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The vast majority of hedge fund professionals are bullish about assets growth in 2011, according to a survey by AlphaMetrix.
Some 83% of those questioned at AlphaMetrix’s 2011 Summit said they expected to see asset growth of more than five per cent in the coming year with Managed Futures, Event-Driven and Global Macro seen as the strategies that are most likely to do well in 2011.
Nearly a third (30%) of investors plan to invest in a hedge fund mutual fund or ETF structure in 2011, while 14% of managers plan to create a hedge fund mutual fund or ETF
Returns for Credit Suisse’s Liquid Alternative Beta Indices suggest that hedge funds experienced positive performance in January, according to Jordan Drachman, Head of Research for Alternative Beta Strategies at Credit Suisse.
Drachman says: "The Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Beta Index (CSLAB) generated positive performance in January, returning 0.18% for the month. Three out of four LAB sector indices posted gains as managers utilised a number of diverse strategies which generated positive returns across both equity and credit markets. The LAB Merger Arbitrage Liquid Index posted the highest returns in January (+1.66%) after posting returns of 8.04% in 2010."
Highgate Investment Management has chosen Quintillion to provide administration to the Highgate Absolute Return Fund which launched in September 2010.
"As a start up fund and first time manager we had the opportunity to assess our administration options without restriction or bias," says Andrew Freshney, Managing Partner at Highgate Investment Management. "After a lengthy and extensive selection process, Quintillion came out a clear winner and perfect match for our business and its aspirations. From our first meeting through to launch and beyond, we have been highly impressed with all aspects of our interaction with the firm. With a strong, experienced
The Julius Baer Absolute Return Europe Equity Fund has returned 6.98% since its launch on 30 September 2010. This compares favourably to the fund’s benchmark LIBOR EUR 3m which was flat over the period, as well as other European market indices, for example the Euro Stoxx 50, which returned 2.1%.
European stock markets showed renewed vigour towards the end of 2010 and had a positive end to the year. Cyclical sectors such as IT or base materials performed better than defensive industries such as pharmaceuticals or telecommunications.
"The JB Absolute Return Europe Equity Fund benefited from its pair trades
The Duet Commodities Fund has selected Imagine Software’s ASP service for risk and portfolio management. The fund is part of the global alternative asset manager, Duet Group, which has over USD2.4 billion of equity under management.
Duet invests in a wide array of commodities with particular emphasis on energy, metals and foreign exchange. The new fund’s investment strategy, which couples fundamental analysis with technical market indicators, relies on the ability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions through dynamic hedging in liquid derivatives. The complexity of such investments made powerful, third-party risk management a priority to protect client capital. Imagine
ALTIN, the USD270m fund of hedge funds listed on the London and Swiss stock exchanges, posted a +12.47% return in 2010, more than double the HFRI Fund of Fund Index, which returned +5.67% in 2010.
ALTIN’s gross exposure remained stable and slightly above 122%, indicating optimism regarding the opportunities within the hedge funds industry. The positioning of the portfolio’s holdings reflects the balanced allocation targeted by ALTIN, with a bias that was gradually increased to macro managers focusing on commodities, as well as managers focused on event-driven and fundamental equity Long/Short.
ALTIN today also disclosed its full portfolio
New York Portfolio Clearing, a derivatives clearing house that will deliver single-pot margin efficiency between fixed income securities and interest rate futures, has been granted NYPC registration as a US Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act, by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The CFTC’s approval represents a significant step towards bringing the unique capital and operational efficiencies of NYPC to global fixed income traders.
“NYPC’s DCO registration is an important milestone in the transformation of the US derivatives market towards a more open and competitive structure,” says Walt Lukken, Chief Executive Officer of NYPC. “The
Frontier Investment Management is expanding its range of multi-asset funds with the launch of the IFDS Frontier MAP Cautious Fund.
The new fund, which is scheduled for launch on 9 February, will incorporate the same eight asset classes as the existing range of funds so that in a single investment, investors gain access to both traditional and alternative asset classes.
The launch of the fund follows the success of the IFDS Frontier MAP Balanced Fund, which launched in 2009 and has raised over GBP80m from a range of leading financial intermediaries in the UK.
The asset
The Swiss asset management and funds sector performed well in 2010, and is looking optimistically to the future. The focus this year will be on seeking to consistently identify and implement further improvements in the operating environment, according to the Swiss Funds Association (SFA).
As of the end of 2010, there were 7,191 collective investment schemes authorised for public sale in Switzerland (2009: 6,502), of which 1,400 were products under Swiss law (2009: 1,343).
“The Swiss funds and asset management sector has recovered well from the financial crisis, and is back on track. There is certainly further potential on the
The international derivatives exchanges of Eurex Group recorded an average daily volume of 10.4 million contracts in January. Of those, 7.1 million were Eurex Exchange contracts (Jan 2010: 7.0 million), and 3.3 million contracts were at the US-based International Securities Exchange (ISE) (Jan 2010: 3.75 million).
In total, 214.7 million contracts were traded, thereof 148.6 million at Eurex and 66.1 million at the ISE.
Eurex Exchange achieved 59.2 million contracts in its equity index segment – the largest product segment, compared with 63.4 million contracts in January 2010. Futures on the EURO STOXX 50® Index stood at 24.7 million contracts
