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Total capital invested in the global hedge fund industry exceeded USD2 trillion for the first time in its history, according to data released by Hedge Fund Research, Inc. (HFR).
Total industry assets rose to USD2.02 trillion, an increase of USD102 billion in 1Q11, surpassing the previous record of USD1.93 trillion, set in 2Q08. The current asset level reflects an increase of over 50 per cent from the Financial Crisis low of USD1.33 Trillion in 1Q09. Investors allocated USD32 billion in net new capital in 1Q, the largest quarterly net inflow since 3Q07.
All strategy areas experienced inflows for the
LaSalle Investment Management has partnered with BGC Partners to establish a property derivatives capability for clients. The new offering is expected to be fully operational by spring 2011. Together with BGC, LaSalle will embed the end-to-end systems and processes to empower LaSalle’s fund managers to identify value and execute and monitor trades.
The announcement comes as interest in property derivatives continues to grow with figures showing that trading doubled between Q2 and Q3 2010 to GBP756 million, bringing the year-to-date trading levels to GBP1.5 billion. According to the IPD, the majority of trading activity came in the more mature UK
REYL & CIE, an independent banking group created in 1973, and Samena Capital, an investment group focusing on principal investments in the Subcontinent, Asia, Middle East and North Africa (SAMENA), announced today the creation of a joint venture to integrate complementary business resources. This partnership will combine Samena Asia Managers (SAM), Samena Capital’s profitable and established hedge fund seeding business operating from Hong Kong with REYL & CIE’s wealth and asset management expertise and regulated infrastructure to create a high value proposition for their respective client and investor bases.
The joint venture will capitalsze on the synergies that emerge
Apex Fund Services is to create 50 jobs in Ireland over the next 18 months with the opening of a new office in Dublin. The new office opening is in response to Apex Fund Services rapidly growing client base internationally.
With 21 offices internationally, Apex Fund Services located in Cork 4 years ago, and successfully recruited the highly skilled financial services staff required to grow and scale the business in Ireland. Now having reached its optimum size and with an increasing amount of funds business going through the Irish office, establishing a presence in Dublin was the obvious next
Espen Robak, president and founder of Pluris Valuation Advisors, argues that Black-Scholes and other theoretical valuation models have long failed to value illiquid securities properly, but but their inadequacy is especially an issue today because of the prevalence of illiquid assets, regulatory insistence on fair value and the availability of more accurate methodologies.
Hedge funds frequently use valuation models that produce inaccurate results for illiquid assets, risking accounting irregularities that can result in potential litigation, increasing redemptions and other issues.
For years it has been common practice for hedge funds to use simple theoretical approaches to valuation, of which the
Luma Solutions Services Limited (Luma), a joint venture between OFI Asset management and Gottex Solutions Services (GSS), which operates the first independent European platform offering managed accounts services for both UCITS III and non-UCITS III onshore funds, has appointed Arnaud Massenet as Chief Executive Officer.
Massenet will lead the development of Luma as it aims to become the leading independent onshore managed account platform in Europe, providing OFI Lux’s funds with a technically advanced platform with transparent pricing, high quality service providers, integrated tax reporting and other unique features.
Before joining Luma, Massenet worked for Gottex Fund Management, where he
The latest Preqin research shows that there has been a significant decline in the number of hedge fund of funds managers with AUM of between USD2bn and USD5bn, while those with less than USD250m in assets now account for a larger proportion of managers in the industry. Changes in the industry are a consequence of increased investor caution following the economic downturn and the Madoff incident.
Preqin’s current fund of hedge funds data shows: the mean fund of hedge funds is currently USD2.18bn; in 2010 this figure was USD2.75bn, and in 2009, USD4.78bn. The biggest decline in industry AUM meanwhile, occurred
An affiliate of Perella Weinberg Partners’ Asset Based Value strategy is to acquire AIG Rail Services Inc, a provider of customised full service and net leases servicing the railroad marketplace. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
As part of the transaction, certain funds within the Asset Based Value strategy have formed a new entity to purchase and manage AIG Rail Services Inc, which will be converted into a limited liability company as part of the transactions and continue operations under the name Flagship Rail Services LLC. Eugene Henneberry, President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG Rail Services, will
In March, the stock market could not maintain the fast pace that began last summer. The S&P 500 index remained stable (+0.04%) despite continuously decreasing implied volatility (17.7%) over the past three months. For the first quarter of 2011, the S&P 500 Index registered a positive return (+5.92%) that was about half the level of its two previous double-digit quarterly returns.
On the fixed-income market, convertible bonds (+0.63%) managed a positive but conservative performance, whereas regular bonds (-0.36%) registered their fifth consecutive negative return. Similarly, the Lehman Global Bond Index failed to reach positive territory. After six months of substantial
Principal Global Investors is to acquire a majority stake in Finisterre Capital, LLP, and Finisterre Holdings Limited, (together Finisterre Capital), an established emerging markets investor based in London.
“Finisterre Capital is a top-class emerging markets fixed income specialist with a strong investment performance track record,” says Jim McCaughan, chief executive officer of Principal Global Investors. “We are excited about the opportunity to help the business develop further and expand our capabilities in this growing market segment. There is already an enormous appetite to invest in emerging economies and we firmly believe the demand will continue as these markets develop.”
