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Guernsey’s stability and security means it is well-placed to help fund managers overcome Brexit uncertainty over the next couple of years, according to an expert panel at the annual Guernsey Funds Forum in London.
The island’s long-standing stability and experience in operating as a ‘third country’ outside of the European Union were highlighted in a wide-ranging panel discussion which also covered Donald Trump’s policies, quantitative easing, and fund delegation rules. It was agreed that uncertainty was a huge challenge for fund managers.
Alex Barr, Global Head of Private Markets and Real Estate Investment Oversight at Aberdeen Standard, said that
INDOS Financial Limited (INDOS), the independent UK depositary, has been appointed as depositary to four alternative investment funds (AIFs) managed by Gresham House.
The AIFs are Gresham House Strategic plc, an AIM quoted investment company, Gresham House Strategic Public Equity LP and Gresham House British Strategic Investment Fund LP, both Guernsey Limited Partnerships, and Gresham House Forestry Fund LP, a Scottish Limited Partnership.
Bill Prew (pictured), CEO of INDOS, says: “We are delighted to have been appointed as depositary to the Gresham House funds. The appointment leverages our expertise as an independent depositary across a number of disciplines, including
The Maltese Government has issued three cryptocurrency bills – the Virtual Financial Assets Act, the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act and the Innovative Technology Arrangements and Services Act.
To avoid possible negative connotations associated with the use of the word “cryptocurrencies” the laws are centred around the concept of virtual financial assets (VFA): ICOs are named initial VFA offerings, crypto-exchange becomes VFA exchange and crypto-services are defined as VFA services.
The newly introduced concept of VFA stands for “any form of digital medium recordation that is used as a digital medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of
Societe Generale in Luxembourg (SGBT) has deployed the Charles River Investment Management Solution (Charles River IMS) as the enterprise trading platform for its private banking network and for the firm’s outsourced buy side order execution service, I-DEAL.
SGBT is now live on Charles River’s multi-asset order and execution management system (OEMS) with integrated data, trade analytics, compliance monitoring, post-trade processing and FIX connectivity.
“Charles River IMS allows our European network of private banks and I-DEAL outsourcing service to trade all asset classes on the same platform,” says Societe Generale in Luxembourg. “With this centralised trading solution, our clients benefit from
Martin Currie has appointed Zehrid Osmani, to lead its Global Long-Term Unconstrained (GLTU) team. Osmani’s appointment builds on Martin Currie’s equity capability, as it looks to further extend its presence in the institutional and wholesale markets.
Based in Edinburgh, Osmani (pictured), who joined the business on 14 May, reports into John Pickard, Head of Investment.
Osmani has taken over from industry veteran, Tom Walker, who has stepped down as team head as part of a considered succession plan. Walker and Osmani will work together during a transitional period, which will involve the gradual handover of Tom’s key responsibilities.
FundRock Management Company is to acquire SEB’s wholly owned subsidiary, SEB Fund Services in Luxembourg. The completion of the transaction will be subject to the CSSF’s approval for the change of control.
SEB Fund Services is offering third party management company services to Nordic asset managers with Luxembourg-based investment funds. The business in its entirety, including some 20 employees, will be transferred to FundRock, subject to regulatory approval and final due diligence. The two parties intend for the agreement to be signed and sealed within the next two to three months.
“This move is part of our five
Ocorian, a provider of corporate and fiduciary services, has launched its new Corporate Trust offering with the appointment of three experienced professionals from the banking sector – Sally Gilding, Chris Wilson and Sinead McIntosh.
Their arrival follows the appointment of Alan Booth as Managing Director of Ocorian’s UK business in February, having previously held the role of Global Head of Product Management within Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Services Division.
Gilding, who has over 30 years’ experience in the legal and banking sector, joins as Senior Consultant and Non-Executive Director tasked with driving the strategic direction and roll-out of the new
Hedge fund performance during the first half of May was fuelled by CTAs and L/S Equity strategies, while Event-Driven continued to underperform, according to the Latest Weekly Brief from Lyxor’s Cross Asset Research team.
On the Lyxor platform, Merger Arbitrage strategies have nonetheless started to recover while Global Macro strategies outperformed on the back of their long USD and long energy positions in the commodity space.
On a year-to-date basis, L/S Equity and Relative Value Arbitrage continue to outperform, while special situations strategies underperform on the back of their elevated market beta and exposures to defensive sectors such as
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight (DMO) and Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR) has issued a joint staff advisory that gives exchanges and clearinghouses guidance for listing virtual currency derivative products.
“The CFTC staff are committed to providing regulatory clarity as much as possible,” says DMO Director Amir Zaidi (pictured). “As the virtual currency market continues to evolve, CFTC staff will seek to provide additional guidance to help market participants keep pace with innovation while complying with CFTC regulations.”
“CFTC staff are providing this information, in part, to aid market participants in their efforts
SGX has been notified by the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) of an application made in the Bombay High Court for an interim injunction against its new India derivatives products.
SGX says it has full confidence in its legal position and will vigorously defend the action, and that clients should continue to trade as normal. The new India derivative products, which have received the relevant regulatory approvals, are scheduled to list in June 2018 and are designed to allow SGX clients to transition their India risk management exposures.
“SGX has a responsibility to provide risk management tools for
