Managers
BNY Mellon HedgeMark is a dedicated managed account provider, solely focused on creating and operating managed account platforms for institutional investors. Launched in 2012, the business today has more than USD23 billion in assets across more than 100 funds spanning a broad range of hedge fund strategy types, including long/short equity, macro, equity market neutral, credit, CTAs, risk premia and more.
Large institutions have gradually moved away from off-the-rack, one-size-fits-all products and shifted towards strategies more tailored to their particular investment objectives, says Joshua Kestler, head of the business in New York.
Co-investments are a key area that is gathering momentum,
Innocap, the Montréal-based structuring and operating managed account platform unit co-owned by BNP Paribas and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, was originally established in 1996 as the internal managed accounts-based fund of hedge funds within National Bank of Canada’s Treasury operations. Since then, the Innocap group has grown and now manages approximately USD7.2 billion in assets, structuring and operating customised managed account solutions for institutional investors globally.
As the business has developed, and managed accounts have gained in prominence among hedge fund investors, allocators’ priorities have steadily shifted. Foremost among current trends and developments is risk management,
For all the attendant challenges facing hedge funds – from greater fee pressures and more onerous compliance burdens to lacklustre performance and investor aversion – the industry has time and again demonstrated its ability to continually innovate and reshape the way it does business.
As the balance of power moves decisively away from managers and towards investors, managed accounts have continued to gain traction among allocators who want a greater degree of control, customisation and tailoring in their alternative investments, underpinned by the promise of increased transparency in portfolios and the appeal of lower fees.
As interest in managed account
Crystal Capital the operator of an alternative investment platforms for financial advisors and their qualified purchaser (QP) investors offering access to hedge fund and private equity investments, has reported 93 per cent growth in new Advisory relationships since January 2019.
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Equity markets have merely sneezed in response to the coronavirus (Covid-19) and while there is uncertainty over how much fear has been priced in, as infection numbers continue to rise, hedge funds have navigated developments with discipline and a modest reduction in net long exposure. For now, rather than trying to react to short-term moves, managers are taking a prosaic stance.
US assets continue to draw international flows, predominantly from Japan, but the level of support may not be sustainable to keep the dollar strong, according to new research by contrarian hedge fund Horseman Capital.
In a note this week, Russell Clark, who leads the long-running London-based global equities hedge fund firm, observed how US Net International Investment Position (NIIP) as a percentage of GDP is now close to 50 per cent of GDP deficit, while private sector deficits in China and Europe are close to zero – implying “almost all flows” from Japan are heading to the US.
Clark –
Hedge funds are positioning for a spike in volatility in healthcare, energy, financials and tech as the US presidential election gathers pace.
US-focused long/short equity and event driven managers forecast Donald Trump winning a second mandate in November’s poll, according to research by Lyxor Asset Management.
But with certain Democratic candidates, including Bernie Sanders, promising sweeping changes to the healthcare and banking systems, a ban on fracking, and increases in wealth and corporate taxes, along with higher wages, certain industries – including healthcare, energy, defence, financial, and tech – are more sensitive to the elections.
“Some managers are shaving off
IQ-EQ has acquired Blue River Partners (Blue River), a US provider of outsourced solutions to alternative asset managers in a deal that IQ_EQ says makes it a major player in the US private equity and hedge fund services market. The newly combined IQ-EQ US operation will total 200 people in the US as a result of this transaction.
Founded in 2009, Blue River pioneered back-office outsourcing for alternative asset managers, and has grown to become an industry leader, servicing more than 400 clients across the US and employing approximately 180 team members across its seven office locations – Dallas (HQ), Fort