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Compensation levels for investment professionals in 2011 are expected to be flat to modestly higher than those reported in 2010, according to a new report released jointly by Greenwich Associates and Johnson Associates.
Within traditional asset management organisations, compensation for 2011 is projected to be flat from 2010 levels to 5% lower for equity professionals and flat to 5% higher in fixed income. Within hedge funds, year-end compensation is expected to vary widely based on company performance for both equity and fixed-income professionals, with some down and others flat or up versus 2010.
“These expectations are bullish compared with
The Blue Ink Composite (BIC), which tracks the performance of around 100 Hedge Funds in South Africa, reported a steady increase of 0.9% for the third quarter of 2011. The BIC outperformed the JSE All Share Total Return Index (ALSI) by more than 6%, which returned -5.39% over the same period.
According to Eben Karsten (pictured), portfolio manager at Blue Ink Investments, the third quarter of 2011 was another difficult quarter for the local equity market. “The Rand depreciated by as much as 13% as foreigners liquidated risk positions, in particular in equities. In US dollar terms, the ALSI was
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT) has launched two new fixed income strategies based on alternative-weighted indices that are designed to forecast a company’s financial strength. They also exclude debt issued by private companies and subordinated debt.
The SSgA US Issuer Scored Corporate Bond Index strategy and the SSgA Euro Issuer Scored Corporate Bond Index strategy both seek to track a new and innovative benchmark index design. These indices use financial factors to weight the allocation to corporate bond issuers based on profitability, operational efficiency, leverage and liquidity. This is achieved by focusing
GAM has appointed Anthony Lawler as a member of the senior management and the investment management committees of its Multi-Manager group, effective immediately.
He will focus on the ongoing expansion of GAM’s institutional business particularly in the US, through the construction of customised funds of hedge funds portfolios.
As a member of the core portfolio management team, Lawler will contribute to the construction of customised funds of hedge funds portfolios that match the requirements of institutional clients. In addition, he will be appointed Co-Manager for the GAM Diversity Institutional strategy which he will run together with David Smith, Chief Investment
In light of the current fiscal and monetary concerns that are gripping the minds of investors around the world, Institutional Asset Manager asked the heads of some of the world’s leading asset managers to share their thinking on portfolio management trends post-Lehman and beyond 2011 in concise fashion. Nick Gartside (pictured), International CIO for Fixed Income, JP Morgan Asset Management, responds:
"2009 to 2010 was about capturing the generational opportunity in fixed income credit; both investment grade and high yield bonds sold off to very attractive levels. Many institutional investors grabbed this opportunity.
"2011 has been characterised by an anaemic economic
After four straight months of gains, managed futures lost 1.50% in October according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year-to-date, the Index is down 2.30%.
“A revival of animal spirits sparked by an improving economic picture and the appearance of a solution for Euro zone sovereign debt problems spawned trend reversals in many of the major futures sectors,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Six of Barclay’s eight CTA indices had negative returns in October. The Diversified Traders Index lost 2.69%, Systematic Traders were down 2.15%, Financial & Metal Traders lost 0.68%, and Currency Traders
A new Farming Index, which will focus largely on Emerging Markets and global farming, has been launched by Indxis, an independent provider of bespoke indices, and GAIA Capital Advisors, a Geneva based fund manager and investment advisor specialising in global natural and agricultural investing.
Investors seeking to diversify investments by adding the agriculture sector to their portfolios should be interested in the attractive fundamentals and prospective returns available in this space. Over three years, the GAIA Farming Index has an annualised return of 20.29%, outperforming such references as MSCI EM small & mid cap by 8.56%, according to back-tested data.
The Honourable Jed S Rakoff, United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, has entered a Final Judgment on Consent as to Mark Anthony Longoria, and a Final Judgment on Consent as to Donald Longueuil, in the SEC’s insider trading case, SEC v. Mark Anthony Longoria, et al., 11-CV-0753 (SDNY) (JSR).
The SEC filed its Complaint on 3 February, 2011, charging two expert network employees and four consultants with insider trading for illegally tipping hedge funds and other investors. On February 8, 2011, the SEC filed an Amended Complaint, charging a New York-based
The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index rebounded from September losses to start the fourth quarter up 1.73%.
Oliver Schupp (pictured), President of Credit Suisse Index Co, says: "The Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index was up 1.73% in October, marking its largest monthly gain since April. Long/Short Equity was the best performing sector, finishing up 4.45% for the month, while Emerging Markets gained 3.70%. Conversely, the Dedicated Short Bias sector was the worst performer, declining -9.59% in October; the strategy, however, remains up 2.34% year-to-date."
Performance for the Broad Index and its ten sub-strategies is calculated monthly.
Sanne Group has recently moved to new offices in London, which will now be led by corporate and institutional services director, Martin Schnaier (pictured).
Schnaier has joined Sanne Group from Babson Capital where he was finance director with responsibility for the firm’s mezzanine and private equity business. He has over 10 years experience in the finance industry working with institutional funds, venture capital trusts, private equity and debt funds.
Sanne’s London office provides relationship management services to corporate and institutional customers and intermediaries, working with them to deliver tailored administration solutions across a multi-jurisdictional platform.
Schnaier says: “I am delighted
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