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2017 was an exceptional year for the European investment fund industry, with net assets of UCITS and AIF surpassing the EUR15 trillion mark and net sales breaking the prior record set in 2015 by more than EUR200 billion.
That’s according to the EFAMA 2018 annual review which reveals that all types of UCITS recorded strong net sales in 2017, with bond funds reaching their highest annual net sales ever.
Buoying stock markets, on the back of a cyclical upswing, increased investor confidence and boosted net inflows into equity funds.
The net sales of bond funds rebounded strongly in
Investors allocated about USD14.12 billion in new money to hedge funds in January and pushed overall hedge fund industry AUM to a new record of USD3.366 trillion, according to eVestment’s Hedge Fund Industry Asset Flow Report for January 2018.
Macro funds, long/short equity and directional credit strategies were big winners among primary strategies in January, while multi-strategy funds and event driven funds saw AUM fall by USD3.34 billion and USD1.73 billion respectively.
China-focused funds received among the largest new allocations and largest redemptions to begin 2018. Investors appear less enamoured by equity exposure to the country and allocations were concentrated within Chinese debt-focused
Wealthfront has launched Risk Parity, the latest addition to PassivePlus, the company’s signature suite of investment features, which is designed to replicate Bridgewater Associates’ All Weather Fund.
PassivePlus represents Wealthfront’s collection of academically proven, time tested rules-based strategies that seek to increase clients’ net of fee, after-tax returns, while maintaining their same level of risk. Risk Parity joins Wealthfront’s previous PassivePlus features, daily tax-loss harvesting, stock-level tax-loss harvesting and Smart Beta as impactful capabilities.
“Wealthfront’s PassivePlus marries decades of academic insights with technology to deliver a disciplined investment approach that helps our clients achieve their financial goals,” says Dr Jakub Jurek,
Imagineer Technology Group, a provider of investor relations and fund marketing software to the asset management industry, and Synap Software Labs, a provider of cloud-based investment research, due diligence, and account management applications, are to merge.
The combined business will operate under the Imagineer name.
“Since our founding in 1998, Imagineer has been committed to transforming the way fund marketing and relationship management professionals engage with and service their clients,” says Erol Dusi (pictured), founder of Imagineer, who will continue to serve as President of the company. “We are excited to join forces with the Synap team whose rich
SANNE has appointed Hannah Correll Jaeger as Head of Client Relationship Management – Americas, to support the company’s strategic growth.
In her new role, Jaeger (pictured), will build the SANNE brand in the Americas and represent SANNE’s full suite of global services. Jaeger is based in SANNE’s New York office, and is responsible for building and maintaining all client and intermediary relationship while overseeing business development, marketing, and sales.
Jaeger joins SANNE from Vistra Group (previously Orangefield) where she held the role of Director of Business Development. In her previous position, Jaeger focused on the alternatives investment industry,
Online multi-asset trading and investment specialist Saxo Bank has reported a positive net profit of DKK401 million for 2017, an increase of 33 per cent compared to 2016.
Client collateral deposits continued to rise to DKK103.6 billion while the operating income for the group was DKK3.0 billion, a three per cent increase compared to 2016.
Saxo Bank Group has continued to strengthen its capital position with the total capital ratio for the Group reaching 22.7 per cent as of the end of 2017 compared to 19.5 per cent at the end of 2016, thus retaining a comfortable buffer.
Morrison & Foerster has appointed Susan Gault-Brown as a partner in the firm’s Financial Services Group in Washington DC.
Gault-Brown (pictured), comes to Morrison & Foerster from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and was also a senior counsel in the Division of Investment Management’s Office of Chief Counsel at the SEC prior to entering private practice. Gault-Brown brings to the firm significant experience in investment management, FinTech, and financial services.
“The diverse practice that Susan brings to the firm, particularly her extensive expertise in investment management, further strengthens our talented global finance group,” says Gary Lee, co-chair of Morrison
CUSIP Global Services’ (CGS) latest CUSIP Issuance Trends Report for January 2018 reveals an increase in CUSIP request volume for new US corporate equities and debt, but sharp decreases in the municipal bond market.
This is suggestive of a strong pace of new corporate issuance and a slowdown in new muni issuance in the early weeks of 2018.
CUSIP identifier requests for the broad category of US and Canadian corporate offerings, which includes both equity and debt, totalled 4,728 in January, up 12 per cent from December, driven by an 8 per cent increase in requests for new US
ACA Technology Solutions, a provider of investment management and regulatory technology solutions, has launched an integrated Performance Engine for the NorthPoint Data Warehouse.
The Performance Engine calculates performance across multiple time periods, calculation methodologies, and multi-level aggregations, allowing for the seamless calculation, presentation, and analysis of performance data from one platform.
“Our clients update their performance numbers throughout the month and need to answer questions such as; ‘What did we know to be true on the 10th of last month, when we sent out a Flash Report, which did not have the valuation change we processed on the 12th?’,”
Fund administration for the alternatives industry is approaching a tipping point, with mounting industry headwinds leading many fund managers to outsource middle-and-back office processes to achieve greater operational efficiency and scalability.
That’s according to Citco’s Spring Industry Spotlight, which identifies the most significant issues and trends within the asset services industry for the year ahead in the following sectors: private equity, tax, real estate, hedge funds and private debt.
Private Equity: The greatest growth over the past several years has been in real assets – primarily from private equity and real estate funds. While investor allocations to these asset
