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Hedge funds posted the first monthly decline in five months in October, as uncertainty over the outcome and impact of US political elections and the ongoing European sovereign debt and banking crisis increased financial market volatility and further reduced investor risk tolerance.
The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index declined by 0.5 per cent, as positive performance across relative value arbitrage, equity hedge and event driven strategies were unable to offset declines across both discretionary and systematic macro strategies, according to data released by HFR.
Fixed income-based relative value arbitrage, event driven and equity hedge each posted their fifth consecutive month
Indus Valley Partners (IVP), a provider of technology solutions to alternative asset managers, has added CPO-PQR and CTA-PR reporting functionality to the firm’s regulatory filing and reporting application – IVP RAPTOR.
The update gives registered commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) the ability to automate and archive their regulatory filings.
With the added functionality the IVP RAPTOR (Regulatory Analytics Portfolio Transparency Operational Reporting) application now includes coverage for all major regulatory filings required by US-based alternative asset managers, including pre-existing support for SEC Form PF and 13F/D/G filings. Some of the world’s largest alternative asset managers
Thomas (Tom) Kingsley is to drive Bloomberg Tradebook’s Asia Pacific execution consulting practice from Singapore.
Kingsley brings 15 years of experience with the Asian equity markets having led sales and trading teams at buy-side and sell-side institutions.
He joined Bloomberg Tradebook in New York as head of product development for the Asia Pacific region and in that role built relationships with regional research partners and developed specialised tools for Asia-based US equities clients.
"Bloomberg Tradebook sees growth opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, and we have solidified our commitment to expand client services there by relocating Tom Kingsley to Singapore," says
Valentijn van Nieuwenhuijzen (pictured), Head of Strategy at ING Investment Management on the outcome of the US presidential election…
The combination of an Obama win and divided Congress was our and the market’s base case expectation and is therefore not expected to have a major impact on market sentiment. It does take away some uncertainty (risk of a dead heat and legal challenges, future of Fed policy under Romney), but keeps the uncertainty over the fiscal cliff negotiations later this year very much alive.
Basically, the pre-election status quo is maintained because of which there remains a high risk
Irwin Menken, founder of software company C3, has joined Avalon Lake Partners.
C3, a proprietary, web-based regulatory infrastructure tool, assists hedge funds and broker dealers with document aggregation, document audit trails and calendaring as these tasks relate to SEC and FINRA compliance.
Menken will support Avalon Lake’s sales operations and technology implementation, expanding its product base, and integrating C3 with the firm’s existing compliance offerings.
"Irwin is a compliance maven in the hedge fund space, and his C3 software will enhance Avalon Lake’s already robust offering, positioning our firm as a top compliance resource for financial institutions," says Lou Sala,
The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Hedge Fund Index closed down 0.47 per cent in October as three of the seven index component strategies reported positive results for the month.
The three top performing strategies were event driven (0.75 per cent), convertible arbitrage (0.61 per cent), and emerging markets (0.48 per cent).
The worst performer was managed futures, which was down by 3.84 per cent.
Quantifi, a provider of analytics and risk management solutions for the global OTC markets, has published a joint whitepaper with consultant Jon Gregory exploring the difference in capital charges between the simple and more advanced approaches and the capital relief that can be achieved.
The paper is entitled “Comparing Alternate Methods for Calculating CVA Capital Charges under Basel III”.
Gregory (pictured), partner at Solum Financial Partners, says: “To be competitive, OTC businesses need to be able to accurately measure and manage their regulatory capital charges under Basel III. This whitepaper will help banks understand the different approaches allowed under Basel
Hedge funds delivered mixed results in October but in aggregate closed in negative territory, according to GAM.
The HRFX Global Hedge Fund index lost 0.5 per cent, bringing its year-to-date performance to 2.1 per cent.
At the strategy level, event driven, global macro and relative value approaches all posted negative returns according to the HFRX strategy indices.
Equity hedge managers had a positive month, helped by gross and net exposure levels well below long-term averages.
Anthony Lawler, portfolio manager at GAM, says: "Policy uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic was arguably a dominant factor influencing global markets in
Guernsey is planning to have two parallel regulatory regimes for investment funds as a way to best meet client needs when the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) comes into force.
Fiona Le Poidevin (pictured), chief executive of Guernsey Finance, the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, has reiterated Guernsey’s intention to introduce a regime which is fully AIFMD compliant, while also maintaining the existing regulations for those investors and managers not requiring an AIFMD fund.
It had been expected that the final Level 2 rules for the detailed implementation of AIFMD would be published in early autumn
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has appointed Chris Jones as the chief risk officer for LME Clear.
Jones worked previously as a managing director and chief risk officer for LCH.Clearnet Group.
During a 20-year career at LCH, Jones was at the forefront of developments in the risk and clearing space, including regulatory change, the launch of several clearing services in new markets and active management of major defaults such as Lehman Brothers and MF Global.
"We are delighted that Chris has joined us here at LME Clear," says Trevor Spanner, managing director of post trade services at the LME. "His
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