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The Barclay CTA Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, posted a 0.30 per cent rate of return in December. For the year the index is down 2.85 per cent.
Equity market volatility contributed to a challenging year for many managed futures indices. Currency volatility, global trade disputes and emerging market uncertainty provided further sources of stress. Only two of the Barclay Managed Futures indices had negative returns in December. The Cryptocurrency Traders Index fell 3.79 per cent and the Agricultural Traders Index declined 0.47 per cent.
December’s gains ranged from the MPI Barclay Elite Systematic Traders Index with a 1.77 per
Innealta Capital, a privately-held quantitative asset manager headquartered in Austin, Texas, has launched the Acclivity Small Cap Value Fund (AXVIX).
The fund’s objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. It aims to deliver excess returns within the small capitalisation, value segment of the market by systematically exploiting academically proven and empirically tested equity premia while keeping broad diversification within and across industries.
The Portfolio Managers for the Acclivity Small Cap Value Fund are Sheridan Titman, PhD and Vito Sciaraffia, PhD. Dr Titman, former president of the American Finance Association (AFA), hails from the academic community and is revered as
Riding a wave of growth powered by restrictive global financial reforms, specialist prime broker Invast Global has announced the opening of a new Hong Kong office.
“Hong Kong is a hotbed of start-up and emerging hedge funds and brokerages,” says Invast Global CEO Gavin White. “We’ve built a reputation for being at the forefront of new technology, winning awards for innovation, whilst maintaining a human, flexible and client-centric approach.”
“We believe this dynamic and exciting market strongly complements our trademark, responsive and high-tech approach and we look forward to giving Hong Kong’s innovative businesses an alternative to the traditional
TriOptima, an infrastructure service that lowers costs and mitigates risk in OTC derivatives markets, has launched triCalculate IM Analytics, which provides crucial insight into the options for initial margin (IM) calculation, helps with the identification and prioritisation of in-scope counterparties and aids trading decisions to reduce future IM costs.
The service supports organisations that are in-scope for Phases 4 and 5 of the initial margin requirements, which come into effect in 2019/20. These two phases are anticipated to pull in thousands of regional banks and buy side participants with portfolios above EUR750 billion and EUR8 billion in notional value respectively.
Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI), the global investment bank, has added Christian Keller and Ann Sharkey to the firm’s European Financial Sponsors Group.
These appointments follow the recent arrival of Leon Gillespie, who joined the team in London in October to focus on UK private equity clients. He joined from Canaccord Genuity, where he was Head of Financial Sponsors Coverage.
“As part of the ongoing expansion of Houlihan Lokey’s footprint in Europe, we continue to grow the European Financial Sponsors Group and now have six dedicated senior officers across the region,” says John Mavredakis, Global Head of the Financial Sponsors Group.
Indus Valley Partners, a provider of technology solutions to the buy side, has launched a new CAT module for its global regulatory reporting platform, IVP RAPTOR.
Designed to assist funds in complying with FINRA’s proposed consolidated audit trail (CAT) initiative, IVP’s CAT module enables users to streamline daily regulatory obligations in an effectively managed and timely manner.
CAT, which will go live in November 2019, is a single, consolidated central repository that collects information on trade origination, order reporting, cancellations, modifications and executions for all exchange-listed equities and options throughout the US National Market System (NMS).
With the
European law firm Fieldfisher has launched Cummings Fisher, a specialist law firm focusing on hedge funds, derivatives and the alternative investment management sectors.
Cummings Fisher is led by its three principal partners: Managing Partner Claire Cummings, who founded Cummings Law in 2003, is joined by partners, Ron Feldman leading the derivatives practice and James Tinworth leading the funds practice.
Cummings Fisher is based at 1 Mayfair Place in the heart of the UK’s hedge fund and alternative investment management district. It will specialise in funds, derivatives, financial services regulation and fund formation with enhanced capabilities provided by the additions
Hedge funds dipped 2.61 per cent in December, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The loss was less significant, however, than that of the S&P 500 Total Return Index, which dropped 9.03 per cent in December.
For the year, the Barclay Hedge Fund Index was down 5.08 per cent in 2018, while the S&P 500 Total Return Index was down 4.38 per cent for the year.
While lowering its projections for future interest rate hikes, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter-point in December. That, coupled with extreme volatility in equity markets
Richey May Technology Solutions, a division of Richey May & Co, has developed a comprehensive cybersecurity program specifically designed to assist hedge fund managers in addressing critical cybersecurity compliance requirements, including NYDFS.NYCRR.500, GLBA, and SEC rules related to information security.
The program includes an initial maturity assessment, which is designed to cost-effectively assess a fund’s current posture related to information security and privacy. A report is delivered to fund management that highlights risk areas and gaps identified during the assessment, as well as recommendations for addressing and mitigating key risks through the use of technology, enhancements to policies and procedures,
Thornburg Investment Management (Thornburg), a global investment firm with USD41 billion in assets under management, has launched the Thornburg Long/Short Equity Fund, a UCITS fund domiciled in Dublin, Ireland.
The fund is based on an investment strategy launched in 2008, currently available to investors through separately managed accounts and a US mutual fund structure.
“Our firm has invested in equity markets across a variety of market cycles over the last 24 years,” says Connor Browne, co-portfolio manager of the Fund. “Recent market volatility highlights the need for investors to have a permanent allocation to alternatives in their investment portfolios. Our
