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To countenance the idea that any form of economic slowdown in China could lead to an extended period of depressed commodity prices is misguided. Admittedly, commodity prices over the least three years have been poor. But in the view of Jeremy Baker (pictured), Head of Commodities at Harcourt, the events of 08 and ’09, which led to a structural bear market were more of an “interruption” to the commodity supercycle than anything longterm.
Simply put, the case for investing in commodities remains high says Baker, particularly when placing China at the centre of the argument; something that Baker has written
As the US economy continues to show signs of recovery and Europe begins to stabilise there is growing sentiment that developed markets will have more of an influence on global commodity prices this year.
This is how David Donora (pictured), co-portfolio manager of the Threadneedle Enhanced Commodities Strategy is positioning the portfolio, with oil and oil-based products – in particular gasoline – forming the highest conviction sectors.
As Donora explains, a growing US economy will lead to increased demand for gasoline. This has already been borne out by the IEA, which said US oil demand rose by 390,000 barrels
Over the past 12 months the S&P 500 index has gained nearly 24 per cent. With the US economic recovery building momentum, the UK enjoying its fastest period of growth since 2007 and the Eurozone returning to some sort of normalcy, many commentators are expecting the influence on commodity prices to shift from East to West.
“I agree with this to some extent but it will be commodity-specific,” says Jeremy Baker, Head of Commodities at Harcourt Investment Consulting. “A lot of industrial metals are still geared towards Asia and China. China for example is 50 per cent of the copper
The global trading industry has begun implementation of the guidelines set down by the FIX Trading Community to reduce operational risk and enable more efficient set up of clients on OTC electronic trading platforms.
The Trading Enablement Standardisation Initiative (TESI), launched in January 2013, has been working with a number of platforms to promote automation and standardisation of important client information such as:
• Enable a brand new buy-side trader
• Setting the risk profile for a new buy-side trader
• Enabling new products for an existing buy-side trader
By using the FIX Messaging language to transmit this
AllianceBernstein has appointed Michael H Conn as managing director – strategy, operations and development, supporting the firm's fund of funds business.
He will be based in Los Angeles and report to Marc Gamsin, head of AllianceBernstein's alternative investment management group.
In this newly created role, Conn will work closely with Gamsin to develop the business strategy and new products for the group, as well as support existing and potential clients. He will also collaborate with the broader alternatives team to enhance the firm's diverse product offerings and help clients better understand the role alternatives can play in their portfolio.
As global markets plunged in the first month of the Chinese New Year, the trades that generated the most profit in 2013 came under fresh critique. One of the most noteworthy dips was seen in Japanese markets, where the Nikkei fell nearly 10 per cent in the last month and the yen gained 3 per cent against the US dollar.
These swings brought losses to Japan-focused hedge funds, which won the crown with outsized gains in 2013. Japan was not the only market that reversed course. Emerging markets, EU and U.S all shook at the beginning of the year. The S&P 500
Iconic is launching a turnkey Malta authorised, EU-compliant hosted-funds platform enabling EU and non EU based fund managers to run their own fully supported and administered funds.
In addition, for those larger intermediaries which have an asset management capability Iconic can support this new asset management area of their business through this platform.
The platform provides EU-compliant substance infrastructure and can establish either hosted feeder funds or host-flexible non-UCITS fund structures. Later in 2014, Iconic will launch a AIFMD & UCITS IV funds capability and services menu.
“Not all hosted-fund platforms are created equal,” says David Barclay-Miller, co-founder
Rothstein Kass has appointed Kevin M Goldstein as a director in the firm’s business advisory services practice in its New York City office.
With more than two decades of experience developing strategic planning, business development and technology solutions for many of the industry’s largest financial institutions, Goldstein will advise clients, including hedge funds, funds of funds, mutual funds, private equity managers, broker-dealers, RIAs and family offices, on matters such as business strategy, new product development, infrastructure, technology assessments and more.
“Kevin is well-respected in the alternative investments space and has a proven track record of developing innovative but practical
Man Group has reported a reduction in funds under management (FUM) of five per cent to USD54.1bn for the year 31 December 2013 (31 December 2012: USD57.0bn).
FUM excluding guaranteed products are up one per cent to USD51.8bn (2012: USD51.3bn).
Gross sales for the year were up 26 per cent to USD16.1bn (2012: USD12.8bn), while redemptions were down two per cent to USD19.7bn (2012: USD20.1bn), and net outflows were down 51 per cent to USD3.6bn (2012: outflows of USD7.3bn).
Manny Roman, chief executive officer of Man, says: “Despite challenging conditions for our business, we continued to make progress
Grassi & Co has launched a new fund administration entity, Grassi Fund Administration Services (GFAS), which will take over more than USD3.6bn in assets under administration previously administered by Grassi & Co.
"We are excited to have Grassi Fund Administration Services build on the level of service and market reputation we have established with more than 250 funds," says Grassi & Co managing partner Louis C Grassi. "Launching an entity that is solely focused on assisting managers with their daily accounting and administration operations will enable us to provide an even higher quality of service to help them meet their
