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Interview with Lachlan Roos – What are the key issues a manager needs to be aware of when setting up a fund?
There are two key issues that a new fund manager should look at when they’re setting up a new fund. The first is simplicity of the structure. It needs to be easily understood both to them and to potential investors. The second is speed to market. How quickly can they start to invest and make money. Those are the areas of focus when people talk to us about envisaging their new business.
Typically, what we discuss with
Interview with Linda Clegg – Investors will always assess potential returns and the quality of investment strategy but in the opinion of Linda Clegg, Manager Business Development & Fund Formation, Custom House Fund Services, today they’re looking a lot more at the associated risks before allocating to new funds.
“Many are considering going for what they perceive to be safer jurisdictions,” says Clegg (pictured), which raises the whole issue of whether to structure a fund offshore or onshore in more regulated jurisdictions. David Barry, Head of Sales & Marketing, Europe and Middle East at Custom House Group, adds: “In general,
NYSE Euronext (NYX) has reported net income of USD154 million, or USD0.59 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2011, compared to net income of USD184 million, or USD0.70 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2010.
Results for the second quarter of 2011 and 2010 include USD18 million and USD32 million, respectively, of pre-tax merger expenses and exit costs. The USD18 million in merger expenses and exit costs in the second quarter of 2011 included USD12 million related to the proposed merger with Deutsche Boerse.
Second quarter of 2010 results also included a net USD54 million pre-tax
Interview with Julian Stockley-Smith – The pressure for investment managers to get things right from day one is immense. According to Julian Stockley-Smith, a Director of JP Fund Foundations, investors are now much more inclined to seek professional and independent oversight when assessing prospective funds.
“We’re seeing substantially increased due diligence; investors want a clear idea of a fund’s infrastructure, the service providers they’re using and the protections via independent oversight that exist. We were recently asked to give a review of our disaster recovery programme. That’s the first time we’ve been asked that by a potential investor,” explains Stockley-Smith.
Hedge fund managers have turned bullish on US equities, according to BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research. Bullish sentiment on the S&P 500 among hedge fund managers soared to 43% in July, the largest share since December 2010, from 27% in June. Bearish sentiment sank to 27%, the smallest share since January 2011, from 38%.
“This reversal is striking,” says Sol Waksman, founder and President of BarclayHedge. “Hedge fund managers were meaningfully bullish on domestic stocks in only one month in the first half of the year. Our research shows that hedge fund sentiment is a decent leading indicator, so the shift could
Galaxy has received regulatory approval from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel (ACP) to operate its Organised Multilateral Trading Facility for European bonds.
The bond trading platform accepts only firm orders and aggregates them in a global order book with prices accessible to all participants. Post-trade information and transaction records are made available publicly. Galaxy is also equipped with a latest generation compliance monitoring system, which checks trading activity in real-time to help safeguard against possible market distortions.
Clearing of securities traded on the platform is handled by LCH.Clearnet SA, with links to the
Northern Trust has successfully closed its acquisition of Omnium LLC from Chicago-based Citadel LLC. Northern Trust had announced its intention to acquire the hedge fund administrator with approximately USD70 billion in assets under administration on May 16, 2011, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Supported by Northern Trust’s global presence, asset servicing capabilities and financial strength, Omnium’s expert staff will utilise market leading technology as part of Northern Trust’s Corporate & Institutional Services business unit. Services will be provided as Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services LLC.
"We are very pleased to announce the completion of our
Merlin, a prime brokerage services and technology provider offering integrated solutions to the alternative investment industry, has hired Brian VS McKenna as a partner in the Merlin Institutional Group (MIG). In this role, McKenna will enhance MIG’s institutional sales efforts to large hedge funds and money managers in New York and the Northeast region.
“Brian’s addition allows us to further expand the Merlin Institutional Group and broadens our ability to provide hedge fund clients with differentiated investment ideas and high-quality execution,” says Stephan Vermut, founder and managing partner of Merlin. “Brian is well recognized within the institutional investment community, and
Eze Castle Integration has increased its cloud computing customer base to more than 130 financial industry firms.
In the first half of the year, Eze Castle also completed several domestic and international expansion projects, welcomed new members to its executive team, increased its application offerings, and solidified its support for Dodd-Frank regulation.
In addition, Eze Castle expanded operations on the West Coast; opened offices in Singapore, Geneva and Dallas; introduced its cloud offerings to London-based companies; earned prestigious industry awards from Hedgeweek, CRN and MSPMentor; and added numerous applications to its cloud services portfolio, including Ledgex Systems and Tradar portfolio
Despite the US edging closer to a bipartisan deal that would raise the country’s borrowing limit, Nigel Sillis (pictured), Director of Research, Fixed Income and Currency Team at Baring Asset Management in London, still believes it’s a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ America’s credit rating is downgraded…
In the US, details of a tentative bipartisan deal that would raise the US government’s borrowing limit started to emerge over the weekend. If Congress doesn’t approve the federal government’s request to raise the ceiling on the amount of money it can borrow, funding will run out in early August – on
