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By Simon Gray – Corporate governance has been at the centre of discussions worldwide about the future of alternative fund management and regulation, and nowhere more than in the Cayman Islands.
Over the past few months the jurisdiction has attracted global attention as a result of a notorious case involving grossly negligent conduct by fund directors and media reports suggesting that some individuals based in the islands hold far more directorships than they can reasonably hope to exercise effectively.
In the case of Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited (In Liquidation) vs. Stefan Peterson and Hans Ekstrom, the Grand Court
By Chris DeNigris – The Cayman Islands are the second largest market globally in terms of client assets under administration or management for Koger, as a provider of fund administration and transfer agency software to many of the world’s largest alternative administration firms as well as, increasingly, to alternative managers themselves. The jurisdiction continues to see significant growth and remains the domicile of choice for master-feeder structures, which remain the most common structure for the alternative fund industry.
In Cayman as elsewhere, the key focus in the industry in the wake of the recent financial crisis is
By Ingrid Pierce – New managers launching their first offshore fund have many questions. Here are some of the answers.
One of the first questions managers have is how long the process will take. Timing to launch of a new offshore fund depends on various factors, including the nature and complexity of the structure, which third parties need to review documents, and whether any special terms are being offered to strategic investors. A plain vanilla fund should take around six weeks, although it can be done more quickly.
One of the most time-consuming matters is negotiating independent service provider
By Phil Griffiths – JP Fund Services was launched in 2007 as the first company in the JP Fund Group and is focused on assisting investment managers to create their own funds. We identified a niche in a market where smaller players were not well catered for, if at all – larger, higher profile service providers weren’t interested in funds of less than USD40m to USD50m.
We saw an opportunity to establish alternative investment funds using segregated portfolio companies in the Cayman Islands, which we create together with a Cayman law firm. Each segregated portfolio is a fund in its
By Simon Gray – The past four years have brought upheaval throughout the global alternative investment fund industry, at times calling into question the role of the Cayman Islands as the world’s leading offshore hedge fund domicile. However, despite renewed difficulties in 2011 as hedge funds suffered their second worst year ever in terms of performance, in addition to continuing competition for business from onshore jurisdictions, there is little or no sign that Cayman’s industry dominance will slip any time soon.
True, the hopes of Cayman industry members last year that hedge fund numbers would climb back above their high
Qannas Investments Limited is to apply for the admission of its shares to trading on AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange Plc and to proceed with an initial offering by way of a placing of its ordinary shares to institutional and other investors.
The Company will take the form of a newly-established, closed-ended investment company incorporated in Jersey and regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission. Abu Dhabi Capital Management (ADCM), an alternative investment management firm based in Abu Dhabi, will act as investment manager to the Company.
Qannas will seek to generate a target IRR of
Current valuations in China provide a great entry point for investors, says Andreas Roemer, head of emerging markets, DWS Investments…
China’s investment potential looks set to remain strong in 2012, benefiting from the same forces that drove asset markets in the US and Europe in the 1990s and 2000s. Excluding the deflation threat caused by the European debt crisis and based on the latest purchase managers’ index (PMI) data, China’s economy seems to have found its feet. Global consumer spending has received a boost since its significant decline and the Chinese government is making positive monetary and fiscal decisions to
Strategic Investment Group (Strategic), an asset allocator with USD27.9 billion in assets under management, has selected Sophis VALUE for cross-asset trading and global risk management.
Sophis VALUE provides Strategic, the aiCIO magazine 2011 Investment Outsourcing Award Winner, with a single system to oversee their diversified positions with external managers, as well as their direct investments. The asset manager will use Sophis VALUE for front-to-back transaction processing, holistic global risk management and investment accounting.
"As our business continues to expand and global markets evolve, we need a comprehensive platform that can manage all of our externally and internally managed investments across
Horizon Cash Management, Chicago, has announced plans for an extended drive for European business.
The 20-year old operation which manages some USD2.5 billion in cash deposits and near assets, said it have made the decision to push further ahead in Europe in reflection of increasing manager and investor recognition, on both sides of the Atlantic, of the importance of the cash process within investment portfolios and the value of independent, third party cash management services to maximise investment returns.
Horizon Cash Management was founded in 1991 by Diane Mix (now Chairman) and since then has been offering cash management solutions to
D Harris + Company’s eight-strong hedge fund team has joined law firm Macfarlanes. Daniel Harris, who founded the boutique hedge fund law firm eight years ago, is also joining Macfarlanes as a consultant.
The team specialises in complex swaps, prime brokerage and synthetic financing arrangements working for many of the largest European and US hedge funds, some of which are already clients of Macfarlanes.
‘Regulatory pressure globally means that hedge funds are of great strategic significance for investment banking and other financial services clients,’ says Charles Martin (pictured), senior partner, Macfarlanes. ’We have been looking to expand our practice
