Managers
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, has reported July 2021 market statistics, including average daily volume (ADV) of 17.1 million contracts during the month, the highest ever recorded.
Interest rate monthly ADV increased 96 per cent, with SOFR futures ADV up 221 per cent, Ultra 10-Year US Treasury Note futures up 125 per cent, and Eurodollar futures and options increasing 121 per cent and 119 per cent respectively. Interest Rate options meanwhile grew 104 per cent, while Treasury futures rose 82 per cent and options increased 88 per cent.
Options ADV increased 55 per cent,
KB Associates (KBA), a professional services firm advising investment funds and asset managers, has completed its acquisition of EFG Fund Management, a Luxembourg-based management company and subsidiary of EFG International AG, the Swiss Private Banking Group (EFG).
The transaction was agreed in February 2021 and has now been completed after receiving regulatory clearance.
KBA specialises in the provision of management company, governance and compliance services to investment funds and asset managers. Founded in 2003, Dublin-headquartered KBA also has offices in London, Cayman Islands, Malta and now Luxembourg. KBA has over 80 consultants and works with over 250 asset management
Ninety One, a global investment manager, has extended its long-time relationship with SS&C. The firm has retained SS&C Global Investor and Distribution Solutions (GIDS) to provide transfer agency services to its Ninety One Fund Managers UK Limited business.
SS&C supports Ninety One’s UK business with a full range of transfer agency services, including investor, distribution and analytics solutions. As part of the agreement, SS&C will work with Ninety One to enhance the funds’ digital investor engagement and further develop analytics capabilities.
“We are pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with SS&C,” says Cora Kielblock, Head of Global Operations. “SS&C
Broadridge Financial Solutions has acquired Alpha Omega, a market-leading FIX-based post-trade solutions provider for the investment management industry. This acquisition builds on Broadridge’s recent acquisition of Itiviti.
Pension funds and institutional investors are set to increase their allocations to computer-based hedge funds over the next 12 months, with FX and equities-focused strategies tipped to see the biggest rise, according to new industry research by fintech and quantitative analysis platform SIGTech.
SIGTech’s ‘Hedge Fund Research Report 2021’ polled 100 leading hedge fund managers across the US, the UK and Asia in June, collectively managing more than USD231 billion in assets.
The study found that 80 per cent of those hedge fund managers polled expect institutional investors to up their allocations to quantitative strategies this year, with some 51
AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), a fully digital exchange for voluntary carbon credits with real-time trading and settlement, has executed transactions representing 3,603,284 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) during the first six months of 2021.
Most of the trading on the exchange has been on the CET (CORSIA Eligible Token) contract, making it one of the world’s most traded carbon contracts. Open interest on the exchange continues to increase, from 854,366 tCO2e as at 30 June, 2021 to 1,115,266 tCO2e currently.
ACX has solidified its international reach by attracting over 130 clients across 29 countries. In the second half
Hedge funds are attracting greater numbers of ‘first-time’ allocators, with “unusual amounts” of fresh investors showing an interest in the space, according to London-based investment consultant, bfinance.
New interest has been growing since Q4 2020, accompanied by an increase in activity from clients with existing hedge fund portfolios.
Toby Goodworth (pictured), Head of Risk & Diversifying Strategies at bfinance, commented that prior to the end of 2020, the focus of his team was more on absolute return multi-assets than hedge funds, but following Q4 2020, “it was almost like a light switch turned on, and interest has been very solid
O’Shaughnessy Asset Management (OSAM), a quantitative asset management firm, has introduced a suite of emerging markets (EM) and developed ex-US ADR strategies on custom indexing platform Canvas.
OSAM develops systematic, custom portfolios that optimise for the goals of financial advisers and their clients. The new offering consists of both passive and active strategies in which the passive strategies deliver market replication, and the active strategies leverage proprietary quantitative research to optimise for risk-adjusted excess return.
“The search for alpha or excess return is leading investors to the emerging markets,” says Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CFA, Chief Executive Officer of OSAM. “Good companies
Fintech, broker and asset management company Darwinex has raised EUR3 million to pursue its ambitious growth aspirations.
Leading investors in the round were Stefan Jaecklin and Pinorena Capital who were joined by Darwinex co-founders and a number of key employees in the company. Pinorena Capital, a fintech-focused investment company led by entrepreneur Illimar Mattus, has contributed with this first investment to supporting Darwinex expansion journey.
Darwinex is regulated by the FCA in the UK (Tradeslide Trading TechLimited – FRN 586466) and its latest financial figures show revenue for the financial year 2020 jumping by 72 per cent, exceeding EUR4.69 million.
Publicly-traded hedge fund giant Man Group’s funds under management have soared to a record high, powered by a mix of bumper returns across its strategies and renewed investor inflows – helping swell the London-headquartered firm’s profits during the first half of 2021.
Man’s FUM reached a record total of USD135.3 billion at the end of the June, a sharp rise from USD123.6 billion at the start of this year.
In a results statement on Wednesday, Man reported pre-tax profits of USD280 million for the first half of 2021, an eye-catching rise of more than a USD100 million compared to 2020’s
