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The US has seen a real resurgence in activism over the last couple of years. Last year, for example, there were 247 activist campaigns; the highest number since 2008 when 284 were recorded according to FactSet data.
Over the last 10 years, assets in activist hedge funds have grown six-fold to an estimated USD120 billion according to a report by AIMA, written in conjunction with law firm Simmons & Simmons. And investor interest continues to build.
This is being helped, in part, by the strong performance of this sub-set of the hedge fund universe. According to Hedge Fund Research, the
There are some early signs that the effects of Basel 3 are changing the way that hedge funds do business with their prime brokers. In today's new reality, primes are becoming more prescriptive over how the bank's balance sheet is being utilised to support clients' trades. To mitigate the costs of trading physical securities, some managers are beginning to use more synthetic instruments.
"We are starting to hear from our clients that their prime brokers are steering them towards certain instruments that are more beneficial from a capital perspective," says Nick Tsafos (pictured), Audit Partner at EisnerAmper LLP, one of
2015 has been a big year for Concept Capital Markets, LLC. Earlier this year, the firm entered into an agreement to be acquired by Cowen Group, a leading growth investment bank and alternative investment manager with a heritage dating back to 1918.
Through its acquisition of Concept Capital, Cowen will add a significant prime brokerage arm to its overall offering.
"Cowen is a notable name in the institutional equity research, sales, trading and investment banking business through its Cowen and Company brokerage, as well as in the alternative asset management space through its Ramius investment adviser," explains Jack Seibald (pictured),
By Geoff Ruddick (pictured), IMS Fund Services – There has been an extraordinary focus on and trend towards `split boards' in the last few years. For most people the accepted definition of a `split board' is having independent directors from different fiduciary firms. It is considered by some to be the best way to construct a board. In reality this is an overly simplistic definition and assessment of how to recruit and construct an effective and diverse board.
So how did this readily accepted definition come to be? In some respects there is merit and in other respects it is
Servicing approximately 113 liquid alternative funds that operate under the '40 Act banner, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services (`UBSFS') is ideally positioned to understand the complexities of administration and compliance involved in with these vehicles. USBFS opened its doors in 1969 and since that time, the firm has been servicing these funds for over 20 years; although, back in the 1990s the term "liquid alternative" didn't exist.
Still, with 878 funds and more than USD347 billion in assets (though Q1 2015, according to Morningstar), liquid alternatives represent an important growth driver for USBFS.
"Liquid alternatives revenue for us has ranged from
Recently, the SEC proposed several amendments to Form ADV. Generally speaking, these amendments would require registered investment advisers to disclose information regarding their separately managed accounts, including assets under management and information related to the use of derivatives and borrowings.
Unlike the reporting requirements for private funds, the information reported on Form ADV would be available to the public. The SEC has stated that this information will assist them, and the public, in monitoring risk and advisor activities related to separately managed accounts.
"Managers have expressed concerns that the requirements of this proposed rule are burdensome, costly, and may potentially
Using data from the recently released 2015 Preqin Alternative Assets Performance Monitor, Preqin has created league tables of alternative asset fund managers that have most consistently outperformed their peers. The league tables do not seek in any way to endorse these fund managers, but rather to illustrate those that have performed the most consistently in the past. Six primary strategies have been presented – buyout, venture capital, mezzanine, real estate, infrastructure and natural resources – with venture capital seeing the most fund managers achieve the highest possible score.
The league tables of consistent performers are compiled using only the funds
Using Preqin’s new fund size benchmarks on Hedge Fund Analyst, together with the results of our interviews with approximately 300 hedge fund managers, this extract from September’s Preqin Hedge Fund Spotlight newsletter analyses the effect that fund size has on the overall hedge fund industry by looking at performance, terms and conditions, and the fund sizes institutional investors are looking for.
In July, Preqin added a new series of benchmarks to our Hedge Fund Analyst online service. These benchmarks, which assess the performance of hedge funds based on the size of the fund, can be used in tandem with
Franklin Templeton Investments has launched Franklin K2 Long Short Credit Fund (FKLSX), a multi-manager fund that invests in a variety of credit strategies sub-advised by institutional-quality hedge fund managers.
The fund provides investors with access to a select group of hedge fund managers in a single diversified portfolio, while providing daily liquidity.
Building on Franklin Templeton's strategic acquisition of hedge fund solutions provider K2 Advisors in 2012, the US-registered Fund expands the firm's liquid alternative fund offerings. Like the Franklin K2 Alternative Strategies Fund launched in 2013, this new Fund seeks to provide investors attractive risk-adjusted returns, while providing
UMB Fund Services (UMBFS) has launched a mobile app for its proprietary alternative investment fund accounting and investor servicing technology called UMB Fund Services FastPro.
The app, which is live on Android and Apple iOS operating systems, allows clients to view historical data and reports, investor demographics and fund performance information at anytime, anywhere an internet connection is available. The FastPro platform had previously only been available via web browser.
“Technology is changing the way our clients operate, and in response, we’ve taken our award-winning reporting solution and given it mobile capabilities,” said Chad Allen, managing director of alternative investments
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