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James Burron, FCSI, CAIA, has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada with effect from 1 May, 2011.

Burron will work closely with AIMA Canada’s Executive Committee and its membership on a broad range of association management and executive duties, including member liaison and communications, as well as focusing on broader policy and strategy objectives.
Gary Ostoich, Chair of AIMA Canada, says: "James Burron has a solid background of more than 15 years of international experience in the securities industry including a significant background in the alternative investment industry. Most recently, he has been involved in product origination
By Georges Boivin – Switzerland is the world’s second-largest market for funds of hedge funds after the US, and approximately five per cent of all assets under management are invested in hedge funds, including USD200bn in funds of hedge funds, while the country accounts for around a third of total global assets invested in funds of funds. That means that for the hedge fund services sector, the market offers great growth potential – but maintaining a close relationship with fund manager clients is more important than ever before.
Despite the difficulties in the sector a few years ago, the appetite
By Michael Appenzeller – Over the past two years Switzerland has been a focus for hedge fund managers re-examining the location of their business and operations. The country is now among the most attractive jurisdictions in Europe to establish some if not all of the hedge fund value chain, because of not only tax advantages but an entrepreneurial culture rooted in its history as a global financial hub.
Switzerland differs from most offshore financial centres through its strong institutional asset management culture, centred on the Zürich area and clusters such as Zug and Pfäffikon, encompassing pension funds, asset managers and
Don Steinbrugge (pictured), Chairman of Agecroft Partners, looks at how endowments and foundations are rediscovering their appetite for hedge fund allocations…
Large Endowments and Foundations were early adopters of hedge funds in their portfolios with many allocating approximately 50% of their asset allocation. However, in the two years following the financial markets meltdown, these same investors stayed primarily on the sidelines for new hedge fund allocations. Over the past six months, Agecroft Partners has seen a significant increase in the search activity for endowments and foundations and expects this trend to continue for the foreseeable future. In addition, Agecroft also
Deloitte has appointed Bob Contri as leader of its financial services industry group in the United States. Contri currently serves as Deloitte’s leader to the banking and securities sector.
Contri succeeds Jim Reichbach, who held the role for the last three years. Reichbach will now serve as senior leader to several of Deloitte’s most important financial services clients and as leader of Deloitte’s global banking and securities practice.
“We are in a unique time, as the strategies that financial institutions undertake today will determine who the leaders are tomorrow,” says Contri. “Whether it is regulatory reform, sweeping changes to the
GlobeOp Financial Services’ assets under administration (AuA) increased to a record total of USD167 billion as at 31 March 2011, a 12% increase from USD149 billion at 31 December 2010 and a 46% increase in the past 12 months, according to the company’s interim management statement covering the period since 31 March 2011.
During the first quarter, existing clients added new funds with USD11 billion of AuA and new clients brought another USD1 billion of assets to GlobeOp. In addition, client subscriptions totalled USD11 billion for the quarter versus redemptions of USD10 billion. Fund performance added USD4 billion to
Natixis Alternative Investments France has launched a new fund on its dedicated managed fund platform – the SIXTINA Harbert Event Opportunities Fund.
This compartment of the Natixis Absolute Global SICAV is a Luxembourg-domiciled, UCITS III-compliant fund. The launch expands the fund offerings developed on the SIXTINA platform for investors seeking exposure to absolute return strategies through onshore regulated vehicles. As fund manager, NAI France will be responsible for daily risk management of the fund and for overall reporting to investors.
The SIXTINA Harbert Event Opportunities Fund offers investors access to a risk-managed portfolio of merger and corporate event transactions
Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), an alternative investment advocacy organisation, reports that global demand for timber has increased, resulting in higher prices across Europe, Japan, China and the United States.
AAA collated industry lumber data from a number of sources and cross-referenced it against reports from the North American Wood Fiber Review and from Wood Resource Quarterly.
Log buyers in Japan, South Korea and China are driving up demand for timber from the US and, as a result, prices have risen significantly, according to the new North American Wood Fiber Review.
Worldwide demand for softwood lumber rose 18 per cent in
Deutsche Bank’s Autobahn Equity business is to provide average volumes and trade sizes of SuperX, its US Alternative Trading System, to independent research firms Rosenblatt Securities, Inc and TABB Group, on a monthly basis. The SuperX data will be made available through TABB Group’s LiquidityMatrix and Rosenblatt’s monthly liquidity reports.
SuperX may be accessed through SuperX Plus, Deutsche Bank’s dark pool aggregator algorithm which enables buyers and sellers of large orders to manage their access to dark liquidity with real-time analytics.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order to shut down a Beverly Hills, California hedge fund and wealth management business targeting retirees, university professors, and members of the Christian community.
The SEC alleges that IU Group Inc, its principal Elijah Bang, and its salesperson Daniel Lee targeted retirees and claimed on websites to have been founded by “devoted Christians who believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.” Lee allegedly also sent “cold call” e-mail solicitations to university professors.
It appears that IU Group was unsuccessful in obtaining any hedge fund investors or wealth management
