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Sucden Financial has appointed industry expert Rafael Caporale as Head of LME Options Market Making, forming a new division within the firm.
Caporale will be responsible for establishing and running a dedicated options trading team, targeting clients looking for liquidity in LME options. He will be drawing on internal expertise and experience.
Caporale started his career in 2004 at Bache Commodities and began managing their options book in 2006. Following the acquisition of Bache by Jefferies and onward sale to Société Générale, Caporale was retained as Head of Metals Options Trading and Deputy Head of Metals Trading, until their withdrawal
Global trade disputes and oil price downturns took a toll on hedge funds in May, bringing an end to the industry’s four-month run of positive returns. For the month, the hedge fund industry was down 1.47 per cent, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.
By comparison, the S&P 500 Total Return Index was down 6.35 per cent for the month. Year-to-date through the end of May, hedge funds returned 5.23 per cent, while the S&P was up 10.59 per cent on the year.
“Hopeful signs from US-China trade talks vanished in
RFA, an IT service, financial cloud and cyber security provider to the alternative finance sector, has made two strategic hires aimed at enhancing the team leading its operations in Europe.
Jon Melville, appointed Head of Client Relations in Europe, has over 20 years’ experience, including Director level roles within strategic IT and the service delivery landscape. He helps clients ensure that their business goals and technology strategies are aligned and the RFA partnership remains transparent.
Amar Shah, appointed Head of Client Services in Europe, is responsible for ensuring a seamless client service experience across all RFA delivery teams. Amar has over 20 years’ experience including C-suite roles with alternative
Crestbridge has established a branch of its Luxembourg Management Company (ManCo) in London as the business seeks to cement ties between the UK and Luxembourg and secure new opportunities post-Brexit.
The move comes after Crestbridge received formal regulatory approval to establish a branch of its EU-based ManCo, the ‘Crestbridge Management Company SA’, in London.
Operating out of Crestbridge’s existing London office in Mayfair, the branch is intended to act as a convenient point of contact for London fund managers making use of or exploring the potential offered by an EU ManCo as part of their European market access strategy.
Overall hedge fund industry returns turned negative in May after a four-month string of positive results to start off the year, according to the just-released May 2019 eVestment hedge fund performance data.
Aggregate industry performance stood at -1.55 per cent in May, with year-to-date (YTD) performance positive at +4.77 per cent.
Equities created much of the pain for the industry during May. Among primary markets, Equity strategies fell sharply in May, coming in at -2.61 per cent. YTD returns are still positive at +6.05 per cent. Among primary strategies, Event Driven – Activist hedge funds and Long/Short Equity funds
Tishman Speyer has agreed a lease with Capital Fund Management for space at Smithson Plaza, a refurbished estate at 23-27 St James’s Street, previously known as ‘The Economist Plaza’.
Founded in 1991, Capital Fund Management (CFM) is an alternative investment manager and a pioneer in applying quantitative and systematic trading strategies to capital markets across the globe.
Designed by renowned architects Peter and Alison Smithson and completed in 1964, Smithson Plaza comprises three mixed-use buildings (Tower Building, Bank Building and Residential Building) totalling approx. 81,000 sq ft arranged around an elegant central plaza.
Following the acquisition of the estate in
CryptoCompare, a provider of cryptocurrency data and indices, has launched its first cryptocurrency Exchange Benchmark, which ranks over 100 active spot exchanges globally, offering investors and traders a comprehensive, granular and reliable source of information on the best trading venues.
Over the past year, a growing body of research has found that a significant number of cryptoasset exchanges are wash trading and using incentivised trading schemes to inflate volumes. The CryptoCompare Exchange Benchmark shows the problem has been getting worse with lower quality exchanges (ranked C-F1) increasing market share by 30 per cent in the last 12 months, demonstrating the need
FlexTrade, a global cross-asset execution and order management system, has added extra staff at its office in Paris to address increased demand in both sales and service for the company’s growing prospect and client base in France.
Manuela Bauer, Sales Director Europe, says: “FlexTrade has had an incredible reception in France, and our fast-growing client base in Paris communicated a wish for local support. The Paris office will enable us to strengthen our partnership with French asset managers and cater to their evolving technology needs, which has expanded beyond equities into other asset classes, such as FX and fixed income.”
StatPro Group, an AIM-listed provider of cloud-based portfolio analysis and asset pricing services for the global asset management industry, has acquired the environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and index business unit (ECPI) from ECPI Group for EUR2.9 million (GBP2.6 million) in cash.
ECPI provides ESG indices and benchmarks and related services including constructing client specific benchmarks. It carries out ESG research and produces ratings on an active universe of approximately 3,500 companies (total universe of 4,500+) globally and uses these ratings to qualify companies for inclusion into a series of ESG investable indices, or to provide portfolio screening services.
The
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index slumped 0.63 per cent in May as hedge fund managers struggled to generate returns during the risk-off month.
The Trump administration’s decision to raise tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese imports signalled the escalation of the trade conflict between the US and China, leading to retaliatory tariffs from the other side. The worsening global economic outlook pushed global equities into the red for the month, as indicated by the 6.12 per cent decline posted by the MSCI ACWI (Local).
On the other hand, the US 10-year treasury yield dipped to its lowest point in almost
