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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has approved the co-operation arrangements between the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and the EU securities regulators for the supervision of alternative investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity and real estate funds.
ESMA has negotiated the agreement with FINMA on behalf of all 27 EU national competent authorities for securities markets regulation.
The co-operation arrangements include the exchange of information, cross-border on-site visits and mutual assistance in the enforcement of the respective supervisory laws. This co-operation will apply to Swiss alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) that manage or market alternative
CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) plans to launch trading in S&P 500 Variance futures on Monday, 10 December. The S&P 500 Variance futures contract, like over-the-counter (OTC) variance swaps, allows users to trade the difference between the implied and realized variance of the S&P 500 Index.
CFE’s variance futures contract will offer the same quoting conventions and economic performance of OTC variance swaps and will provide the advantages of exchange-traded contracts — transparency, price discovery and counterparty clearing guarantees.
The new S&P 500 Variance futures contract is designed to offer benefits to both existing OTC users and to customers who have
The impact of regulation on liquidity and reduced order flows remain top priorities for over 75 per cent of the European head traders at buy-side firms currently managing an aggregate EUR14trn in assets.
Frugal control of valuable commission dollars will ensure lean and competitive asset managers no longer automatically turn to international bulge-bracket brokers for all investment services, but will increasingly cherry pick their requirements on an ad-hoc basis.
How research and execution services are engaged and purchased will dramatically alter, leading the financial services industry towards a more sustainable, efficient, competitive and profitable future.
In new research, “European
Gibraltar has signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Mexico, the 22nd TIEA agreed by the Government of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar’s minister with responsibility for financial services, the Hon Gilbert Licudi (pictured), MP, signed the TIEA, which had already been signed in Mexico City by Mexico’s Minister of Finance and Public Credit, His Excellency Jose Antonio Meade Kuribreña.
Minister Licudi stressed the importance of the conclusion of this agreement with the United Mexican States especially as Mexico is such an important member of the G20.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s division of market oversight (DMO) has issued a time-limited no-action letter granting relief for bespoke or complex swaps from certain reporting obligations under Part 43 and Part 45 of the Commission’s regulations.
For bespoke or complex swaps as defined therein, the no-action letter provides that DMO will not recommend an enforcement action against (1) a reporting party for failure to report certain data fields required by Part 43 or (2) a reporting counterparty for failure to report certain data fields required by Part 45.
In addition, for certain bespoke or complex swaps that are uncleared
The Chief Minister of Guernsey, Deputy Peter Harwood (pictured), and the Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Ian Gorst, have released a joint statement following their recent meeting with officials from HM Treasury in relation to UK proposals to introduce similar measures as the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
The statement reads:
“The Crown Dependencies are well advanced in their negotiations with the USA regarding the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and are awaiting the publication of the final US Regulations promised before the end of the year.
“Reflecting the interest being shown by the OECD and the
Amber Partners, an operational risk certification firm for the hedge fund industry and specialist in hedge fund operational due diligence, has issued a white paper looking at cash transfer controls.
According to the white paper, “Cash Transfer Controls – getting below the surface”, effective account opening and cash transfer procedures are the most important and simplest safeguard to prevent the misappropriation of a fund’s assets.
As the white paper explains though, controls over cash can vary from firm to firm due to factors such as the size of the firm and the nature of the securities traded, while there is
Federal investigators continue to tighten ranks around hedge fund manager Steven Cohen, arresting one of his former portfolio managers in what the US Attorney for New York has called “the most lucrative insider trading scheme ever charged.”
Marc Powers, head of the securities litigation and enforcement practice at BakerHostetler, has been watching the case against Matthew Martoma, accused of tipping off associates at SAC Capital about poor clinical trial results of an experimental Alzheimer’s drug jointly developed by Wyeth and Elan.
Martoma’s alleged use of material inside information is reported to have netted an SAC subsidiary more than USD276m in
An institutional investor survey commissioned by Alceda has revealed that 73 per cent of investors do not feel that regulators are in tune with their requirements. The survey of 49 UK institutional investors was conducted by Kepler Partners LLP at the Global Macro UCITS Conference in London in October 2012.
Almost half of respondents (43 per cent) felt that the threat of regulation was adversely affecting the way they currently invest. To further underscore the popularity of alternative UCITS products, 80 per cent of investors surveyed said they were planning to increase their allocation.
However, transparency continues to be an
A federal court jury in Boston, Massachusetts returned a verdict of securities fraud liability against registered investment adviser EagleEye Asset Management and its sole principal, Jeffrey A Liskov, both of Plymouth, MA, in connection their fraudulent conduct toward advisory clients.
The trial was presided over by US District Court Judge William G.Young.
In its complaint, the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that, between at least November 2008 and August 2010, Liskov made material misrepresentations to at least six advisory clients to induce them to liquidate investments in securities and instead invest the proceeds in foreign currency exchange trading. The
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