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Asian hedge funds finally enjoyed a solid month of performance for September, gaining 2.48 per cent according to Eurekahedge: their best monthly return since February 2012 when they gained 3.46 per cent.
That now puts the region’s alternatives industry at +3.98 per cent YTD, with investors and managers alike no doubt hoping that a strong Q4 will make up for last year’s disappointing performance, when they ended the year down 8.22 per cent. Asia ex-Japan hedge funds did even better in September, up 3.97 per cent to leave them +5.80 per cent YTD. Hedge Fund Research’s figure for the region
Over 160 professionals from the Dutch financial alternatives community who attended a Gala dinner on 3 October have raised more than EUR100,000 for the Alternatives 4 Children foundation.
The money raised will enable the organisation to fulfil its prime objective of providing an alternative for children in need. The projects the foundation has chosen to support are:
• The Edelweiss school in Bangalore, India (www.theAlphaBetClub.org)
• The Scarab school in Mali
• Tiny Miracles in India (www.tinymiracles.com)
• Day For Change in The Netherlands (www.dayforchange.nl)
• Kamitei in Tanzania (www.kamitei.com)
The audience
Independent hedge fund managed account platform and risk analytics provider HedgeMark, an affiliate of BNY Mellon, has repositioned two of its managing directors to oversee business development efforts in specific regions of the world.
Jean-Francois Crousillat, a managing director at HedgeMark since January 2011, has been named head of business development for the Americas, while James F McKenna III, a managing director since September 2011, has been appointed head of business development for Europe, the Middle East and Asia (EMEA), as well as Asia ex-Japan. Both are new positions.
Crousillat and McKenna will report jointly to Steven Lonsdorf, head of
Hedge funds gained 1.79 per cent in September, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
The index is up 5.99 per cent year to date.
“In spite of news that highlighted continuing economic deterioration in the US, Europe, and China, investors remained in mild risk on mode,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “Equity prices were higher on the month and the US dollar lost ground against the euro and the yen.”
Overall, 16 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices gained ground in September.
The Barclay Emerging Markets Index was up 3.14 per cent, healthcare
Commonfund, an investment manager for institutional investors, has appointed Eric W Kolts as managing director in its commodities group.
Kolts will be based in Wilton, Connecticut and report to Tyler Stevens, managing director, commodities group.
“Eric is an important and timely addition to our commodities group as we broaden our tailored commodities investment solutions,” says Commonfund president and chief executive officer Verne O. Sedlacek. “Our commodities group has been together since 2005. Eric will be an instant fit. He will immediately add value to existing and new client relationships.”
In this newly created position, Kolts will participate in the development
LCH.Clearnet’s interest rate swap (IRS) clearing service, SwapClear, has launched the industry’s first certification programme for consultancy firms preparing market participants for the implementation of centralised OTC clearing.
Five consultancies have already signed up to join the global initiative, which provides experience-based certification and CCP-authorized resources to better inform industry practitioners at this critical time.
The SwapClear Consultancy Certification Program (CCP²) launches as buy-side participants begin to clear in earnest ahead of the regulatory mandate. To date, four consultancies have become certified under the programme: Accenture, Catalyst Development, Rule Financial and Sapient Global Markets. In addition, Deloitte has joined the
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, has granted leave of appeal to the defendants who applied for two preliminary issues to be heard in the BVI proceedings brought by Fairfield Sentry Limited (in liquidation).
According to law firm Harneys, the Court granted them leave to pursue their appeal to the Privy Council in London on the “Article 11/finality of the net asset value” preliminary issue.
The Court meanwhile refused Fairfield permission to pursue its appeal to the Privy Council on the “Good Consideration” preliminary issue, on the basis that Fairfield had not complied with the requirement of the
Ian Gobin and Deborah Poole have been appointed partners of Appleby within the funds and investment services team.
Both Gobbin (pictured) and Poole join Appleby from Walkers.
Gobin joined Appleby on 1 October 2012 and Poole, who was instrumental in starting Appleby’s London office back in 2012, will start in May 2013.
These appointments are at the core of Appleby’s focussed and strategic drive to enhance its global profile within the offshore funds world and in particular its Cayman funds offering.
Gobon was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1997 and was employed by Clifford Chance from
September was another winning month for hedge funds as the sector posted its third consecutive month of positive returns.
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 1.02 per cent in September and 2.63 per cent in Q3 2012, while September year-to-date the index is up 4.23 per cent.
Global markets rallied strongly during the month on the back of monetary easing steps taken by governments – the MSCI World Index was up by 2.29 per cent during the month.
Asia ex-Japan managers gained 4.11 per cent in September with Indian hedge funds delivering the best returns of 8.02 per cent.
Newedge has launched an enhanced foreign exchange prime brokerage platform offering institutional clients access to the global currency market – the largest, most liquid market in the world.
Connectivity to the forex market’s electronic platforms has been significantly expanded, while the infrastructure supporting the processing of trades for managers and investors across multiple accounts and clearing brokers has been updated. This ensures Newedge clients are able to seamlessly execute their FX trading strategies and benefit from significant cross-margining opportunities.
“Newedge’s FX offering, coupled with our wider capabilities as a leading prime broker and global futures commission merchant (FCM), provides
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