Funds
While CFTC Commissioners and staff have in the past asserted that the CFTC has jurisdiction over bitcoin derivatives in speeches and testimony, for the first time the Commission has issued a definitive finding that bitcoin derivative exchanges must register as a SEF or designated contract market.
The CFTC will now uphold the laws and regulations of the Commodity Exchange Act for all derivative bitcoin trading venues
“This begins a new chapter in the evolution of the bitcoin market,” says Palu L Choue, CEO LedgerX. “This demonstrates that bitcoin is a new commodity subject to CFTC jurisdiction and that
The CFTC has settled charges against Bitcoin options platform operator Coinflip and its chief executive officer Francisco Riordan for conducting commodity options transactions without complying with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC Regulations.
Specifically, the charges relate to operating a facility for the trading or processing of commodity options without complying with the CEA or CFTC Regulations otherwise applicable to swaps or conducting the activity pursuant to the CFTC’s exemption for trade options. Coinflip is based in San Francisco, California, and Riordan resides in San Francisco.
The Order finds that, from in or about March 2014 to at least August
Eurex Exchange is to offer a new interest rate future based on the long-term bonds issued by the Spanish government, starting 26 October 2015.
The new Euro-Bono-Futures contract represents an important addition to the existing range of efficient and cost-effective hedging instruments on the European government bond market, complementing Eurex’s already listed long-term interest rate derivatives products such as Bund-, BTP- and OAT-Futures.
“With the introduction of this contract, we are responding to the significant interest from our participants in more customised hedging solutions and in new spread trading opportunities,” says Eurex Executive Board member, Mehtap Dinc.
Eurex
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has launched a new industry data project, aimed at developing an open-source standard derivatives product identification system that can be applied across all derivatives facilities.
That would include trading venues, clearing houses, repositories and other infrastructures.
ISDA is overseeing the symbology project, which involves a consortium of buy- and sell-side market participants, vendors, platforms and trade associations. London-based capital markets technology consultancy Etrading Software is acting as project manager
The initiative comes in response to a variety of regulatory changes, including the European Union’s revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation (MIFID
In the face of volatility in the surrounding European continent, Germany has remained relatively stable and attractive to many private equity investors. Here, Preqin provides the latest statistics for German fundraising and deals, as well as details of the largest transactions of 2015 YTD.
Read the full factsheet here, featuring charts and tables demonstrating the latest research into the German private equity market.
NewStar Financial has agreed to acquire Feingold O'Keeffe Capital, a private alternative asset management firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The acquisition will add approximately USD2.3 billion to NewStar's assets under management, increasing total pro forma AUM to approximately USD6.4 billion.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, and be accretive to earnings per share in Q1 2016.
FOC Partners was established in 2001 by Co-founders Andrea Feingold, former Co-Head of PIMCO's High Yield Group, and Ian O'Keeffe, former PIMCO Head of High Yield Trading. The Co-founders launched the firm in 2001 to
TeamCo Advisers, a privately owned investment advisory firm that manages portfolios of select hedge funds and other opportunistic alternative assets, has released an in-depth overview and analysis of Special Situations Funds (SSFs).
The white paper, entitled: “Special Situations Funds: A Private Party Worth Crashing,” which was co-authored by TeamCo Managing Directors Kurt L Braitberg (pictured), CFA, CAIA and Aimee F. Kish, CAIA, outlines the factors investors should consider when evaluating these funds for inclusion in their portfolios.
In the report, TeamCo notes that:
• SSFs enable hedge fund managers to capitalise on illiquid, potentially high performing investment opportunities,
Crystal & Company, a leading strategic risk and insurance advisor, has once again been named Best North America Insurance Provider at the Annual Hedgeweek USA Awards.
The award, which celebrates the achievements of the best performing managers and service providers in the US hedge fund industry, was presented at a recent ceremony held in New York City.
Hedgeweek is a leading international magazine for the hedge fund industry. Winners were selected by the votes of Hedgeweek's subscribers, who include institutional investors, wealth managers, fund managers and other industry professionals including fund administrators, prime brokers, law firms, custodians and advisers. In
AlphaClone, a specialist in alpha-seeking investment strategies, has raised USD2.25 million in Series A financing, led by fintech-focused venture firm Operative Capital.
The financing builds on a remarkable period of growth for the firm that saw advised assets grow fourfold to over USD200 million in the past year. The company intends to use the financing to accelerate new product introductions and build out its marketing and sales operations.
Designed to adjust automatically based on pre-set rules, AlphaClone's investment strategies seek to give investors the potential to outperform the broader market by accessing the investment ideas of the world’s most established
Silver Creek Capital Management, an alternative investment boutique focusing on private credit, hedge fund and real asset strategies, has launched a new joint venture with Plum Creek Timber Company enabling institutions to directly invest in timber assets.
Twin Creeks will provide institutional investors an opportunity to co-invest in timberlands currently managed by Plum Creek with the objective of growing the portfolio to approximately USD1 billion in valuation over time through opportunistic, selective timberland acquisitions from third parties. The venture is intended to be a long-term timberland investment with an initial 15-year term. The initial portfolio, valued at USD560 million, will
