The hedge fund regulatory landscape is in flux right now. Keeping abreast of the most pertinent issues in the US and Europe can be difficult. Hedgeweek spoke to Andrew Shrimpton, a partner at Kinetic Partners – a leading London-based asset management advisory firm – to get the inside track on current developments. For 18 months or so the FSA have been conducting six-monthly Hedge Fund Surveys to gauge the activities of hedge fund managers, something that the SEC have been opposed to. Until now, that is. “It’s called a Form PF and they’re just testing it out, it hasn’t been

Evolved Alpha’s flagship Multistrategy is opening to new investors following their first year of operations. Performance has been strong with the Multistrategy share class up 5% year-to-date, while showing little correlation to beta benchmarks or other hedge funds.   Evolved Alpha is a next-generation solution that provides transparent, liquid and secure access to a dynamic portfolio of specialised alpha strategies. The portfolio is comprised of approximately 1,000 global positions with an emphasis on liquid financial instruments: equities, futures, options and currencies. The fund consists of specialised strategies run by external managers all in the form of managed accounts. Evolved Alpha

Nexar Capital Group SCA, a global alternative investment manager, has acquired Ermitage Limited, one of Europe’s pioneering alternative asset management organisations, from Caledonia Investments plc. Founded in 1975, Ermitage has successfully served its long-standing client base with a diverse offering of innovative investment solutions, which include customised hedge fund portfolios, multi- and single manager hedge funds as well as wealth management services.  Ermitage has also developed OPTICS, a highly advanced portfolio construction and risk management software tool.    Ian Cadby (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of Ermitage says: “We are excited to be joining Nexar’s accomplished team and share their vision

By Lorcan Murphy – The hedge fund industry has been marked by fundamental changes in the attitudes and preferences of investors over the past three years. High new worth clients whose hedge fund investments experienced drawdowns in 2008 have become more discerning and cautious. Managers now must be able to explain clearly why the losses will not be repeated and about the measures they have employed to manage counterparty and investment risk. To a considerable extent investors have understood that managing a portfolio’s liquidity risk means more than investing in liquid assets. They have also a greater understanding of the

By Simon Gray – Switzerland is better known as a source of capital for the hedge funds, with its world-class private banking and wealth management industry, than as a hotbed of alternative fund managers. However, this largely low-profile sector has found itself more in the spotlight over the past couple of years as the Alpine nation emerges as a possible domicile for fund management firms and their principals seeking an alternative to London. Members of the Swiss fund industry hasten to point out that the influx of firms is far from a flood, and there are plenty of practical reasons

Private equity investors are coping with the challenges of valuation and audit of alternative assets, but a majority say their documentation process may not meet new accounting standards for hard-to-price and hard-to-value assets, according to an informal survey by Northern Trust. Northern Trust conducted the survey of its global custody clients during a recent webinar on alternative assets valuation. More than 50 institutional clients, with a median investment of USD2 billion in private equity and alternative assets, attended the webinar to discuss valuation issues with experts from Northern Trust and the investment firm Duff & Phelps. The interactive, anonymous survey