Funds
The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GSFC) has signed MoUs with both the SFC and HKMA regarding consultation, cooperation and the exchange of information related to the supervision of AIFMD entities.
CEO of the GFSC, Samantha Barrass, says: “Signing the AIFMD MoUs with the two Hong Kong regulators is an important development for us. It supports open, strong cooperation with the SFC and the HKMA in our regulation of AIFMD establishments, and is a very useful tool for us as a regulator”.
These are very welcome agreements for the GFSC, especially following the recent marketing initiative to Hong Kong by
PwC has teamed up with IncuBus Ventures to launch Future of Work, a 12 week incubator programme that will focus on startups in AI, Cyber Security and Smart Office solutions.
The programme starts on 11 January 2016 and will look to develop early stage startups with an MVP ready for the world’s best accelerators and further funding.
This is done through nine hours of programme content (mentor sessions, skills based workshops and office hours) a week, plus additional services and activities to help develop a strong foundation for the startups to continue growth beyond the programme.
Applications are
OTAS Technologies’ advanced market intelligence and analytics is now available directly inside Thomson Reuters Eikon.
Two applications, OTAS Core Summary and OTAS Microstructure have been integrated to provide users with immediate access to OTAS analytics and visualisation tools for supporting trading, risk and portfolio management from within their Eikon workflow.
Tom Doris, CEO of OTAS Technologies, says: “OTAS is continually working to simplify life for our clients while ensuring they have access to the intelligence they need to make better trading decisions. One of the ways we do this is by keeping our platform open and easy to integrate
VAM Funds (VAM) has launched the VAM Close Brothers Cautious Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS fund which is the second product in the VAM Discretionary Funds range, following the launch of the VAM Close Brothers Balanced Fund in July.
The VAM Discretionary Funds range will be completed by the VAM Close Brothers Growth Fund, which is due to be launched before the end of the year.
Nigel Watson (pictured), VAM Funds sales director, says: “The response from advisers to the Balanced Fund launch has been extremely positive, with the high levels of fund flows over the traditionally quiet summer period
Dry powder held by Europe-focused funds currently stands at a high of USD42 billion, led by particularly strong direct lending fundraising since 2013. As banking regulation and quantitative easing in the Eurozone have just begun to come into effect, managers in the region are increasingly dedicating resources and efforts to access lending opportunities in the underserved middle-market segment. This trend is expected to continue, fuelled by capital from institutional investors seeking strong returns through senior-focused vehicles in the direct lending segment.
Fifty-five percent of Europe-based investors are allocating to the asset class from private equity allocations, a figure which has
The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index, which provides a representative baseline for how the broad liquid alternative investment category performs, returned -1.03 per cent in September, according to Wilshire Funds Management.
The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index family is a joint offering between WFM and Wilshire Analytics, creator of the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index. The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Multi-Strategy Index, which includes both single and multi-manager funds, ended the month down -1.04 per cent.
“Largest Money Managers (US institutional tax-exempt assets)”
“Liquid alternatives significantly outpaced the broader equity and fixed income markets in September, with the Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index
JTC Group has expanded its operations in the Cayman Islands through the acquisition of GAM's fund administration business. The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, will see all 14 GAM staff in Cayman transfer to JTC.
Completion of the transaction is expected in late 2015.
JTC Group CEO & Chairman, Nigel Le Quesne (pictured), says: "Following other recent acquisitions in the fund administration space, including our purchase of Kleinwort Benson's fund administration business, this latest deal further strengthens and deepens our offering to institutional clients. We are delighted to welcome a high quality book of clients and an
The AIMA Council and the MFA Board have formed a joint Global Steering Group (GSG) with the goal of achieving synergies that will benefit the combined membership and the alternative investment industry globally.
The GSG will serve as a joint steering committee to guide the most effective operational relationship between AIMA and MFA and will be mandated to ensure coordinated policy development and messaging and an efficient use of resources while seeking to leverage the distinct strengths of each association.
The members of the Global Steering Group are as follows:
On behalf of AIMA:
Andrew Bastow – AQR
As the most highly developed region for private debt, the North American market is also at a later stage of the credit cycle than the European or Asian marketplaces. Strong growth in, and demand for, middle-market direct lending in recent years appears to have levelled off in 2015 according to fundraising figures in the region.
Given fundraising success across the asset class, dry powder levels have continued to increase to a current high of USD144 billion, suggesting that as many new players have entered the private debt space since 2008, they have done so successfully in terms of fundraising. It
The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was down -1.4 per cent in September. 3 out of 11 Lyxor Indices ended the month in positive territory. The Lyxor CTA Long Term Index (+4.0 per cent), the Lyxor CTA Long Term Index (+2.3 per cent), and the Lyxor L/S Equity Market Neutral Index (+0.4 per cent) were the best performers.
In contrast with the sell-off by last fall, the current recovery process is proving more laborious. Continued soft macro releases, several micro turbulences (VW, GLEN, the US Healthcare) and signs that the Fed might be more concerned about global growth, drove markets to
