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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a civil anti-fraud enforcement action against Michael Bruce Gale, individually and doing business as Capital Management Group (CMG).
The CFTC complaint charges Gale with defrauding investors in connection with operating a commodity pool to trade commodity futures contracts, making false statements to pool participants, misappropriating pool funds, commingling investor funds with pool funds, and failing to register as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC.
The complaint alleges that from at least the summer of 2007 through the present, Gale, individually and doing business as CMG, fraudulently solicited and accepted at least
By James Williams – One thing above all else is guaranteed when discussing developments in the alternative UCITS space: it polarises opinion. Much like the wider financial markets, where people argue their case with equal validity as to the likelihood of a sustained recovery or further descent into the abyss, the regulated alternatives market is much the same.
On the one hand people will point to sustained AUM growth over the last few years, which according to Alix Capital has seen assets increase from around EUR80billion to EUR129billion, as a clear sign that momentum is building. Furthermore, alternative investments research
Interview with Andrea Cattaneo (pictured) and Margaret Harwood-Jones at BNP Paribas Securities Services – A recent survey released this April by BNP Paribas Securities Services in conjunction with consultancy group Knadel found that the three key Asian markets – Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan – met or exceeded the expectations of 75 per cent of European asset managers currently distributing UCITS funds there.
Despite this, some commentators have suggested that these markets, in particular Hong Kong, are becoming more difficult to gain access into.
Speaking with Hedgeweek, Andrea Cattaneo, head of asset manager solutions at BNP Paribas, confirms this
By Olivier Sciales – The European Union’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive is finally on the way to become law next July, at least in Luxembourg and other EU countries with ambitions to attract a larger share of the continent’s alternative investment business. However, the grand duchy is already benefiting for the preference among some hedge fund managers for a regulated structure that is already in place and benefits not only from free distribution throughout Europe but widespread acceptance elsewhere in the world – UCITS.
The drive toward use of the UCITS regime for alternative funds, despite
Interview with Daniel Haefele of ACOLIN Fund Services in Zurich – Why should fund managers in the UK consider Switzerland?
The Swiss financial centre is attractive to both international and domestic investors alike. As of the end of 2010, assets under management in Switzerland totaled around CHF5,500bn, of which slightly more than half were invested by foreign clients. At the same time, competition is intense: more than 670 banks and securities dealers sell almost 7,500 funds.
Which market segments should fund managers target?
Market entry is fastest if you have a sales strategy detailing your
Interview with Rhodri Mason, Head of UCITS Management at Man Group – What are some of the benefits of QIFs that managers should be aware of?
The key benefit is that QIFs give you Cayman-style investment flexibility, while speed to market can be significantly quicker than UCITS; QIFs can be authorised by Ireland within 24 hours. However bear in mind that QIFs have a minimum investment of EUR100k and SIFs of EUR125k.
How will AIFMD potentially increase adoption of QIFs?
One of the potential upsides of the Directive is that for the first time it will introduce a
By James Williams – It has been an encouraging first six months of 2012 for the alternative UCITS market. A couple of years ago total assets in these products were around EUR80billion. Now, according to Alix Capital, a Geneva-based firm whose UCITS Alternative Index Global tracks performance – and fund inflows – total assets in this space have grown to EUR129billion.
And whilst the USD2.1trillion hedge fund industry has only attracted USD20billion in net inflows for 1H12, Alix Capital notes that ‘Newcits’ have attracted a similar volume, with inflows of EUR9billion recorded in Q2 alone.
Admittedly, it is still
The global economy can’t afford to wait any longer for euro zone (in)decisions. European stagnation is increasingly worrying US officials as well as those in the emerging markets. Given that Europe remains the major trading partner for both China and the United States, the economic slowdown of our economies has serious consequences for global growth prospects, says Laurent Deltour (pictured), Chairman, Sycomore Asset Management…
Many economists, including GaveKal Dragonomics’ chief economist Andrew Batson, are predicting that Chinese economic growth may be lower than 5% in the future. At the same time, emerging market growth should be significantly superior to growth
The secondary market, where investors historically went to trade their illiquid holdings in hedge funds, private equity and other alternative investments, is increasingly a source of liquidity in normal times and not just an escape hatch for investors in duress, according to a recent survey of more than 489 institutional investors managing gross assets of USD417bn.
The survey indicates that, while USD65bn worth of secondary stakes are now traded annually, this market is expected to grow 125 per cent within the next year, to USD146bn.
Even with that increase, that trading would only represent about two per cent of
A number of stringent conditions have been placed on pension funds that wish to have hedge funds in their portfolios, which must be complied with by November 2012.
In terms of Regulation 28 made under the Pension Funds Act, a recent notice from the Financial Services Board (FSB), stipulates the investment criteria for the structure, ownership and protection of hedge fund assets.
Anthony van Eden, chief operating officer at Strate, says that although the requirements seem onerous, it allows for the use of Segregated Depository Accounts (SDAs) held at a Central Securities Depository (CSD). Although the use of SDAs
