Funds
Gottex Fund Management is to concentrate on alternative solutions, multi-asset and Asian-focused asset management following the completion of its merger with EIM Group.
The merger, which is expected to complete soon, is subject to approval from the Swiss regulator FINMA.
The combined firm will have more than USD8.5 billion in fee earning assets.
The firm aims to grow its asset base to USD15 billion over the next three to five years.
The combined firm’s investment team to increase by 16 professionals to a total of 51 located across four continents.
The merged company to focus on
British hedge fund manager Man Group is to acquire Numeric Holdings, a privately-owned, Boston-based quantitative equity manager with USD14.7 billion of funds under management as at 31 May 2014.
Man will pay USD219 million in cash to acquire Numeric, with up to USD275 million of further consideration payable to a broad group of the Numeric management team and employees following the fifth anniversary of completion under an option arrangement, dependent on the run rate profitability of the business.
The regulatory capital usage associated with the acquisition is expected to be approximately USD325 million.
Founded in 1989, Numeric has
Morgan Stanley this week announced the launch of a new ETF, the MS Scientific Beta Global Equity Factors UCITS ETF on its FundLogic platform.
The ETF provides exposure to the Scientific Beta Developed Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy Equal-Weight Index and is the first ETF to be launched between Morgan Stanley and ERI Scientific Beta. Its inclusion on the FundLogic platform demonstrates the depth of interest in smart beta products that continues to build among institutional investors.
“We are pleased to provide UCITS investors with access to the Scientific Beta Developed Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy Equal-Weight Index. The Index was devised by ERI Scientific
Exhilway has exited “risky" hedge fund business by reassigning the operational rights to a large private investor group in Australia in lieu of market linked variable royalty, payable every year by the investor group.
The deal will not result in any instantaneous cash flows for Exhilway.
Exhilway, which has been a hedge fund player since 1974 with automated trading systems, is now looking to set up new market neutral funds focusing on the emerging markets of Morocco, Hungary, India, Brazil and China along with the developed markets of US and Europe.
Exhilway now plans to focus on investing
Euronext has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) to carry out joint research into the promotion, distribution and trading of commodity products.
The exchanges will also look to develop new strategies for improving the safe operation of orderly futures and options markets and discuss the feasibility of cooperatively developing new products.
The two exchanges have agreed a series of engagements to research the demand for commodity products in new geographic areas and to develop strategies for the distribution and trading of these products in safe and orderly markets. Future work will include consideration
Insurance provider Apsley Specialty has joined forces with Lloyd’s Pembroke Syndicate 4000 to provide capacity for its insurance offering to the alternative asset management sector.
Pembroke, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ironshore Inc, operates as a syndicate within the Lloyd’s of London insurance market and is a provider of specialty insurance coverages, including those pertaining to financial institutions and, in particular, asset managers.
The Alternative Investment Management Directive (AIFMD) now dictates that many hedge fund managers must, for the first time, have professional indemnity insurance coverage in place. Apsley is the first firm in Europe to have designed an
Man Group's deal to acquire Pine Grove is part of a selective acquisition strategy that may boost the firm's diversification and scale, according to Fitch Ratings.
Business diversification could mitigate the risk of outflows driven by market volatility and investors' allocation shifts, while economies of scale remain important for tackling margin pressure in a fragmented and competitive market.
Pine Grove, a US-based credit-focused fund of hedge funds manager, will add to Man Group's product offering and US presence, although, with around USD1bn of assets under management (AUM), it is small. The deal is consistent with the group's strategy to
361 Capital, an asset management firm specialising in liquid alternative investments, has entered into a strategic partnership with private equity firm Lovell Minnick Partners.
Lovell Minnick Partners will assume a minority ownership stake in the Denver-based alternatives firm. Transaction terms have not been disclosed.
“Lovell Minnick is a preeminent private equity firm with a long track record of successful investing in asset management businesses,” says Tom Florence, CEO of 361 Capital. “The firm’s stake in 361 Capital strengthens our investment capabilities and positions us for significant growth.”
361 Capital recently announced a comprehensive growth strategy aimed at adding
Man Group is to acquire Pine Grove Asset Management, a USD1bn US-based fund of hedge fund manager specialising in the management of credit-focused hedge fund portfolios.
The transaction is subject to customary closing requirements and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014.
Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Pine Grove is a credit-focused fund of hedge fund manager, founded in 1994, with offices in Summit (New Jersey) and New York City. The firm is employee-owned, with senior investment professionals having on average 18 years of direct investment management experience. Approximately two thirds
Alternative UCITS funds returned 0.75 per cent on average in May according to the latest figures released by Alix Capital, provider of the UCITS Alternative Index Global. Every strategy, with the exception of volatility, produced positive returns.
The best performing funds were CTAs, gaining 2.34 per cent, followed by Emerging Markets (up 1.80 per cent) and Multi-Strategy (up 1.02 per cent). Despite making modest gains of 0.39 per cent, Fixed Income funds are the strongest performers on a YTD basis, up 1.45 per cent, followed by Long/Short Equity and Multi-Strategy funds, up 1.16 per cent and 1.05 per cent respectively.
