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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has obtained a federal court order requiring defendant Michael J Welke, of Omaha, Nebreska, to pay USD257,000 in disgorgement and a USD130,000 civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges of fraud, failure to register with the CFTC, and failure to comply with disclosure and reporting requirements.
The consent order of permanent injunction, entered on 12 February 2013 by Chief Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the US District Court for the District of Nebraska, also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against Welke and prohibits him from violating provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act
Fund administration company Apex Fund Services has launched Apex Trade Manager, its order management system (OMS), and Apex Vision, its portfolio management system (PMS).
Both systems are to be offered to any fund manager using Apex’s services and also as a separate service.
Apex Technologies, a wholly owned division of Apex Fund Services, has been formed to offer fund managers a complete suite of technology solutions and third party services including the OMS and PMS systems.
Apex Technologies is partnering with Linedata, Pacific Fund Systems, Lazorne, Statpro, Newedge, Knight, RJ O Brien, EFG Hermes and Global Prime Partners.
Muzinich & Co, the New York-based credit specialist is planning to launch a UCITS version of its Credit Opportunities Fund, managed by Mick McEachern, in Q2 this year. As reported by portfolio adviser, the “go anywhere” strategy was seeded in the US last month.
The strategy invests in global investment grade and high yield corporate bonds and bank loans using robust bottom-up fundamental analysis with a focus on financial creditworthiness. The strategy, said founder and chairman George Muzinich, is not involved in complex derivatives.
“Our clients want to invest in the US, Europe, short duration, bank loans and get the
Managed futures gained 1.01 per cent in January, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
“CTAs got a boost this month from the ‘Abe trade’ (short the Japanese Yen and long the Nikkei or TOPIX), named for the dovish monetary bent of Japan’s new prime minister, Shinzo Abe,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Seven of Barclay’s eight CTA indices had a positive return in January. The Diversified Traders Index was up 1.64 per cent, Systematic Traders gained 1.22 per cent, Agricultural Traders were up 0.47 per cent, and Discretionary Traders added 0.34 per cent.
“As
RMB Capital Management, an independent investment advisory firm, has launched Iron Road Capital Partners, an alternative investment platform.
“As a firm with an entrepreneurial spirit and a focus on client service, we are continually looking to expand on the investment solutions we are able to offer,” says Richard Burridge (pictured), RMB’s chief executive and chief investment officer. “We strongly believe that alternative investments have a place in most qualified investors’ asset allocations. Iron Road will provide access to managers pursuing strategies that complement more traditional investments on our open architecture platform.”
RMB began laying the groundwork for Iron Road in
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its first report on trends, risks and vulnerabilities in European Union securities markets and a risk dashboard for the fourth quarter 2012.
The report looks at the performance of securities markets in 2012, assessing both trends and risks in order to develop a comprehensive picture of systemic and macro-prudential risks in the EU that can serve both national and EU bodies in their risk assessments.
The report finds that EU securities markets and investment conditions in the EU improved in 2012, especially in the second half of the year; while systemic
Hedge funds posted strong returns in January on the back of rising risk appetite and rallying global equity markets. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 1.98 per cent during the month, while the MSCI World Index gained 4.66 per cent.
80 per cent of hedge funds reported positive performance in January, compared to the 2012 monthly average of 60 per cent. In particular Asia ex-Japan and Eastern Europe & Russia hedge funds outperformed underlying markets, up by 5.03 per cent and 7.67 per cent respectively whilst Japanese hedge funds witnessed the strongest January return on record. The asset-weighted Mizuho-Eurekahedge Asia ex-Japan Long Short
The performance of commodity trading advisors (CTAs) has historically exhibited a distinctly different pattern than equities and fixed income in relation to the direction of interest rates, according to research by Campbell & Company.
In a new white paper, Prospects for CTAs in a Rising Interest Rate Environment, the firm provides a quantitative evaluation of CTA performance in relation to the direction of rates and concludes that the strategy has not historically been rate regime-dependent.
This conclusion is positive news for investors who may wonder if CTAs, many of whom have spent their entire existence operating in a bull
Eurex Exchange, the international derivatives marketplace, has admitted its first directly connected trading participant in Japan – Nissan Century Securities.
As part of Unicom Group, the brokerage firm offers a wide range of brokerage services and aims to expand its service by connecting to leading international exchanges.
“We are honoured to be the first Japan based brokerage firm to attain Eurex membership,” says Hideaki Futaya, chief executive, Nissan Century Securities. “I believe we can better satisfy client needs by offering this new access in addition to our current memberships, which include JPX (TSE and OSE) and TOCOM.”
Nissan Century Securities
Heritage International Fund Managers (HIFM) has made a number of promotions following a successful 2012 in which the company saw growth in existing client business and new appointments within the fund services group.
Norman Amey (pictured) has been promoted from head of fund accounting taking up a position on the company’s board of directors with responsibility for accounting and finance across the wider Heritage Fund Services Group including UK and Malta. Amey has been with the company for over four years and has played an important role in the development of the current accounting services.
In addition, James Christie, David
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