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Trading in steel billet at the London Metal Exchange has rocketed in the first quarter of 2011, up 305 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year.
In the first three months of this year, 69,426 lots were traded (2010: 17,134 lots), equivalent to 4.5 million tonnes (2010: 1.1 million tonnes). Market open interest has also jumped by 11 per cent, to 2,674 lots at the close of 31st March (31st March 2010: 2,400 lots). The total notional value of all contracts traded in the first quarter was USD$2.5 billion.
Chris Evans, Head of Business Development at
The Hedge Fund Association (HFA) has appointed Victor Hugo Rodriguez (pictured) – CEO of LatAm Alternatives – as the Director of the Latin American Regional Chapter.
Marcia Rothschild, Head of BNP Paribas Securities Services Brazil, and Otavio Vieira, Managing Director/Chief Investment Officer of Safdié Gestão de Patrimônio (a wholly subsidiary of Banque Safdié), will serve as Co-directors of the Brazilian Chapter. Additionally, Juan Luis Rivera, Partner at Moneda Asset Management will be appointed as Director of the Chilean Chapter and Daniel Osorio, CEO of Andean Capital Management will take the reins as Director of the Colombian Chapter.
“The hedge
Law firm Conyers has promoted Gene DaCosta, Peter Ch’ng and Fawaz Elmalki to partner status across multiple jurisdictions as it boosts its presence in several regions.
Da Costa is a member of Conyers’ Cayman Islands investment funds team, Ch’ng is based in Conyers’ Bermuda office and practices corporate law with a focus on funds and insurance, and Elmaki is in Conyers’ Dubai office where, in addition to his funds expertise, he also has a considerable Islamic finance practice.
John Collis, Chairman of Conyers, says: “It is my privilege to announce Conyers’ new class of partners and to welcome these lawyers
Eze Castle Integration is to host a series of live and virtual events throughout April 2011 to share the keys to successfully launching a hedge fund. The seminars in New York, San Francisco and online will detail ways in which participants can attract investors and retain capital, the effect of regulations on new funds, and the technology solutions available to funds.
The first event, "Launching a Hedge Fund: 10 Keys To Success," will take place in New York City on April 7 and feature speakers from Eze Castle Integration, Jefferies & Company, Sadis & Goldberg, Topwater Investment Management and Protocol
Trading in options on the shares of Brunel International have started on NYSE Liffe, the Europe-based derivatives business of NYSE Euronext (NYX). The new listed options are intended to enhance the shares’ appeal to investors who wish to hedge their share positions and want to benefit from price fluctuations. The Brunel options were introduced on the Amsterdam market of NYSE Liffe.
Alan van Griethuysen, Business Head Benelux and Asia of NYSE Liffe says:
“By introducing the options on Brunel shares we enhance the number of AMX-Index companies with equity options. Brunel has taken its rightful place among the group
Deutsche Boerse has launched the DAX Risk Control Indices, which measure a hypothetical portfolio that adjusts the risk of the underlying DAX Index. This portfolio includes an investment in the DAX Index and the money market rate, as measured by the Euro Overnight Index Average (EONIA). The asset allocations of the new indices are shifted daily to maintain the desired risk levels.
“The DAX Risk Control Indices allow market participants to track the performance of a leading blue-chip index with a fixed risk level measured by market volatility. The major benefits of this index are the possibility for participation in
On Friday 1 April, the Court of Appeal handed down its much awaited written judgment in Westford Special Situations Fund Limited v Barfield Nominees et al. The decision has far reaching consequences, not only for BVI funds, but also for all types of BVI corporate vehicles, according to BVI law firm, Harneys which acted for Westford in the matter. The case directly and indirectly dealt with four major issues:-
1 Who is a creditor for the purposes of winding up a BVI company?
2 In what circumstances can a fund elect to satisfy redemption requests by transferring assets other than
The recently announced changes to Regulation 28 of South Africa’s Pension Funds Act, which are effective from 1 July this year, could result in an eight times surge in assets under management in the hedge fund space.
Anton Hormann, head of Business Development at Blue Ink Investments, says the industry, which currently manages ZAR30 billion of local investor funds, could swell to ZAR240 billion over the next couple of years.
One of the key changes to Regulation 28 is that both institutional and retail investors will be able to invest up to 10% of their assets in hedge funds.
Returns for the Credit Suisse LAB Liquid Indices suggest that hedge funds experienced positive performance in March according to Jordan Drachman, Head of Research for Alternative Beta Strategies at Credit Suisse.
"The Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Beta Index ("CSLAB"), which aims to reflect the return of the overall hedge fund industry, generated positive performance in March, finishing up 1.28% for the month," says Drachman (pictured). "All four LAB sector indices posted gains as managers profited from a number of diverse strategies which generated positive returns across both equity and credit markets. The LAB Event Driven Liquid Index remains the strongest
The Mexican Derivatives Exchange (MexDer), the derivatives subsidiary of the Mexican Exchange (Bolsa Mexicana BMV), the second largest exchange in Latin America, and CME Group have successfully launched their south-to-north connection, giving Mexican investors access to CME Group’s benchmark derivatives contracts including interest rates, foreign currencies, equity indexes, energy, metals and agricultural commodities.
“The direct, seamless order routing connection will make it possible to trade and route electronic orders on MexDer and CME Group, opening both their contracts to a broader range of traders,” says Luis Téllez, Chairman and CEO of BMV Group. “Our partnership with CME Group will
