Funds
Goldman Sachs veterans Rob Allard and Jonathan Egol are to launch Firebreak Capital (Firebreak) later this year, a dedicated private debt hedge fund focusing on the opportunities created by financial regulatory reform and bank capital requirements.
With the rapid evolution in financial services, Firebreak aims to be an alternative balance sheet in the illiquid lending and investment sector, leveraging the emerging disruptive trends in consumer and commercial direct lending, as well as providing private credit, asset-backed and structured finance solutions. Firebreak will prospectively add cutting-edge technology that delivers insight and an efficient approach to its private debt strategy.
The hedge fund industry produced an aggregate return of 0.35 per cent in May, lifting YTD returns to +3.36 per cent, compared to the S&P 500 which increased +1.29 per cent in May and is +3.24 per cent YTD, according to eVestment
Managed futures funds posted their second consecutive monthly loss in May, falling -0.23 per cent. The strategy’s two- month draw down comes after a five-month string of gains which saw the universe produce cumulative returns of nearly six percent. A strong USD and declining oil prices, the two major and dominant trends likely adding to prior gains, have
Aurum, a specialist investment manager focusing on hedge fund portfolios, has launched Project Regeneration, a unique scheme that will allow companies to build a meaningful environmental policy.
Developed in conjunction with the UK-based charity Synchronicity Earth to help Aurum meet its own environmental goals, the project addresses the environmental aspect – the ‘E’ – of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues high on the agenda of many investors.
Kevin Gundle, chief executive officer at Aurum, says: "We take ESG seriously at Aurum, but we found that while the social and governance aspects of running an investment management business are
Nordea Asset Management has launched a high yielding renminbi-denominated Asian credit fund. Joining the multi-boutique Nordea 1 Sicav, the Renminbi High Yield Bond Fund is managed by Asian fixed income specialists Income Partners.
The new fund invests in USD-denominated Asian high yield bonds, with the USD exposure actively hedged into CNH, as well as CNH-denominated high yield bonds. The managers also seek to provide downside protection against market volatility.
Both the Asian USD high yield and offshore CNH-denominated bond markets have undergone strong expansion in recent years, while the onshore CNY-denominated bond market is set to continue opening up
The Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index (the Broad Index) finished up 0.83 per cent for the month of May with eight of the 10 sub-strategies all finishing the month in positive territory.
Long/Short Equity led the way with a return of 2.15% for the month, followed by Equity Market Neutral (1.00%), Event Driven (0.85%), Global Macro (0.71%), Multi-Strategy (0.65%), Convertible Arbitrage (0.52%), Fixed Income Arbitrage (0.48%) and Emerging Markets (0.37%).
Managed Futures was the month’s biggest loser, down 0.84 per cent, while Dedicated Short Bias ended the month in negative territory too, with a return of -0.83 per cent.
Diamond Hill Capital Management, Inc has closed the Diamond Hill Long-Short Fund to most new investors effective 12 June, 2015. The Fund will remain open to additional investment from existing shareholders and certain other new accounts as described in the prospectus supplement dated 8 May, 2015.
At Diamond Hill, portfolio managers have the authority to close their strategies before they reach an asset size where they believe they can no longer add sufficient value over a passive alternative, protecting existing clients.
"Our primary focus is always on achieving value-added results for existing clients," says Chris Bingaman, Long-Short Fund portfolio
Hermes Investment Management has added to its suite of global fixed income offerings with the launch of the Hermes Absolute Return Credit Fund, a UCITS fund which targets a positive investment return over a rolling 12 month period irrespective of market conditions.
The fund will be managed by Fraser Lundie, Co-Head of Hermes Credit and Raphael Muller, Senior Portfolio Manager. Principal members of the Hermes Credit team have been managing relative-value credit strategies together since 2004 and this fund further strengthens the team’s investment offering. The Hermes Multi Strategy Credit strategy has returned 12.8 per cent cumulative since inception
Equity and bond markets experienced renewed tensions during the period under review. European markets saw higher selling pressure than US markets, which was a negative for Global Macro managers as they have sizeable long European equities positions in their portfolios.
Returns offered by the private equity asset class are often a hot topic for discussion in the investment industry. With yields varying between fund types, sectors and managers, Jessica Duong (pictured) investigates the differences in performance of sector-specific buyout funds in this extract from Preqin Private Equity Spotlight – June 2015.
One of the main attractions of private equity for investors is the potential for outperformance over public equities over the longer term and the prospect of high yields. Offering insight into the sentiment of the LP community, Preqin’s latest global study of LPs revealed that 37 per cent of
Salient Partners has successfully completed its acquisition of Forward Management, creating a USD27 billion diversified asset management firm and reaffirming the firm’s position as provider of liquid alternative and real asset investment strategies.
The combined firm has 250 employees across its offices in Houston, San Francisco and New York.
Salient's management team will continue to be led by John Blaisdell as chairman and chief executive officer, along with Jeremy Radcliffe as president, Lee Partridge as chief investment officer, Ben Hunt as chief risk officer, and Robert Naka as chief operating officer. The firm's portfolio management teams report to Lee
