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In line with the broader hedge fund market, the average Alternative UCITS fund showed negative performance in Q1. The LuxHedge Global Alternative UCITS index declined by 0.56 per cent in March, bringing 2018 YTD to -0.69 per cent.
Most Alternative UCITS funds went down because of a small long equity bias. To put things in perspective, the MSCI Europe Index stood at -4.17 per cent YTD by the end of March.
In view of increased market volatility and declines in equities globally, portfolio allocations to Alternative UCITS funds grew considerably. Assets under Management for the total universe advanced with
The Beacon Group is an independent group of companies providing management, consulting, administration, accounting and other related services to offshore and domestic hedge funds and other international entities. It is licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to provide corporate secretarial services, part of which involves offering advice to promoters and fund managers on corporate governance best practices.
That Beacon is also licensed to offer fund administration services can be beneficial.
As Nitin Aggarwal (pictured), Chairman of Beacon, explains: “Our many years of knowledge and experience as fund administrators with different investment strategies and asset classes allows us to leverage that
A Q&A with Greg Wojciechowski, President and CEO at Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX)…
How would you summarise 2017 from a business growth perspective for BSX?
Strong global market conditions contributed to positive listing activity across most sectors of the BSX’s business. Listing activity was particularly strong in international debt and insurance linked securities (ILS), both of which reached record levels.
International debt listings grew to 167 securities, up 44 per cent from 116 the previous year with their nominal value growing from USD2.0 billion to USD4.6 billion.
New ILS listings totalled 103 securities for the year with a nominal value
That Bermuda continues to strengthen its regulatory regime is very much a selling point for those thinking of doing business on the island. This year, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) is assessing Bermuda, with a possible onsite in September. This follows its assessment of the Cayman Islands in December 2017.
On the back of these visitations, offshore regulators, broadly speaking, have really ramped up their focus on compliance, and AML in particular, to make sure there is a robust and rigorous set of regulations in place.
“What we’ve seen over the last 18 months is that as regulators are
Incu Global operates a Segregated Account Company (SAC) umbrella structure in Bermuda, offering fund managers a cost-efficient route to launching a fund. Each manager has his own cell structure – effectively a sub-fund – whose assets and liabilities are ring fenced from all other cells operating on the platform.
“Each cell can issue its own shares and even though it doesn’t have Ltd, Limited or LP at the end of the name, that is in essence what each cell is; it’s its own legal entity,” explains Anthony D’Silva, owner and director of Incu Global and a former managing director and
Within the capital markets, there remain a large number of institutional investors seeking out unique opportunities in alternative investments. One such area is insurance-linked securities (ILS), which have built significant traction since the 2008 financial crash.
Estera has been providing corporate, trust, fund and accounting services for over 25 years and has carved out a leading position in the support of ILS products. Analysis of its book of business over the last 10 years shows that the market capitalisation of ILS products it supports has grown from approximately USD2 billion in 2011 to USD10.8 billion at the end of 2016. Last
There is a sense of optimism in Bermuda that the success it has enjoyed over the years in respect of the ILS industry can, over the coming years, be replicated in the cryptocurrency and blockchain arena.
ILS fund managers like the fact that Bermuda has a lot of professionals working on the ground, from legal to administration and auditing. This is particularly important under Solvency II, which places a big focus on substance and physical presence.
“This has been fantastic for the funds industry,” says Dawn Griffiths, Director and Head of Bermuda Funds Practice at Conyers Dill & Pearman, one
A Q&A with Brian Desmond, CSO and EVP Head of Fund Services at Horseshoe Group.
For readers unfamiliar with ILS Funds, can you give a brief summary of the asset class?
Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) are financial instruments sold to investors and whose value is affected by an insured loss event. Two examples of the financial instruments used are catastrophe bonds and collateralised reinsurance contracts.
The buyer of protection, or the entity that is transferring the insurance risk is called the cedent and the seller or writer of the protection could be an individual investor or a hedge fund. For investors in
With some offshore jurisdictions having only moved recently to introduce registers of beneficial ownership, one could argue that having had its own register in place for over 70 years, Bermuda has been ahead of the curve. Now, as global regulatory oversight and transparency expectations rise, Bermuda is well placed to demonstrate that its house is very much in order.
The Bermuda Government and the Bermuda Monetary Authority have always paid close attention and cared to know who is doing business in Bermuda.
“That has been the standard operating procedure for Bermuda throughout its history as an international financial centre,” says
Although the Cayman Islands tends to be the default option for most alternative fund managers, there is a good argument for saying that Bermuda is equally, if not more attractive; certainly from a cost perspective and a ‘substance’ perspective, with a well-established business district in Hamilton, the island’s capital.
Indeed, an estimated 400 international companies are physically based in Bermuda, with an increasing number of fund management entities either setting up, or thinking of doing so. After all, Bermuda is only a two-hour flight to the US east coast, making it an ideal location for hedge fund managers and PE
