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The Irish Funds Industry Association has welcomed the Central Bank of Ireland’s proposals to establish a regulated loan fund framework in Ireland.
This will be the first dedicated regulatory regime in the EU for loan funds and will operate under the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager’s Directive (AIFMD).
Managers should be able to avail of the AIFMD’s Europe-wide marketing passport for professional investors when selling the Irish loan fund structure in Europe.
The new fund product will be of particular benefit to large SMEs and intermediate sized companies which are too small to access the corporate bond market.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted new requirements for credit rating agencies to enhance governance, protect against conflicts of interest and increase transparency.
The new rules and amendments, which implement 14 rulemaking requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, apply to credit rating agencies registered with the commission as nationally recognised statistical rating organisations (NRSROs).
“This expansive package of reforms will strengthen the overall quality of credit ratings, enhance the transparency of credit rating agencies and increase their accountability,” says SEC chair Mary Jo White. “Today’s reforms will help protect investors and markets
PrimeOne Solutions, a division of CoreOne Technologies, has appointed Thomas Benevento as global head of synthetic equities, reporting to EJ Liotta, head of PrimeOne Solutions.
Benevento will play a key role in identifying growth opportunities within the prime business, as the company embarks on its next phase of expansion within the ever-changing prime finance industry.
Liotta says: "Thomas is a fantastic addition to our team, given his experience and longevity in the prime finance sector, he is the perfect match for PrimeOne. Thomas brings a unique blend of experience spanning the entire breprime finance, and a very client specific
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an order filing and settling charges against Merrill Lynch for supervision failures relating to futures exchange and clearing fees.
The order says Merrill Lynch failed to diligently supervise its officers, employees and agents’ processing of charges to its customers from at least 1 January 2010 to April 2013.
Merrill Lynch is a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant and approved swap firm located in New York.
The CFTC order finds that Merrill Lynch’s fee reconciliation process for identifying and correcting discrepancies between the invoices from the exchange clearinghouses and the amounts charged
bfinance, an independently owned investment consultancy, has added to its service and advisory capabilities in the Middle East with the hire of a senior consultant.
Navneet Maheshwari joins from Nasdaq Dubai and will be responsible for local market client relations for bfinance across the Middle East as well as the development of new business opportunities in the region.
At Nasdaq Dubai, Maheshwari was responsible for building the exchange’s equity capital markets business in the MENA and CIS region.
Previously, Maheshwari worked for five year with Partners Group, a leading global private markets investment manager in their Switzerland and
JTC Group has been granted a licence to provide the firm’s full suite of private client, corporate, fund and real estate services in the Cayman Islands.
Since 2013 JTC Group has had a presence in the Cayman Islands through an alliance office but is now licenced to deliver its full range of services.
The Cayman office will continue to build on its existing platform of services for private and international clients. This will include company incorporation and administration services and the provision of directors to companies and regulated funds.
The office will focus on establishing and servicing Cayman
GAM has launched the GAM Star MBS Total Return Fund – a UCITS-compliant version of an institutional investment strategy.
The fund invests in the US asset-backed securities market, mainly in residential MBS, issued both by US government agencies and by non-agency entities.
In the current environment, the fund aims to deliver returns of the three-month Libor rate +4 to +6 per cent per annum.
The GAM Star MBS Total Return Fund invests in MBS of all maturities: interest rate risk is actively managed in line with the team’s macroeconomic outlook.
The fund is managed by Gary
Key figures from the UK’s financial industry have welcomed the launch of the Social Media Charter, which aims to ensure compliant use of social media.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a couple of weeks ago the launch of a consultation on social media, following months of dialogue with the Social Media Charter and industry – primarily on where the regulation should sit to help improve trust in the industry with customers and clients.
Charles Parry is an approved counsel on the Attorney-General’s list, and a barrister specialising in regulatory compliance. As counsel at the Social Media Charter he
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has promoted five staff members to officer positions.
The promotions were approved at this month’s board of directors meeting.
Jim Enstrom was named vice president and chief audit executive. He will continue to direct CBOE’s internal audit programmes as head of CBOE’s internal audit function. Enstrom joined CBOE in 2009.
Lita Frazier was named vice president, government relations. She will continue to serve as CBOE’s voice in Washington, leading CBOE’s government relations efforts at the federal, state and local levels. Frazier joined CBOE in 2006.
Alicia Goldberg was named vice president,
Information technology and healthcare stocks saw the largest growth in new hedge fund buying activity during the second quarter of 2014, according to the latest S&P Capital IQ Hedge Fund Tracker.
The tracker, reviews which reviews 13F filings by US-based pure play hedge funds and provides analysis of hedge fund stock ownership and investment in specific stocks and sectors, reveals that Allergan and Apple were the most popular individual stocks.
“Both institutional and retail investors share an enormous interest in where the largest hedge funds put their money. By analysing recent filings as well as the S&P Capital IQ’s
