Managers
Following a bright start to the year in January and challenging February, all CTA indices finished slightly in negative territory for March, according to the latest performance data for Societe Generale Prime Services’s SG CTA indices.
Overall, performance was mixed, with seven out of 20 CTA index constituents finishing with positive results; including some trend-followers, non-trend, and short-term strategies.
The Short-Term Traders Index was the only index to remain in positive territory for the year to date, and is now up 0.50 per cent.
The SG Trend Index outperformed the Trend Indicator in March by approximately 2.60 per
Eurekahedge reports that hedge funds registered their second consecutive month of losses since the start of 2018, with the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index declining 0.51 per cent in March, while still outperforming the MSCI World Index which ended the month down 2.21 per cent.
The firm writes that the average return of global hedge funds was pulled into negative territory in March as choppy trading conditions across commodities, and weaker global equity performance continued to affect the trading scene.
March was marked by investors’ concerns over the US and China trade war which made headlines throughout the month and
Baymarkets Technology (Baymarkets), a Nordic provider of FinTech solutions, has separated its current business into two independent companies, Reg&Tech Solutions AB (Reg&Tech) and Baymarkets AS.
Reg&Tech Solutions AB is a new company created by three of the previous founders of Baymarkets and Reg&Tech’s CEO, Per Andersson. Reg&Tech delivers the latest in Big Data automation, addressing the regulatory challenges facing financial institutions around the globe.
Baymarkets will continue to provide FinTech solutions to marketplaces and clearing houses, based on the Clara clearing platform, and will be led by Tore Klevenberg (pictured), as CEO, and Peter Fredriksson as Chairman.
“The
The rebound in equity markets supported hedge funds last week, with strategies with elevated beta such as such as Special Situations and L/S Equity, outperforming, according to the latest Weekly Brief from Lyxor’s Cross Asset Research team.
Market Neutral rebounded due to the slight rebound in momentum and quality stocks.
By contrast, CTAs underperformed. The slide in energy prices and the depreciation of the EUR and JPY vs. USD were the main headwinds to trend followers. However, their long but moderate positions on equities managed to alleviate part of the losses.
Market players continued to pump money into
Hedge funds posted mixed performance in the volatile month of March, as global equities declined on increasing trade and tariff tensions. The HFRI Fund Weighed Composite Index (FWC) posted a decline of 0.25 per cent for the month.
For the First Quarter 2018 (Q1 2018), the HFRI FWC advanced 0.35 per cent, topping the declines of the DJIA, S&P 500, and most European and Asian regional equity market indices.
Fixed income-based Relative Value Arbitrage (RVA) was the only main strategy that produced positive returns in March, as equities and interest rates both declined, with the HFRI Relative Value (Total)
By George Ralph, RFA – As many firms in the alternative investment sector, and certainly many of our clients, look for new ways to improve investment strategies and drive efficiencies in their businesses, against a backdrop of strict regulations and compliance requirements, investment in technology and innovation continues to rise.
Whilst automation of workflows and business processes are not new concepts, the introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) is fairly new and is gathering rapid pace in the media.
RPA utilises software bots to automate routine and repetitive tasks to increase business productivity, challenging how businesses operate. It sounds incredibly
A new white paper from Ampersand Portfolio Solutions, entitled The Risk Contribution of Stocks, puts a spotlight on the risk contribution of stocks in a portfolio and urges investors to diversify into other asset classes.
The paper states that most investors, both individual and institutional, believe that stocks are a good, perhaps even the best, investment in the long run.
However, the reason for expecting good performance from stocks is not always fully understood: Quite simply, it is because they are risky, the firm says.
The paper illustrates the riskiness of stocks; a value that escalates when volatility
The average daily transaction value on the Euronext cash order book stood at EUR8,671 million in March, up 17.3 per cent compared to March 2017 and down 5.1 per cent from the previous month.
On 16 March 2018, Euronext daily volume reached a new record for the year, at EUR19,684 million, representing the second most active day since 2010.
For the first three months of 2018, the average daily transaction value on the Euronext cash order book stood at EUR8,507 million, up 21.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The average daily transaction value on the
ACA Compliance Group (ACA) is to acquire Cordium, a provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) services. The financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close this summer, subject to regulatory approvals, have not been disclosed.
The complementary strengths of both firms will ensure that clients will have access to the highest calibre regulatory consultancy services and technology – and will serve as the springboard for further product innovation and global expansion. The acquisition also will expand ACA’s services in Europe to include Cordium’s regulatory hosting platform, Mirabella, and a post-Brexit EU office.
Robert L Stype, CEO
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is to acquire the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX), a full-service stock exchange, including trading, data and corporate listings services.
Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in Q2 2018, subject to regulatory approval, have not been disclosed. The financial impact will not be material to ICE or impact capital return plans.
Subject to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval, CHX will continue to operate as a registered national securities exchange and will benefit from the planned deployment of the NYSE Pillar trading technology in ICE’s Chicago data centre. NYSE Pillar will also provide
