GAM has launched its first market neutral credit fund with credit manager DCI. GAM Star Diversified Market Neutral Credit aims to produce absolute returns with low correlation to fixed income markets through investing in a diversified long and short portfolio of mispriced, predominately investment grade credit. The strategy adds to the growing Ucits III universe. DCI uses quantitative systems to determine corporate default probabilities and to value corporate credit instruments. It then constructs risk-matched and diversified long and short portfolios to exploit the revealed mispricings. DCI’s managing partner and chief investment officer Stephen Kealhofer, who is well-known for his credit

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index declined 0.55 per cent in August, taking its year-to-date performance to +1.32 per cent. The S&P 500 decreased 4.74 per cent in August (-5.90 per cent YTD), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.31 per cent (-3.96 per cent YTD), and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 6.24 per cent (-6.84 per cent YTD).  Bonds advanced, as the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index increased 1.29 per cent (+7.83 per cent YTD). “Hedge funds started the month with reduced net and gross exposure levels, which allowed them to protect capital while generating ‘alpha’ in August, as the equity

On 8 November 2010 the Austrian Government is auctioning 200,000 EU allowances through Climex. This is the fourth auction in a row and the second auction this year that Climex and the ÖEKV are coordinating on behalf of the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. This autumn Climex is also holding two allocation auctions on behalf of the Dutch Government on 14 October and 18 November 2010. All auctions will begin at 10am CET. The fourth Austrian auction consists of a competitive auction only, with a volume of 200,000 EUAs, and is held in the same format

The hedge fund industry posted an estimated outflow of USD2.9bn, or 0.2 per cent of assets, in July 2010, the second straight outflow as well as the third in four months, according to TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge.  Industry assets sank to USD1.53trn, the third straight decrease and the lowest level since November 2009. “Hedge funds posted a positive return in July, but they did not regain the ground they lost in May and June,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.  “They also underperformed the S&P 500 by five percentage points.” Commodity trading advisers posted a heavy inflow

Forty one per cent of Nordic investors are increasing their allocations to hedge funds, according to SEB’s Nordic Hedge Fund Investor Survey. During 2009, 68 per cent of all investments were made in non-Nordic hedge funds. Long/short equity and global macro are the strategies that the investors expect to perform the best during 2010. The most common way to find hedge funds is through capital introduction teams, used by 76 per cent of the investors. Investors that have mandate to allocate zero to 30 per cent of their total assets represent 80 per cent of the investors, excluding fund of

The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was up 0.05 per cent in August, bringing its year-to-date performance to 0.84 per cent. The top performing strategies over the month were Lyxor CTA Long Term Index (3.86 per cent), convertible bonds and volatility arbitrage (1.95 per cent) and L/S equity short bias (1.25 per cent). The worst performing strategies were L/S equity long bias (-1.48 per cent) and L/S equity statistical arbitrage (-1.40 per cent). The Lyxor Hedge Indices are investable, asset-weighted hedge fund indices. They are based on Lyxor’s hedge fund platform.