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Anson Group Limited has appointed Professor Richard Conder as its new chairman and Melville Trimble as a new director. Both appointments are non-executive and took effect from Friday 9 March 2012.
Professor Richard Conder retired in 2011 from being the Chief Executive of the GTA University Centre in Guernsey having previously been a Pro Vice Chancellor of Bournemouth University and before then holding senior posts in industry and commerce. Richard Conder is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
He received a Masters degree in Business Administration
RMG Wealth Management has launched its first offshore fund in response to demand for its segregated portfolio service and to capitalise on the range of investment opportunities currently accessible through the macro environment.
The RMG Real Return Fund, which began trading on 1st February, is capable of investing globally across multiple asset classes and securities.
The Guernsey-domiciled fund will be managed by RMG Wealth’s co-founder and Chief Investment Officer, Stewart Richardson. Stewart has 25 years of experience managing money for a number of firms including RBS Coutts, Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of Canada and has built a reputation
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a San Francisco-area investment adviser with defrauding investors by giving them a bogus audit report that embellished the financial performance of the fund in which they were investing.
The SEC alleges that James Michael Murray raised more than USD4.5 million from investors in his various funds including Market Neutral Trading LLC (MNT), a purported hedge fund that claimed to invest primarily in domestic equities. Murray provided MNT investors with a report purportedly prepared by independent auditor Jones, Moore & Associates (JMA). However, JMA is not a legitimate accounting firm but rather a shell
Gemini Fund Services has launched its third shared mutual fund trust, Northern Lights Fund Trust III (NLFT III). The new fund trust was established in response to increased demand for assistance from small- and mid-sized funds.
NLFT III, like its two predecessors, is a shared mutual fund trust of independent and separately managed funds. The original Northern Lights Fund Trust has grown to include 83 funds and more than USD7 billion in assets under management. Northern Lights Fund Trust II, launched in June 2011, now includes 12 funds and USD243 million in assets under management.
Advisors who join NLFT III
Managing risk more dynamically is becoming an increasingly vital function of the investment management process. Those that can demonstrate their effectiveness at reacting quickly to volatility are held in high regard. Performance is still vital, that’s why investors pay inordinate fees.
However, risk-adjusted returns can improve over time by managers taking a multi-dimensional approach to managing risk as opposed to viewing it merely as a support function.
At least that’s what Dr Matthieu Vaissie (pictured), a research associate at EDHEC-Risk Institute and senior portfolio manager at Lyxor Asset Management and co-author Serge Darolles have found in their latest research paper:
The Life and Longevity Markets Association (LLMA) has launched its own set of four longevity indices. The LLMA Longevity Indices will be used as a global reference for the transfer of longevity risk from hedgers to investors and other counterparties.
The LLMA Indices will act as a robust reference for longevity and mortality contracts between counterparties. The four Indices cover England and Wales, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA; and can be accessed on the LLMA website (www.llma.org). The Indices will be launched on the Bloomberg platform later this year.
The LLMA’s various member firms have between them
Chris Cummings, CEO of TheCityUK, welcomes UK Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget Statement…
The reductions in both corporation tax and personal tax announced today send a strong signal that the ‘open for business’ sign over the UK is well and truly lit.
Announcing a future reduction in the top rate of tax to 45p is a step in the right direction. The high personal tax rate is the number one issue on everyone’s lips wherever I am in the world. The Chancellor must do all he can to create a competitive, business friendly environment to attract global firms to the UK.



Otkritie Capital, the investment banking arm of Otkritie Financial Corporation, has appointed Michael T Workman to head its fixed income business. He will operate between Moscow and London and report to the Group’s CEO Igor Vayn (pictured).
Workman has a distinguished track record as an emerging markets specialist and has significant experience in global fixed income and Russian markets. He joins Otkritie from Goldman Sachs in Moscow where he was an executive director in the Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities group and was responsible for the bank’s structured principal investments in the region.
Previously, Workman was a senior
Founded by Thomas Walek in 1998, Walek & Associates is a multi-million-dollar public relations consultancy with offices in New York, Boulder and Hong Kong, and clients in every key market arena.
From defining market position to managing media visibility, taking charge in crisis situations, supporting portfolio holdings, improving investor outreach, safekeeping reputations and handling the needs of highly successful hedge fund executives, Walek & Associates has pioneered the design and execution of public relations campaigns to support hedge funds.
The firm uses what it calls a ‘global boutique’ business model, combining the professionalism and results-driven approach of larger firms
Netherlands-based Saemor Capital was established in 2008 with the backing of insurance company Aegon, where a number of Saemor’s team previously worked. Founder and chief executive Sven Bouman was head of equities at Aegon, while chief financial and operating officer Patrick van de Laar was head of derivatives and hedging.
The Saemor Europe Alpha Fund is a market neutral long/short equity strategy that focuses on European equities and equity-related securities. It currently manages USD650m of assets in the portfolio, which contains 250 positions, and limits each position size to a maximum of 3 per cent of the fund’s NAV.
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