The GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator for March 2012 measured 3.23%, up from 3.14% in February. “As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2012, forward redemption requests remain lower on a month-to-month basis compared to the first quarter of last year,” says Hans Hufschmid (pictured), chief executive officer, GlobeOp Financial Services (LSE:GO.). The Indicator represents the sum of forward redemption notices received from investors in hedge funds administered by GlobeOp, divided by the AuA at the beginning of the month for GlobeOp fund administration clients. Forward redemptions as a percentage of GlobeOp assets under administration have trended significantly

Barclays Capital Fund Solutions (BCFS) is the asset management business of Barclays Capital, specialising in multi-asset investing. Its expert managed quant and fully discretionary fund management teams aim to deliver steady investment returns across all market cycles over the long term, through a focus on downside risk management, flexibility and liquidity. Ajay Jain, head of portfolio engineering, is responsible for the development of managed quantitative strategies and alpha-generating asset allocation models at BCFS, including the Barclays World Tactical Opportunity (BWTO), a multi-asset absolute return strategy also available in Ucits format.   BWTO uses a tactical asset allocation strategy designed to

ICMA’s European Repo Council (ERC) has published a paper entitled: ‘Shadow banking and repo’ which explores concerns raised by regulators about ‘shadow banking’, particularly in the context of the European repo market. The paper, written by Richard Comotto of the ICMA Centre, is intended to inform the ‘securities lending and repo’ workstream set up by the Financial Stability Board within its shadow banking project  and the European Commission’s own  deliberations discussed  in yesterday’s green paper.   Godfried De Vidts (pictured), Chair of ICMA’s European Repo Council, says: “Comotto’s paper frames a number of technical issues in a way which allows

  Year after year, award after award, Anchin, Block & Anchin is recognised as a top-tier firm throughout the US in terms of its size, management, scope of services and work environment.     With a staff of more than 350 and numerous specialised industry and service teams, the full-service accounting, tax and advisory firm provides investment companies, privately-held businesses and high net worth individuals with a wide range of traditional and non-traditional services.   Anchin’s expertise is readily apparent in its Financial Services Group, which includes nine partners and more than 50 dedicated professionals under the direction of partner-in-charge

Agecroft Partners specialises in consulting and third-party marketing for the alternative investment industry, with a particular focus on hedge funds. The firm raises assets globally for institutional-quality managers by utilising a consultative approach within the institutional investor community. Its approach is to develop in-depth product knowledge of the funds the firm represents and to be able to articulate their investment processes as well as the hedge fund managers. Agecroft was founded by Don Steinbrugge (pictured), who has 27 years of experience in the institutional investment management sales industry, including serving as head of sales for one of the world’s largest

By Simon Gray – The global hedge fund industry has just suffered its second losing year in four, yet the mood across the industry today is optimistic, albeit cautiously so. Last year’s overall sub-par performance across the sector, albeit with a few significant exceptions, appears to have been accepted with relative equanimity by an investor base conscious that they were not missing out on spectacular returns from other investment classes. What was striking about hedge fund performance in 2011 was its increasing compression, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research. While the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index declined by 5.26

The Winners of The Hedgeweek Awards 2012 for excellence among hedge fund managers and service providers, as voted for by our readers… Best Long/Short Equity Fund Manager Winner: Dalton Strategic Partnership (Melchior European Fund) Runner-up: Marshall Wace (Eureka Fund)   Best Market Neutral Fund Manager Winner: Saemor Capital (Saemor Europe Alpha Fund)   Best Relative Value Fund Manager Winner: PIMCO (PIMCO MultiAsset Volatility Fund) Runner-up: Amundi (Amundi Absolute Volatility Arbitrage Europe)   Best Convertible Arbitrage Fund Manager Winner: Mohican Financial Management (Lyxor/Mohican Convertible Arbitrage Fund) Joint runners-up: Investcorp (Investcorp Silverback Arbitrage Fund) and SSI Investment Management (SSI Hedged Convertible Opportunity)

Managed futures gained 0.95% in February according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is up 1.10% year-to-date. “Rising prices for global equities and commodities coupled with falling bond prices and US dollar weakness provided adequate opportunities for CTAs to add to profits in February,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge. “All eight of Barclay’s CTA indices had gains last month, and they are all in positive territory year-to-date.” The Barclay Diversified Traders Index gained 1.09% in February, Systematic Traders were up 1.00%, Agricultural Traders added 0.88%, and the Financial & Metals Traders Index

With the exception of short selling (-5.59%), all EDHEC-Risk Alternative Indexes finished February in positive territory. Strategies in the equity space exhibited returns broadly consistent with the market dynamics (Long/Short Equity: 2.63%, Equity Market Neutral: 0.84%, Event Driven: 1.76%). The Event Driven strategy performed in line with its modelled dynamic exposure while the other two showed significant alpha. The Convertible Arbitrage strategy, thanks to its exposure to the strongest fixed-income factors, recorded a 2.03% gain and its index progressed to a level close to its all time high. The Distressed Securities strategy, with an increased short-term sensitivity to credit risk,