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Climate change and depletion of agricultural land are the most important factors driving investment returns from farmland, according to research by alternative asset manager Aquila Capital.
In the survey, both climate change and depletion of agricultural land leading to scarcity of supply were ranked equal first in terms of driving positive returns from farmland.
In third and fourth place respondents ranked demand for food from increasingly wealthy people and from the global population respectively.
Detlef Schoen, group head of farm investments at Aquila Capital, says: “There are powerful macro trends supporting farmland as an investment: every day, 30,000
Millions of previously hidden US stock trades will be revealed for the first time on 9 December thanks to research from a team of academics.
Previously odd lots, which are trades of less than 100 shares, have not been revealed on the publicly available ‘consolidated tape’, with only big investment banks and sophisticated computer-powered high-frequency traders paying to see them from individual exchanges. It was thought they were used only by small retail investors and so were not important.
But Chen Yao, of Warwick Business School, Maureen O’Hara, of Cornell University and Mao Ye, of University of Illinois, discovered that
With Guernsey’s new opt-in AIFMD equivalent regime effective from 2 January 2014, Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance, explores how the island offers optionality and substance to fund managers.
There is no escaping from the fact that the EU’s AIFMD presents one of the biggest regulatory challenges the European orientated investment management community has seen in recent times.
Indeed, the upcoming 12 to 18 months will prove pivotal in determining the implementation of the AIFMD and the implications for investment houses and their client bases, particularly as European Economic Area (EEA) member states begin to interpret the
The business of hedge funds is caught between rising costs and falling management fees, holding little profit for managers who do not perform.
That's one key finding from the second annual global survey of the economics of hedge funds in the just-released Citi Prime Finance 2013 Business Expense Benchmark Survey.
According to the survey, the traditional "two and 20" model of investment manager compensation – two per cent management fee and 20 per cent of the profits – has declined to fee levels as low as 1.58 per cent of assets under management for all but the largest managers.
The presence of high-frequency traders improves market fairness by reducing end-of-day price dislocation, according to research from the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre (CMCRC).
Professor Michael Aitken (pictured), CMCRC chief executive, says that end of day (EOD) price dislocations whether they occurred by fair means or foul were troublesome for markets and that any market structure change which mitigates the incidence of such changes should be seen as a positive outcomes for the marketplace.
“EOD prices are often used to determine the expiration value of directors’ options, the price of seasoned equity issues, evaluate broker performance, calculate net asset
Most global equity markets continued to exhibit strong performance in November led by the US and Europe, as reflected by the Russell Global Indexes.
"Global markets continued to climb in November amid generally encouraging signs of economic growth across regions and markets. The European equity markets, in particular, appear to have benefitted from an increasing sense of global investor optimism, even despite less than encouraging economic signs across Europe,” says Wouter Sturkenboom, investment strategist for Russell Investments Europe. “A closer look at index returns shows the wide range of returns across regions, markets, sectors and capitalisation, which reinforces the importance
By Douglas Shulman, Director, Regulatory Compliance team, Kinetic Partners US LLP – Each General Counsel (GC) and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) faces the innate pressure of preparing for an SEC exam and, ultimately, leading their firm to a successful result. The best method(s) for preparation are consistently discussed, and often debated, at roundtables and seminars.
Below is a summary of the key focus areas for each GC and CCO that should be addressed prior to the SEC’s arrival. Addressing these seven important areas will help lead to a successful exam result:
Set a tone from the top: It is important
Alternative UCITS funds gained 0.49 per cent in November according to the UCITS Alternative Index Global managed by Geneva-based Alix Capital. That brings year-to-date returns to 3.71 per cent; a substantial improvement on the figure of 1.63 per cent recorded for the whole of 2012. With the exception of the UAI FX, which ended November down 0.19 per cent, all other UAI strategy benchmarks recorded positive gains.
The best performing strategies were CTA, Multi-Strategy and Long/Short Equity, gaining 1.44 per cent, 0.97 per cent and 0.85 per cent respectively. The UAI Long/Short Equity is by far the best performing strategy
Global Prime Partners (GPP) has been appointed as prime broker to IPGL, the private investment firm founded by ICAP chief executive Michael Spencer in 1986.
GPP will provide a full range of prime brokerage services to IPGL including trade execution, clearing, custody and reporting.
IPGL's portfolio has a wide range of financial interests including a 16 per cent stake in ICAP, the world's largest interdealer broker, and a majority interest in leading spreadbetting firm CityIndex.
Julian Parker, chief executive of GPP, says: "IPGL is a prestigious client for GPP. The international reputation of its management and success and
AIMA, the global hedge fund association, has appointed a new chair and deputy chair of the AIMA Investor Steering Committee (ISC), which features leading institutional investors in hedge funds.
The new chair is Michelle McGregor-Smith, chief executive of British Airways Pension Investment Management, and the deputy chair is Kurt Silberstein, managing director, alternative investments at Ascent Private Capital Management, a subsidiary of US Bank.
McGregor-Smith is an adviser to the investment committee of the Health Foundation, a UK based charity, and a member of the UK Advisory Council of the CFA Institute. A member of the ISC since
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