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Hedge fund managers are upbeat on US equities but less bullish than a month ago, according to the TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Survey of Hedge Fund Managers for January.
About 37% of the 91 hedge fund managers the firms surveyed are bullish on the S&P 500, down from 46% in January, while 26% are bearish, up from 19%.
“Less upbeat forecasts are somewhat surprising in that hedge fund managers performed exceptionally well in the final four months of 2010,” says Sol Waksman, founder and President of BarclayHedge. “Nevertheless, the January bullish reading is the second-highest since the inception of our survey in May
FRM’s Managed Futures fund, FRM Sigma, returned approximately 18% in 2010, maintaining its position as one of the industry’s top-performing CTA funds. Sigma’s performance was generated through a dynamic approach that uses managed accounts to invest in a concentrated number of CTA managers and actively vary trade exposures. The results of this approach have been the higher returns and volatility of a top-performing single CTA manager, but through a multi-manager structure that limits single manager risks.
Sigma’s performance in 2010, particularly in the first part of the year, was driven by fixed income and currency trading. In the latter part
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is consulting the public on the proposed introduction of new metals futures contracts, namely lead, tin and steel billet, for trading on SGX’s derivatives market.
The proposed new contracts will expand SGX’s current suite of commodities contracts, in addition to the first three LME-SGX metal contracts (Copper, Aluminium and Zinc) to be launched on 15 February. With Asia becoming a hub for commodities, these new contracts cater to increasing investor interest in metals trading and provide market participants additional investment opportunities during the Asian trading hours.
The introduction of new futures contracts arises from SGX’s partnership with
Guernsey has not only followed through its 2002 commitment to observe the OECD principles on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes, but has made substantive developments in expanding its exchange of information network, according to a report published by the Global Forum on Transparency & Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
The report also confirms that Guernsey has in place all the necessary legal and regulatory powers to ensure it can meet the internationally agreed standard on obtaining and exchanging information for tax purposes.
Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Lyndon Trott, says: “I am delighted that, hard on the heels
Guernsey and Jersey could be showcases for clean technology investment within a few years, according to Steve Lang, a partner at Ernst & Young and head of the firm’s UK and Ireland cleantech practice.
Clean energy will form the basis of the world’s first predictable industrial revolution as carbon resources dwindle and climate change becomes an increasing global problem, he says, and the Channel Islands are a natural choice not only for cleantech financial services but physical demonstrations of low-carbon technologies.
Lang believes the islands have the potential to be at the forefront of cleantech research and development. “Anecdotal evidence
The Guernsey and Jersey governments have announced that the current British Ambassador to Bulgaria, Steve Williams, will be heading up the islands’ new joint office in Brussels.
Williams will take on the role of Director of European Affairs at the Channel Islands’ Brussels Office on Monday 4 April 2011. He will be Guernsey and Jersey’s senior representative in Brussels, leading efforts to develop the islands’ influence, while advising the respective governments on European and international matters.
Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Lyndon Trott, says: "I am delighted with the appointment of our new Director. His experience and track record are of an
Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) has partnered with Australia New Zealand Forest Fund (ANZFF) to acquire the timberland assets of Great Southern Plantations (GSP) for a total purchase price of AUD415 million.
The assets are being acquired out of receivership and represent a diversified rural land portfolio encompassing over 2,500 square kilometres in prime forestry and agricultural regions across six Australian states. By area, this transaction represents the largest private forestry estate transaction in Australia to date. New Forests Pty Limited, a Sydney-based timber investment management firm specialising in sustainable forestry investments, will manage the estate on behalf of AIMCo
Stenham Asset Management’s inflows into its funds during 2010 had exceeded USD600 million. Stenham continues to see organic asset growth and has enjoyed inflows of around USD600 million in each of the past three calendar years.
The inflows in 2010 exclude the merger with Montier Partners, which was completed in September 2010. Stenham has a diverse client base including the UK, Channel Islands, Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin America, and the growth has come from both existing and new clients in all these markets.
Kevin Arenson, Chief Investment Officer of Stenham Advisors Plc says: ‘The
Heptagon Capital, a USD3.3bn specialist asset management business set up in 2005 by former Morgan Stanley executives, has made two new senior hires – Alexander Gunz joins as a fund manager in the Asset Management division while Sebastian Hybbinette joins as vice president within the ultra high net worth advisory group, focusing on Scandinavia.
Gunz started his career in 1997 at Hoare Govett as an analyst before moving on to Credit Suisse where he became a top-ranked analyst in European telecoms from 2001-2004. He then became a senior salesperson at JP Morgan covering UK and European long-only and hedge-fund accounts
The global hedge fund industry is not ‘un-regulated’ or lightly-regulated and hedge fund managers are already rigorously regulated in all the main jurisdictions in which they operate with significant new regulation being introduced internationally.
That’s according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association, which has supported G20 regulatory initiatives for hedge funds. G20 leaders agreed in 2009 that all hedge fund managers should be registered by their national regulators, and that managers should report systemically relevant data to those regulators in the interests of financial stability.
“All the major jurisdictions where hedge fund managers
