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AlphaDesk, a cloud-based Order Management and Portfolio Management System provider to hedge funds and other investment managers, posted record new business sales for the first half of 2017.
Kevin Galliers, COO, says: “We signed 36 new hedge funds during the first half of 2017, which is significantly greater than any other six-month period since the firm’s inception. Interestingly, 40 per cent of our new business was the result of competitor replacements, with the rest being upgrades from manual processes and new hedge fund launches. The market is now fully embracing the significant cost savings associated with software that is deployed
By George Ralph (pictured), RFA – If you hadn’t already got enough on the agenda for this year, MiFID II – Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II – and its accompanying regulation, Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) are looming ever closer to their full implementation date of 3rd January 2018. That’s 23 weeks away. I don’t need to tell you that it’s not long at all.
So what do firms need to do? The main changes include:
Pre-trade, the main changes relate to increased transparency, with firms being required to report off-venue Actionable Indications of Interest and executed prices,
The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was flat in July, with six out of 10 Lyxor indices ending the month in positive territory, according to the latest Lyxor Alternative Investment Industry Barometer.
The month’s top performer was the Lyxor L/S Equity Market Neutral Index with a return of 2.3 per cent, followed by the Lyxor L/S Equity Variable Bias Index which returned 1.4 per cent., while the Lyxor Global Macro Index was the month’s biggest loser, down 1.0 per cent.
The strong earnings season in the US supported Event Driven and L/S Equity funds. The rise in EUR vs. the
Pala Investments (Pala), a multi-strategy investment company focused on the mining and metals value chain, has launched Pala New Energy Metals, an investment fund dedicated exclusively to investing in raw materials critical to the energy storage and clean energy value chains.
Pala New Energy Metals, which is launched with initial capital of USD150 million, has a mandate to invest in projects and businesses that provide leverage to the shift in the global energy mix, facilitated by advances in battery technologies and their industrial applications.
Pala New Energy Metals will have flexibility to invest across the capital structure, and will
BTIG has added Romeo Reyes (pictured), Piyush Phadke and Daniel Nolan to its team in New York as the firm looks to continue its push into the credit markets.
Reyes and Phadke will focus on originating, structuring and executing bond financings for corporate and financial sponsor clients as part of BTIG’s Debt Capital Markets business, while Nolan continues the expansion of BTIG Fixed Income Credit, and will lead the Distressed-Debt Trading desk.
“We are delighted to welcome Romeo and Piyush to the firm,” says Anton LeRoy, Chief Operating Officer of BTIG. “Each have considerable experience in the credit markets, and
Nasdaq, in collaboration with its technology partner Chain, is to provide distributed ledger technology (DLT) for a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for SIX Swiss Exchange’s OTC structured products business.
The solution will integrate with several systems currently managed by SIX and utilise the DLT capabilities at the core of the Nasdaq Financial Framework, Nasdaq’s next-generation enterprise architecture stack. With the MVP, SIX gains first-hand experience regarding the implementation of a DLT solution and investigating how to leverage blockchain technology for SIX and its members in the post-trade environment.
“We are always keen to explore innovative technologies which could serve as
Hedge funds extended their gains for the year and were up 0.92 per cent during the month of July according to preliminary figures released by EurekaHedge. Underlying markets meanwhile, as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local), were up 1.64 per cent over the same period.
On a year-to-date basis, managers gained 4.32 per cent while underlying markets were up 9.41 per cent.
EurekaHedge writes: “Returns were largely positive across the board with all key regional mandates in the green with emerging market mandates excluding Eastern Europe & Russia delivering the best returns. The US economy continues to
Thomson Reuters has integrated and enhanced its robust research capabilities on its flagship financial desktop Eikon to help financial institutions manage impending MiFID II research unbundling requirements, set to be implemented in January 2018.
These are part of a series of research unbundling solutions that Thomson Reuters will continue to make in 2017 through new products and third-party partnerships.
The new Thomson Reuters MiFID II Entitlements Solution features upgraded entitlement granularity to meet brokers’ flexible segmentation requirements. It provides seamless entitlement request and response functionality for the sellside and buyside through our Research Management Console, and a comprehensive Research Entitlement
TABB Group is expanding its European operations with the establishment of new office space in the City of London. As the final countdown to MiFID II begins, TABB’s new UK office enables the firm to expand its reach in Europe and provide high-touch local client support to meet evolving customer and industry requirements.
For more than a decade, TABB has examined the impact and challenges associated with MiFID and other regulatory initiatives that affect global market participants. By listening to and engaging with the industry, TABB has been able to translate the firm’s deep industry knowledge into practical application to
BRI Partners has launched the BRI Quality Small Cap Index (BRIQSC), Powered by Wilshire. Created and owned by BRI Partners, LLC (BRI), with Wilshire retained as index consultant and calculation agent, this unique index provides a first of its kind enhanced beta benchmark for US small cap equities.
Adam Brass (pictured), founder of BRI, says: “The new BRI Quality Small Cap Index delivers enhanced beta returns previously available only through active strategies for a fraction of the cost. Investors and asset managers are deeply engaged in debate about alpha, beta, smart beta and passive versus active strategies. At BRI we
