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An EU proposal for the public disclosure of the net short positions of individual managers risks distorting financial markets and is not effective in meeting the needs of companies wishing to raise capital, investors seeking efficient risk management or regulators addressing financial stability, according to an independent study.
The report by Oliver Wyman, the international management consulting firm, was commissioned by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association, and sponsored by Deutsche Bank.
The new study seeks to update the findings from a 2010 report by Oliver Wyman* and to analyse the impact of a
The secondary market witnessed one of, if the not the broadest selling effort by investors in the secondary space in the decade since the market was established. A high volume of trading across the spectrum of strategies in December suggests a methodical clearing of assets by investors preparing for 2011.
The average price of trades for December registered at 72.81% for the month, a slight drop from November. Hedgebay attributes the fall to a change in investors’ priorities this month. While the pricing of trades is normally the top priority for investors, the disposal of assets was the main concern
Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC, the adviser to the Alpine Mutual Funds, has announced the inception of the Alpine Global Consumer Growth Fund.
Alpine’s newest fund will concentrate investments on opportunities in consumer products and services throughout the world. It is led by co-portfolio managers Bryan Keane and Samuel Lieber.
Keane has led the consumer products research team at Alpine since 2007. He also serves as co-portfolio manager of the Alpine Accelerating Dividend Fund. Before joining Alpine he was a vice president of US Trust Company. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and holds an MBA from New York
Global hedge fund investment specialist Financial Risk Management (FRM) has appointed Anthony Simpson as co-head of global business development, based in London.
In this new role, Simpson will lead FRM’s client development activities globally, partnering with Akio Shimazu, who is responsible for FRM’s business in Japan and Korea. Simpson will also join FRM’s Executive Committee.
Previously, Simpson was co-head of global business development for Ramius, the alternative investment management business of Cowen Group. Prior to that, he spent nearly a decade with Merrill Lynch in London, holding a number of senior business development roles including managing director of the
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation has joined forces with The White House in support of the Administration’s “Startup America” initiative, a public/private alliance of the nation’s most innovative foundations, entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, and other leaders who will work together to increase the prevalence and success of American entrepreneurs.
The goal of the initiative is to marshal private resources to scale up a portfolio of proven models that spur innovation activities and bring ideas to market more quickly to get new businesses up and running.
“We are honoured to be recognised by the White House for our commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and
With its business expanding rapidly, emerging markets debt specialist Finisterre Capital has appointed Ursula Newman as in-house General Counsel, to replace the firm’s external legal counsel.
Ursula joined Finisterre from Altima Partners LLP, where she worked as General Counsel. Prior to that she was employed at HSBC and Deutsche Bank where she worked on EM transactions. Ursula started her career at Macfarlanes, a leading corporate and commercial law firm.
Meanwhile, Frode Foss-Skiftesvik, a founding partner in Finisterre and the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, has relocated to the London head office. He was previously based in Finisterre’s US office in
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
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