USD15.1 billion marking not only the largest quarterly outflow since 2Q09, but also the first consecutive quarters of outflows since 2009.
The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index posted a decline of -0.67 per cent in 1Q16, despite paring the January decline of -2.6 per cent with the March gain of
London-headquartered Omni Partners has launched its third secured lending fund, Omni Secured Lending Fund III LP, with initial commitments of approximately USD60 million, and a target of USD400 million of assets.
The firm writes that OSL III provides its underlying investors with exposure to short-term loans secured against UK residential and commercial properties. The strategy enforces strict lending requirements: all loans are asset backed (helping to minimise losses), duration is no more than 24 months and Loan-to-Value (LTV) is capped at 75 per cent. Loans are extended to professional property investors and typically fund the acquisition of buy-to-let properties or
Catalyst Funds, an alternative-focused mutual fund company, is converting a fifth hedge fund product – the Catalyst/Millburn Hedge Strategy Fund (MBXIX) – to a mutual fund.
It is the latest alternative offering from Catalyst that brings an investment strategy once only available to accredited investors to the retail marketplace. Since the fund’s inception in 1997, it has generated an 11.36 per cent net annualised return compared to 7.44 per cent for the S&P 500 TR Index.
MBXIX trades a diverse portfolio of global equity, currency and interest rate instruments, as well as futures contracts on commodities in the energy,
Ellipsis Asset Management (Ellipsis AM) has retained Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) to provide master-feeder solutions to support the distribution of its French flagship funds in Europe.
Since January 2016, Ellipsis AM has launched two new sub-funds within its UCITS compliant, Luxembourg-registered SICAV, Ellipsis Funds, to act as feeders to its French master funds: European Convertible, a feeder sub-fund for the Ellipsis European Convertible Fund (a French-domiciled fund with EUR 670 million in assets under management); and Top ECI, a feeder sub-fund for the Ellipsis Master Top ECI Fund (a French-domiciled fund with EUR430 million in assets under management)
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BlackRock and Bank of America’s asset management business, BofA Global Capital Management, have completed a transaction transferring investment management responsibilities of approximately USD80 billion of AUM currently managed by BofA Global Capital Management to BlackRock.
The assets of five taxable money market funds, a US dollar offshore fund, a private fund and customised separate account strategies were transferred to BlackRock through this transaction.
The combined platform of over $370 billion in assets under management will enable BlackRock and legacy-BofA Global Capital Management clients’ broader access to high quality, global liquidity investment solutions. BlackRock will continue to enjoy a strong distribution
Angel Oak Capital Advisors is acquiring the Rainier High Yield Fund as part of the Angel Oak Trust.
Shareholders voted to approve the reorganisation of the Fund and its investment team into the Angel Oak High Yield Opportunities Fund. The adoption will add approximately USD40 million in assets to Angel Oak Capital’s nearly USD5.5 billion in assets under management and further augment the company’s fixed income investment product offering.
Joining Angel Oak Capital are Matthew Kennedy, CFA, and James Hentges, CFA, two seasoned investment professionals who have led Rainier Investment Management’s high yield mutual fund since its inception in 2009.
CNO Financial Group has invested in a non-controlling minority stake in Tennenbaum Capital Partners (TCP), a Los Angeles-based investment management firm with over USD6 billion in committed capital under management.
TCP will continue to operate on a stand-alone basis under its present executive leadership. Financial terms of this transaction have not been disclosed.
In addition, CNO has agreed to make general account investments over a period of time of approximately USD250 million across TCP's managed funds and strategies, to assist in, and benefit from, TCP's investment management skill and the overall platform's continued growth in assets under management.
The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, a global leader in alternative investment education, has embarked on its first international branding campaign.
Titled “Mind the Gap,” CAIA’s new campaign incorporates creative advertising in the London Underground system, social media outreach to CAIA Members and prospective Members, and educational events designed to help professionals in various alternative investing disciplines better understand the changing nature of the space and the ways in which education can help them build and maintain the relevant skills, while advancing their careers.
“We chose to launch the Mind the Gap campaign in London since it is
