Highland Funds Asset Management has launched the Highland Dividend Equity Fund (ticker:HDFAX). Brookmont Capital Management, LLC (Brookmont) will serve as the fund’s sub-advisor. The Highland Dividend Equity Fund will employ a strategy of individual common stocks that seeks to provide above-average dividend yields with the potential for long-term capital gains. The strategy will not be limited to a certain "style" or market capitalisation. Rather, it will invest in high-quality stocks that offer attractive valuations with below-market risk profiles, and will avoid making large sector bets or concentrations in individual names. The fund will choose stocks of companies from all 10

The Swiss banking group SYZ & CO announced today the launch of new classes in CHF for seven OYSTER funds, which are already available in Switzerland in other currencies. By offering investors the choice of the reference currency, SYZ & CO can better address the specific needs of the Swiss market, which is one of the key areas for development. This focus on Switzerland has also been underlined by a significant reinforcement of the OYSTER Funds commercial team.   The strategies selected for the launch of new classes in CHF are OYSTER US Value, OYSTER Global Convertibles, OYSTER European Opportunities,

Bedell Trust is strengthening its presence in Mauritius with the launch of Bedell Management Services (Mauritius) Limited, a full service management company, providing corporate, trust and fund administration services. Its range of expertise complements the legal advice provided by Bedell Cristin (Mauritius) Partnership, which opened in November 2010 and has swiftly established itself in the region for its expertise in handling complex cross-border transactions. Bedell Management Services (Mauritius) Limited will be led by Yuvraj Juwaheer (pictured), who has over 15 years’ experience in the global finance business sector. Juwaheer was a member of the Mauritian government steering committee set up

By James Williams – As the number of managed account platforms (MAPs) increases, seemingly in response to the growth in institutional investors entering the realm of hedge funds, one might assume that managed account AUM is following a steep upward trajectory. Platforms like AlphaMetrix have done well attracting assets, and a survey of the top ten platforms earlier this year by an industry publication showed that their combined AUM had risen from USD41.3billion in 2010 to USD52.8billion. However, the much-predicted post ’08 deluge in assets hasn’t materialised, giving way instead to steady growth in AuM. A JP Morgan 2011 Investor

By Stefan Keller, Head of Managed Account Platform Research & External Relations, Lyxor Asset Management – Recent market turmoil has understandably made people nervous. I believe we’re going through a once-in-a-generation period of uncertainty. The ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe has spilled over to the banks, pushing up credit and market risks and disrupting bank funding markets. Counterparty risk, then, is back on the table. Our Lyxor Managed Account Platform uses open architecture. This enables us to manage risk by working with 10 different prime brokers, 15 OTC counterparties and three administrators. This year we’ve been very active, launching

By Tyler Kim, CIO, Maples Fund Services – Institutional investors could be easily overwhelmed by the volume of data that originates out of their managed accounts programs. To avoid this, they require information systems that aggregate position data across multiple managers, consolidate information on a ubiquitous dashboard, and produce meaningful analytical reports. Data accessibility and robust reporting capabilities are key to extracting the informational benefits intended from managed accounts. The type of reporting done for managed accounts is setting a new standard for portfolio information synthesis. Applying the “managed accounts approach” to reporting across all assets is an emerging trend

By James Williams – Insistence on position-level transparency has been de rigueur since day one says Lisa Fridman (pictured), Head of European Research at PAAMCO, a major institutional FoHF firm established in 2000. She says that whilst they weren’t using managed accounts in the early years emphasis on transparency was paramount in the team. By logical extension, the firm then decided to create its own MAP in 2005, way before the global meltdown in ’08 prompted investors to seriously consider managed accounts. “We have a preference for structuring our investments in a managed account or a fund-of-one format. On a

Evercore Wealth Management has launched the Evercore Wealth Management Macro Opportunity Fund (EWMOX), which seeks to profit from the investment risks associated with changes to global monetary and fiscal policy. The fund is an extension of the firm’s Diversified Market Hedges strategy that strives to preserve investor assets and reduce portfolio volatility in periods of economic uncertainty, without sacrificing capital appreciation. This strategy was developed by Evercore Wealth Management in January 2009 as a tactical overlay for individual client portfolios. The firm continues to deploy the strategy extensively in its customised asset allocation for clients. "In launching the Macro Opportunity

Following on from the default of MF Global UK Ltd (MFG), LCH.Clearnet Group has transferred a significant number of clients throughout the last week across multiple markets.  In respect of the London Metal Exchange (LME), LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH.Clearnet) and the LME announce that instructions to transfer LME positions to a new Clearing Member must be received by LCH.Clearnet no later than 17.00GMT Tuesday 8 November 2011.   Instructions to transfer client accounts must: 1.Be submitted to LCH.Clearnet in the manner described in the Position Transfer Request process as outlined at www.lchclearnet.com, including evidence of the portfolio in the spreadsheet format

Hedge funds posted the strongest monthly gains thus far in 2011, with the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index gaining 2.43 per cent for October. The gain snaps a two-month decline and follows a 3Q drop of 6.5 per cent, the fourth worst calendar quarter performance in history. Equity Hedge strategies had the largest positive contribution to index performance in the month, with the HFRI Equity Hedge Index gaining 5.2 per cent. This was the best single-month gain for Equity Hedge since May 2009 and snapped a volatile, five-month decline for the strategy. Within Equity Hedge sub-strategies, the HFRI EH: Energy/Basic