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Regulation is slowing the push for alternative investments, according to research released by Cerulli Associates.
"Alternative investments and other non-traditional asset classes are slowly becoming a larger part of the investment landscape," says Pamela DeBolt, associate director at Cerulli. "This acceptance is playing out in several areas: through increased allocations in institutional channels such as defined benefit pension plans and endowments, expectations for greater use among financial advisors, interest within defined contribution plans, product development agendas, and greater importance for asset managers."
Cerulli's September 2014 issue of The Cerulli Edge – US Edition examines product development within hedge funds
Following a tough month for returns in July, all managed futures indices calculated by Newedge reported positive performance in August.
The strong month means that all Newedge managed futures indices are also now in positive territory for 2014 YTD.
Trend following strategies experienced particularly strong gains in August. The Newedge Trend Index rebounded from a -1.06 per cent return in July to show +5.40 per cent for the month, while the Newedge Trend Indicator posted +10.89 per cent for the month.
James Skeggs, global head of advisory group at Newedge, says: “August has proven to be a solid
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an exemptive letter which provides relief from certain provisions restricting marketing to the public.
This exemptive letter harmonises certain regulations, which, as amended by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), permit general solicitation or advertising subject to specific conditions.
CPOs wanting to rely upon this exemptive letter must first meet the conditions of relief, which include filing a notice with DSIO staff.
The relief this exemptive letter provides will remain in place until the effective date of any final
Hedge fund and absolute return managers have generally caught the upside stemming from a rally in Asian stock markets in July, while Chinese managers have finally seen some fruits from the country’s economic reforms, according to GFIA.
The fund consultancy said in a report that the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan index finished up 3.5 per cent in July, with the majority of Asian country indices positive. The hedge fund benchmark AsiaHedge Asia ex Japan – USD was also up 2.3 per cent during the period.
“Good two-way contributions in India coupled with positive long performance in China/Hong
Investment managers Eden Rahim and Michael Bird have joined Next Edge Capital Corp to provide portfolio management and financial advisory services to the firm.
Rahim was most recently portfolio manager and options strategist on 12 globally listed covered call ETFs and responsible for management of one of the largest option books in Canada. The ETF products were based on his dynamic Buy-Write discipline developed across institutional accounts since 1994 to systematically capture income from options markets.
Eden was also a five-year, five-star Canadian growth fund manager with considerable hedging and structured products experience managing the RBC Growth Fund from 1998
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) and the London Metal Exchange (LME) hosted a seminar in Tokyo on Wednesday to update participants on the LME’s markets.
The theme of the seminar was the metals marketplace.
The event included a speech by HKEx’s global markets co-head and LME chief executive Garry Jones on the evolution of the LME, as well as three panel discussions. There were also speeches by Tatsuya Terazawa, a director-general of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI), and Takamichi Hamada, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Tokyo Commodity Exchange
Securities attorney Howard Groedel of Ulmer & Berne LLP, comments on the CFTC’s easing of hedge fund advertising restrictions…
The recent harmonisation of CFTC and SEC rules permitting general solicitation and advertising, while a sensible step, is unlikely to herald in a significant increase in the number of hedge fund advertisements.
Many of the hedge funds subject to CFTC regulation engage in specialised or esoteric trading strategies. The more critical issue for the managers of these funds is finding enough investments to make rather than raising more capital. Many of these funds are at full capacity and don’t need to
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a civil enforcement complaint against Florida attorney Jay Bruce Grossman charging him with aiding and abetting multiple clients in the operation of illegal and fraudulent precious metals schemes.
According to the CFTC complaint, Grossman’s clients, such as Hunter Wise Commodities, claimed to sell physical metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and copper, to retail customers on a financed basis.
Under the CEA, since 16 July 2011, such transactions are required to be executed on or subject to the rules of a board of trade registered with the CFTC.
Specialist insurer Hiscox has launched the Private Investment Fund Portfolio, providing protection for many types of asset management firms.
The portfolio provides coverage for lawsuits alleging breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, insider trading, securities law violations, conflicts of interest and other common risks faced in this industry.
The complex US regulatory environment, heightened with the passage of Dodd-Frank, is increasingly exposing these firms to litigation from investors, portfolio companies, minority shareholders of portfolio companies, regulatory agencies, employees and a number of other third parties.


Hiscox offers alternative asset management firms a portfolio of coverages specifically designed to protect
ABN AMRO Clearing has recruited Noel Singh for the new role of FX product manager, responsible for developing international expansion opportunities for the firm’s currency offering.
He will also focus on strengthening internal processes, procedures and risk controls.
Singh was previously head of FX prime brokerage at SEB Merchant Bank AB and has extensive experience in both FX products and prime brokerage.
He will be based in London and reports to Barry Polak, head of products, and James Fairweather, head of global execution services.
Polak says: “With his expertise and background, Noel will add value both to
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