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2013 was a record year from a transaction perspective with EUR64bn of Europe’s non-core loans sold as part of portfolio transactions last year, a 40 per cent increase on the previous year, according to PwC.
Increased activity levels were mainly driven by the UK and Ireland, along with Spain and Germany.
Richard Thompson, partner, PwC, says: “We expect that 2014 will be another record year for the European non-core loan market, with activity levels expected to reach an all-time high of around EUR80bn. We also estimate that loan portfolios with a total face value of more than EUR30bn have
Nomura Asset Management has migrated its Japanese equity business onto the Charles River Investment Management Solution (Charles River IMS), and is expanding its use across the firm's domestic and international fixed income, foreign exchange and derivatives operations.
A client since 2008, Nomura users worldwide benefit from Charles River's single, integrated solution for equity portfolio management, trading and real-time compliance monitoring.
"Charles River IMS is a scalable, multi-asset, multi-currency solution that consolidates numerous systems at Nomura into a global platform," says Masanao Tsuda, senior managing director, IT strategy and management, Nomura Asset Management. "It is a strategic choice to use
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the ongoing process of bank recapitalisation presents a compelling opportunity for bond investors, says Ariel Bezalel (pictured), manager of the Jupiter Strategic Bond Fund…
Developing positions in the banking sector
In Q3 2012, we took the decision to develop positions in the deeply subordinated bonds issued by banks in the UK and Germany. With central bank policy becoming more progressive in Europe (Mario Draghi would soon make his “do whatever it takes” pledge) and the US (QE3 was on its way), we were attracted to the sort of value on offer for an
Telecoms and healthcare were the hedge fund sector’s major buys in Q4 2013, according to S&P Capital IQ’s latest study of 13F filings of US pure play hedge funds.
S&P Capital IQ performs its hedge fund analysis quarterly in order to help investors understand what the most prominent US-based hedge funds are buying, holding and selling.
"Our firm develops its analysis through an examination of SEC filings accessed via proprietary Excel based models. In turn, clients can use these models to better spot global trends in various asset categories and see what some of the largest investors are targeting,"
Agriculture producer confidence remains unchanged since last March despite a drop in producers’ feelings about their current situation, according to the latest DTN/The Progressive Farmer Agriculture Confidence Index.
Producers’ overall confidence remained somewhat positive at 106.9, up slightly from 105.5 last December and unchanged from March 2013.
The value of 100 is considered neutral. Values above 100 indicate optimism, whereas values below signify pessimism.
The DTN/PF Agriculture Confidence Index, which surveyed 500 producers between March 1 and 10, measures the sentiments of agriculture producers on their overall impressions of the agriculture sector. Farmers are also asked to rate
ALT Xchange Ltd (ALTX Uganda) is to operate a securities and derivatives market, initially in Uganda, to service the East African region.
ALTX Uganda will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mauritius-based ALTX Africa Group, which will be fully incorporated this month.
ALTX also intends to develop a pan African footprint, providing a set of additional operating exchanges to facilitate both trading and clearing across the continent.
The board of the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda granted approval for ALTX Uganda’s application to operate an exchange in Uganda in March 2014.
ALTX is also planning the
Multi-asset brokerage and clearing specialist Newedge has appointed Edward Kevelson as head of US OTC energy.
Based in New York, he will report to Robert Vujtech, global head of energy.
“Newedge holds an OTC market-neutral position which enables us to facilitate client trades in a completely unbiased way across a broad spectrum of products and derivatives. We are renowned for sourcing and aggregating liquidity with markets from banks, energy majors, grain and energy merchants, hedge funds and producers,” says Vujtech. “A recognised and respected industry expert with 25 years of experience, Edward will help enhance our OTC energy offering
Context Asset Management, a new alternative mutual fund, is aiming to give investors access to cutting-edge alternative investment strategies with the ease and simplicity of traditional mutual funds.
Alternative mutual funds have enjoyed rapid growth in recent years driven by institutional and retail investors looking for hedge fund-like returns with lower fees and advisors responding to client demands for an alternative to traditional portfolio construction.
Context's solutions combine the low correlation and low volatility of hedge fund strategies with the transparency and low minimums of traditional investing.
"At Context, we have made a commitment to helping our clients
Robert Mirsky, global head of KPMG's hedge fund practice, has relocated to New York from London where he will join the US firm to help further strengthen its alternative investments team.
Based in New York City, Mirsky (pictured) will spearhead efforts to continue building on the growth the US firm has already seen across the audit, tax and advisory functions in the alternative investments market.
"In the rapidly growing global alternative investments industry, there is an increasing demand for the in-depth industry knowledge and global perspectives that KPMG professionals can offer," says Mirsky. "It is an exciting time for all of
TCA Fund Management Group is to float TCA Global Credit on London's AIM.
It will list as a closed-end investment company through an initial public offering in May and is domiciled in Guernsey.
The listed investment company will feed into the TCA Global Credit Master Fund. The IPO is targeting to raise USD25m (GBP15m), with shares issued at 100p per share.
The fund was established in April 2010. It is a short duration, absolute return fund specialising in short term senior secured lending to small, mainly listed companies. Avoiding high risk jurisdictions, the fund operates only in countries
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