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Probably the most impressive development in the investment universe in the last couple of years has been the dramatic growth in US corporate profits. The question is whether these record profits are sustainable because of the continuing crisis in the Eurozone, according to Paul Chew, Head of Investments at US equity specialists Brown Advisory.
The impact of the austerity measures on the EU economies could be severe. Nearly 50% of Eurozone GDP comes from government spending, which is almost double that of the US. As country after country in the Eurozone cuts spending further, the odds of EU GDP turning
Scoach achieved a trading volume of EUR62 billion in Zurich and Frankfurt in 2011, making it Europe’s number 1. Its total offering of over 800,000 tradable products is actually the largest in the world.
Turnover in Frankfurt was EUR19.6 billion in 2011. This represented a year-on-year increase of 2.7 million executed transactions or 8.6 percent. 2011 saw the introduction of the Hong Kong dollar (HKD) as a trading currency, among other new developments. In the German market the number of products listed rose to 780,000 by the end of 2011 (a 50% increase year-on-year). Up to 6,000 securities are admitted
The international derivatives markets of Eurex Group ended 2011 with a turnover of approximately 2.8 billion contracts, compared with 2.64 billion in 2010. The total volume for 2011 splits into 2.04 billion contracts traded at Eurex Exchange (2010: 1.9 billion) and 778.1 million contracts traded at the International Securities Exchange (ISE) (2010: 745.2 million).
This corresponds to a daily average trading volume of 11.1 million contracts (2010: 10.4 million), thereof 8.0 million contracts at Eurex Exchange and 3.1 million contracts at ISE.
At Eurex Exchange, the equity index derivatives segment was the largest in 2011 with a total volume of
Andrew Clark (pictured), chief index strategist for Thomson Reuters Indices and Lipper, draws on second-order variability analysis to predict which US sectors will decorrelate first, assuming the current market rally has legs…
In a recent Reuters article, Bill O’Neill of Merrill Lynch was quoted as saying, “Correlation and volatility are very high, and it is very difficult for asset allocators to diversify. Making tactical calls in this environment is a fearsome challenge.”
This article shows which US sectors will decorrelate first, assuming the current market rally has “legs”, and briefly addresses the related matters of volatility and tail risk hedging.
Federated Investors is to acquire Prime Rate Capital Management, LLP, a United Kingdom-based provider of institutional liquidity and fixed income products, from Matrix Group Limited. Prime Rate Capital Management’s family of UCITS products includes Prime Rate Sterling Liquidity Fund, Prime Rate Euro Liquidity Fund and Prime Rate US Dollar Liquidity Fund, among other products. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Prime Rate Capital Management’s AAA-rated liquidity funds, known as Qualifying Money Market Funds, serve the corporate and institutional market. The funds, totaling approximately GBP 1.5 billion (USD2.4 billion USD) in assets, are rated AAA by both Fitch Ratings
Evercore Partners Inc has completed the purchase of a 45% non-controlling interest in ABS Investment Management, LLC, an institutionally focused equity long/short hedge fund-of-funds manager.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement announced on 14 November, 2011, ABS’s founders and employees continue to own 55% of the company. ABS manages over USD3.5 billion of hedge fund assets as of September 30, 2011 for institutional and high net worth clients in the Americas, Europe and Asia from its offices in Greenwich, Zurich and Hong Kong.
Industry research this month suggests that Asian investors, in particular, are starting to favour Asian hedge fund managers as the eurozone’s problems show no clear sign of abating and the US economy trundles along lethargically.
If meaningful assets start flowing into Asia from local and global investors next year it could be the catalyst needed for the region’s alternatives industry to grow and compete more aggressively with the likes of New York and London.
All of which could put well-established FoF managers like SAIL Advisors in a strong position. “In terms of what makes us different from other people, there’s
A partial break up of the Euro is inevitable, with Greece the most likely to default and leave the single currency in 2012, according to fund manager Managing Partners Limited (MPL). The Euro was always going to be tested in an economic downturn, for the same reasons the European Currency Unit was tested in the early 1990s, says Jeremy Leach, Managing Director of MPL…
How can the same fiscal policy decisions work for tier one countries such as Germany versus tier two countries such as Greece? The debts were always going to be too much for Greece to pay.
The Hedgeweek team is taking its customary seasonal break from 24 December and will reopen on Tuesday 3 January. Best wishes of the season to all our readers.
There can be no doubting the popularity of ETFs. As an asset class it has grown substantially in recent years. According to data in BlackRock’s ETF Landscape Industry Review for end of Q1 this year the number of global ETFs has risen from around 1,200 in 2007 to 2,500 in 2010.
However, in recent months voices of concern have been getting louder, perhaps reaching a crescendo recently when a rogue trader was exposed at UBS. Estimated bank losses were USD2.3billion. Whilst the losses weren’t specifically linked to ETFs it is believed the trader created fictitious forward-selling, cash ETF positions. The
