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Regardless of whether a hedge fund manager has an AIF, a UCITS fund, or one of each, the end objective is the same: to improve their capital raising opportunities in Europe.
This is all well and good, but for non-EU managers in particular, there are significant costs and operational challenges to launching additional fund products; indeed, it is one of the key reasons why some of the large banking platforms like Deutsche Bank’s db Platinum platform and Morgan Stanley’s FundLogic Alternatives platform for alternative UCITS funds have grown so fast in the last few years. These platforms take the burden
“The issue is one of insourcing versus outsourcing,” says Alan Picone (pictured), Managing Director at Kinetic Partners (Luxembourg), when discussing which operational model to pursue under AIFMD.
Making the plunge to become an independent AIFM is a big ask for most managers, both in terms of time and capital resources. It also depends on where the manager is located and how committed they are to capital raising in Europe.
According to Picone, there are a couple of key qualitative and quantitative considerations that hedge fund managers should bear in mind. On the qualitative side, Picone notes, “By appointing an
The Swiss banking group SYZ & CO has launched OYSTER Flexible Credit, a new sub-fund of its Luxembourg Sicav, employing a credit strategy combining European corporate bonds with flexible market exposure hedging.
The annualised return objective is eight per cent with a Sharpe ratio of one over a whole credit cycle.
Management of the fund has been entrusted to Eiffel Investment Group, a Paris-based management company specializing in these strategies.
The fund is a “NewCITS” product, which means it takes advantage of the changes in the European UCITS standard to propose an unconventional strategy that effectively meets investors’
An overall shortage of collateral is unlikely despite new global regulatory obligations and tighter risk controls mandating increased collateral requirements, but access to collateral could become a challenge as firms seek wider sources of liquidity and assets.
That’s according to a new academic study published at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and supported by The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
The LSE study by Ronald Anderson and Karin Jõeveer, entitled “The Economics of Collateral”, finds that the supply of collateral, in principle, will be sufficient to meet growing demands expected as a result of
BNY Mellon has launched MyOnCore, an online portal that offers transparency and oversight to investment managers who have outsourced their middle-office operations.
Many investment managers who have entered outsourced agreements are now re-evaluating how their operations teams can best address certain key priorities. These include efficiency improvements to ensure future needs can be met; the rationalisation of arrangements that may have become fragmented over time; the ongoing reduction of risk; and the ability to meet increasing regulatory obligations.
MyOnCore aims to help investment managers to define the governance parameters around an outsourced arrangement more effectively, giving them a clearer
TOM Smart Execution is now connected to BATS Chi-X Europe, adding another trading venue to the Smart Order Router (SOR).
With the new connection, TOM Smart Execution now compares more available prices across different pan-European exchanges.
Willem Meijer, chief executive of TOM (The Order Machine), says: “From the start of our Smart Order Routing business, the focus has always been on retail investors getting the best possible conditions for their order executions. Connecting our Smart Order Router to BATS Chi-X Europe promotes competition between exchanges and will therefore have positive effects for retail investors.”
Koen Beentjes, CEO of
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) penalised British firms a total of GBP506.94m (USD770m) in 2013, according to research from Kinetic Partners.
The penalties handed down by FCA to individuals totalled GBP5.42m (USD8.23m) in 2013.
While the amount fined to individuals only accounted for slightly more than one per cent, the number of fines that the FCA brought against individuals (20) accounted for 44 per cent of the total number of cases during the same period.
Nick Matthews, senior member of forensic and corporate recovery practice at Kinetic Partners,
says: “Our research shows that British firms continue to be
Find out why Guernsey works as a fund domicile and service centre for US private equity managers, according to Fiona Le Poidevin of Guernsey Finance.
During the last decade Guernsey has built a strong reputation as a leading jurisdiction for domiciling and servicing investment funds, especially private equity.
Figures to the end of December 2013 show that the value of funds under management and administration in Guernsey reached nearly half a trillion US dollars, with the net asset value of private equity funds reaching more than $146 billion – a rise of 6.2% over the year.
Indeed, global
Towers Watson has appointed Craig Baker to the new role of global chief investment officer, responsible for all aspects of the company’s investment philosophy and process.
Chris Mansi will take on the new role of global delegated CIO, with responsibility for the construction and management of delegated clients’ portfolios.
The appointments are effective immediately.
Chris Ford, global head of Investment at Towers Watson, says: “In order to provide a competitive advantage for our clients we have to make the best possible use of our global resources, both in finding investment ideas and in helping our clients decide which
Agecroft Partners specialises in consulting and third-party marketing for hedge funds. Its objective: to raise assets globally for institutional quality hedge fund managers by utilising a consultative approach within the institutional investor community.
The firm was founded by Don Steinbrugge (pictured), who has 28 years of experience in the institutional investment management industry. The six senior professionals at the firm pride themselves on having strong investment and industry knowledge giving them significant credibility with large institutional investors. The partners average over 16 years of industry experience and a majority of their partners have previously worked for multi-billion dollar alternative investment
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