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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
Together with CFA Institute, EDHEC-Risk Institute has introduced seminars that take stock of the latest industry trends and research advances and clarify the distinction between true innovation and mere marketing claims.


The Advances in Asset Allocation seminar is an intensive three-day course that will provide participants with an in-depth appreciation of the concepts and techniques that will shape the future of investment management. The seminar will also equip them with practical tools to improve asset allocation and risk management processes, implement novel investment management approaches, and develop new products.
The first part of the seminar focuses on bridging the gap
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has obtained a federal court order freezing assets held by defendants Robert J. Andres and Winsome Investment Trust (Winsome), both of Houston, Texas, Robert L. Holloway of San Diego, California, and US Ventures LC (USV) of Salt Lake City, Utah.
The court’s order also prohibits the destruction of books and records. The Honorable Senior Judge Bruce S. Jenkins of the US District Court for the District of Utah scheduled a hearing on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction on February 14, 2011.
The order stems from a CFTC civil anti-fraud complaint filed
