Ian McVeigh (pictured), co-manager of the Jupiter UK Growth Fund comments on recent developments in the UK banking sector… We welcome the decision to push forward the return of Lloyds Banking Group to full private ownership. Lloyds Banking Group’s confident response to the Prudential Regulation Authority report on its capital position reflects a view we have had of the bank for some time, namely that its stabilisation had far outrun the alarmist rhetoric of many self-interested critics. In analysing the effect of the various stress tests, it has been clear to us that the circumstances in which Lloyds would need

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, 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 each average over 16 years of industry experience and a majority have previously worked for multi-billion dollar alternative investment firms. Agecroft is

We believe that our investment funds group in Cayman has made great strides in the last few years. We’ve recruited some excellent people and have also been joined by some outstanding lateral hires,” comments Neal Lomax (pictured), managing partner of Mourant Ozannes’ Cayman Islands Office and co-head of its investment funds practice. Mourant Ozannes is the largest offshore law firm in Jersey and Guernsey, and is the market leader in both jurisdictions. Last year saw the firm open up offices in Hong Kong and BVI, and move into state of the art new premises at the Camana Bay development in

The increased pressure hedge fund managers are under today in terms of investor due diligence and regulatory compliance means that partnering with the right service providers is a key consideration. Sidley Austin is one of the leading law firms in the alternative investment space. As such, this necessity for alternative fund managers to mitigate operational risk has placed Sidley Austin firmly in their minds to help them stay current with the fast-changing regulatory and compliance landscape. This is especially true for start-up managers. As Michael Schmidtberger, Co-head of Sidley’s Investment Funds, Advisers and Derivatives Group observes, 2013 has been a

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” – Warren Buffett The daily churn of ominous news stories surrounding the travails of SAC Capital Advisors has focused on the investigation and withdrawal of assets by jittery investors. But something else is being drained from SAC even faster than money – reputational capital. Replacing that will be a far greater challenge than finding new investors, according to Tom Walek, Founder of Walek & Associates. From defining market position to managing media visibility, taking charge in crisis situations, supporting portfolio holdings, improving investor outreach, safekeeping reputations,

Being based in Chicago is ideal for a firm like Turnkey Trading Partners that specialises in supporting the many needs of derivatives firms looking to operate within the CFTC and NFA regulatory environment. The firm’s founder, James Bibbings (pictured), says that it is a pre-requisite that all members of staff have “an extensive background in derivatives operations before joining us. Our depth of experience in the derivatives space means that when new regulations come out we can quickly discern their impact, both operationally and from a regulatory perspective, for our clients.” Turnkey provides regulatory consulting, brokerage and fund accounting, as

This is the second consecutive year that Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP has won this award, complementing three straight years as Best North American Accounting Firm. According to Jeffrey Rosenthal, CPA, Partner-in-Charge of Anchin’s Financial Services Group, it’s no fluke: “I believe it truly reflects the level of commitment to service that we provide to our clients. We’re not commodity-driven. What sets us apart in auditing, tax and advisory services, and accounting, is our level of attention and high partner touch ratio. Our partners get to know the fund managers and their perspectives. We’re proactive in dealing with tax planning

New York-headquartered Liquidnet is a global institutional trading network that connects buy-side institutions to global equity markets. As such it supports the primary need of institutions: to buy or sell large blocks of stock in a secure, anonymous fashion with minimum price movement. Today, Liquidnet connects more than 700 of the world’s top asset managers to execute their business across 42 markets spanning five continents. With US and European equity markets performing strongly in 2013, the flow of funds into off-exchange venues like Liquidnet is rising as institutions take on higher conviction. “There are more funds flowing into equities generally,