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An overwhelming majority (83%) of senior executives representing UK corporates do not believe that the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) will be sufficient in securing confidence in Eurozone sovereign debt markets, according to a survey of senior executives at a client briefing hosted by Investec Corporate & Institutional Treasury (‘Investec’), part of Investec Bank plc.
Despite the fact that a staggering 93% of executives surveyed are concerned (37% were ‘very concerned’) about the potential risks posed to their businesses by the Eurozone crisis, three fifths (60%) expect their firms to grow over the next 12 months. Nearly half (47%) predict
Northern Trust has appointed Robert P Morgan to lead a new unit, Northern Trust Alternatives Group, formed to develop and manage all alternative investment products, including hedge and private equity funds of funds, for institutional and personal clients.
Northern Trust Alternatives Group brings together portfolio management, product, sales and service teams to build on the private equity and hedge fund solutions that have been part of Northern Trust’s manager-of-managers business. Morgan, who had previously been Director of Private Equity, oversees approximately USD3.5 billion under management or advisory as Managing Director of the new group.
"Alternative investment products have experienced substantial
General Atlantic LLC, Robert M Bass, and senior management have made an investment in Oak Hill Advisors and purchased a minority stake held by iStar Financial, Inc.
The transaction increases the management team’s majority interest in Oak Hill Advisors and, with Bass, brings GA, a leading global growth equity firm, as a minority investor into the company. Bass co-founded Oak Hill Advisors’ first investment fund and has maintained a strategic relationship with the firm since its formation.
“We are excited to be increasing management’s ownership of the firm. In addition, we are delighted to have the commitment and support of
Phoenix Fund Services has won the contract to provide the middle office, fund accounting and transfer agency services for the Coppertree Dynamic Fund.
The Coppertree Dynamic Fund is a Bermuda domiciled fund with an absolute return investment objective through investing in special situations. These may include directional trades, as well as relative value and event driven plays. The basis for alpha generation is extensive market experience, combined with ongoing in-depth research.
David Atkinson, Founding Partner of CopperTree Capital Management, says: “We were looking for a solution that would help us focus on our investment strategy, whilst strengthening our internal processes.
Hanzevast has become the first issuer of bonds on NYSE Alternext in Amsterdam – the platform of NYSE Euronext that meets the needs of small and mid-sized companies seeking simplified access to the stock market.
Cees Vermaas, CEO of NYSE Euronext Amsterdam, says: "We are delighted to welcome Hanzevast on NYSE Alternext. Especially for SMEs, the engine of our Dutch economy, it is vital to be able to raise capital for future growth. Our platform NYSE Alternext can meet the companies’ financing needs. Where banks are currently cautious in lending, NYSE Alternext offers SMEs an excellent alternative to raise capital
BNP Paribas Securities Services (BNP Paribas) has unveiled an expanded range of market and financing services to support the increasingly sophisticated requirements of institutional investors and financial intermediaries. 


Alongside custody, clearing and fund administration, the custodian bank’s Market and Financing Services business line now offers principal and agency lending, foreign exchange and collateral management – as well as a variety of financing solutions to asset owners, asset managers, including alternatives and broker-dealers. 


The bank is also first to market with the introduction of a fully outsourced dealing service for buy-side firms, giving them round-the-clock access to all asset classes. 


Developing
The Morningstar MSCI Composite Hedge Fund Index, an asset-weighted composite of nearly 1,000 hedge funds in the Morningstar hedge fund database, fell 2.3% for the month of September, compared to a decline of 8.6% for the MSCI World NR Stock Index.
“Hedge funds did their job," says Josh Charney, alternative investments analyst at Morningstar. “While hedge funds generally followed the market down during the economic turmoil of September, on average they didn’t fall far. Some categories even posted positive results.”
European and Asian equity-focused hedge funds in the Morningstar database were among the largest losers in September, but these funds
French asset management company Prim’Finance, has launched a new UCITs III commodities fund, which invests only in the energy, base metals and precious metals sectors.
Prim Commodities is not invested in stocks of companies involved in these three sectors, but directly in commodities using total return swaps on a commodities futures customised index.
Managed by Benjamin Louvet, and featuring daily liquidity and an annual management fee of 2 per cent, the fund’s investment process is based on an actively managed allocation between the various commodities, as well as a flexible approach. The fund’s investment universe covers oil products, natural gas, aluminium, copper, lead and
South African hedge funds outperformed the JSE All Share Index (ALSI) in August, a month characterised by high levels of volatility in local equity markets.
According to Eben Karsten (pictured), portfolio manager at Blue Ink Investments, while the ALSI closed August weaker by 0.3%, this performance hides considerable volatility during the month, with the ALSI recovering from a 9% decline in the first week of the month.
In contrast, hedge funds continued to perform strongly, with the Blue Ink Hedge Fund Composite which tracks the performance of around 100 single strategy hedge funds in South Africa, gaining 0.91% over
In its latest survey on the growing market for Alternative UCITS, ML Capital observed a dramatic increase in demand for CTAs, which is at an all-time high, with 57% of respondents committed to the sector.
ML Capital surveyed a diverse range of active Alternative UCITS investors, who collectively manage EUR80 billion and today invest upwards of EUR30 billion into Alternative UCITS products.
Allocations to CTA’s and Global Macro strategies are set to continue to increase dramatically. The largest increase in allocations are to Global Macro systematic and CTA strategies, both of which saw demand almost double over the last quarter
