Managers
Net Inflows of USD23.3 billion in April signaled a continued vote of investor confidence in the hedge fund industry. This result represented an increase in industry AUM of .6 per cent on the month and built momentum on the previous month’s USD19.1 billion increase in assets, according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator published by BarclayHedge.
Industry trading profits exceeded USD55.5 billion in April and carried the industry’s aggregate AUM figure past the USD4.18 trillion mark.
“In the midst of a brightening economic outlook across the globe, it might be easy to miss the fact that hedge funds have delivered
After a benign catastrophe environment lasting several years, the insurance-linked securities market was tested by considerable losses following a number of natural disasters. While some investors may have been hit hard by these events, it gave others the opportunity to differentiate between ILS managers and their approaches.
After suffering considerable losses in 2017, investor faith in insurance-linked securities (ILS) might have been dented. However, investor appetite and demand for the asset class persisted as trustworthy managers with robust investment processes have shown clients they understand the risks within the portfolios they construct.
“Successful managers tend to be those who don’t chase return but have a focused risk-based approach to investing in ILS,” explains Dr Jamie Rodney (pictured), Executive Director, Twelve Capital. “The main factor ILS managers need to keep in mind is to ensure there are no surprises. If investors see a headline loss in the papers,
The peak perils of hurricane and earthquake receive the most attention when catastrophe risk gets transferred in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market. However, non-peak perils can contribute risk to ILS investments that may be difficult to quantify and easy to overlook. This is one reason why proprietary analysis is critical in this space.
Interest in insurance-linked securities (ILS) is moving beyond catastrophe instruments, although this is the most mature sector. There is growing appetite for climate related impact products and specialty insurance lines focused on issues like aviation, terror and cyber.
By A Paris – Large institutional investors are throwing their weight behind insurance-linked securities (ILS) with considerable allocations and mandates being handed down, despite the challenges experienced in the space since 2017. The asset class, particularly catastrophe (cat) bonds, proved resilient through the Covid-19 pandemic, living up to its diversification credentials. Further, with sustainability in investors’ crosshairs, ILS which account for climate change risk are also growing in appeal.
Calderwood, a Cayman Islands boutique fund governance firm, has further expanded its senior team with the appointment of Laura McGrath as an independent director. McGrath is an accomplished board chairperson, attorney, and business executive. She possesses broad experience across operational, legal and compliance matters, also bringing business management expertise to board leadership positions.
McGrath has 23 years of experience in the financial services industry – with over 20 years specifically in hedge and private equity fund services. She has served as a director on Cayman Islands hedge fund boards for over 15 years, and has previously been a board director
Prosek Partners, a global financial marketing communications and special situations firm, has acquired a stake in Blue Dot Capital, a boutique sustainable finance consulting firm with expertise and experience in advising investment-management firms on developing comprehensive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and impact investing capabilities.
Magma Capital Funds (Magma) has launched the Obsidian Fund, a new investment product that will provide current and former professional athletes access to an actively managed, artificial-intelligence driven fund model.
Constructed as a sister fund to Magma’s Total Return Fund, Obsidian is designed for all market environments, with the goal of providing consistent returns no matter the direction of the market. The fund leverages machine learning techniques and an advanced neural network to break down each day’s market activity into three volatility states, which informs how the fund’s systematic strategy deploys its assets.
“At Magma, we view money as the
Start-up and emerging hedge funds must increasingly look towards creative techniques and solutions when it comes to getting in front of allocators and raising capital.
Speakers at last week’s HedgeweekLIVE North America Emerging Managers Summit outlined how the manager-investor dynamic has altered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with networks and relationships now fostered across a “hybrid” model that encompasses face-to-face meetings and digital conferencing.
“The game has changed,” said Nick Pepe, managing partner and COO of Mill Hill Capital. “The hurdles to get in front of top-tier allocators in my opinion are much lower right now, but the road to
