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At the fourth edition of the Edhec-Risk Institutional Days conference at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on 8-9 December, Edhec-Risk Institute will be presenting research results on two key themes for the investment industry: regulation and indices.
The conference will open with a session that will bring together institutional investors and regulators for a debate on the impact of regulations on the financial management of pension funds.
This session will include the results of an exclusive survey of the asset-liability management practices of European pension funds.
The second day of the conference will feature separate sessions on:
– “Regulation and non-financial
Half of pension funds have recently altered the asset allocation of their investments, with the majority reducing exposure to equities in favour of alternatives, according to Baring Asset Management’s annual poll of UK pension schemes.
Of the 50 per cent of pension professionals that had changed recently changed the asset allocation of their fund, 69 per cent had increased their exposure to alternatives and 61 per cent had decreased their exposure to equities.
Respondents claimed that the main reason for making these changes was to reduce the volatility of the fund (61 per cent). The second most common reason for
The RBC Hedge 250 Index had a net return of 1.35 per cent in October.
This brings the year-to-date return of the index to 3.93 per cent.
These returns are estimated and will be finalised by the middle of next month.
The return for September 2010 has been finalised at 2.21 per cent.
The RBC Hedge 250 Index is a non-investable benchmark of the performance of the hedge fund industry. The universe on which the index is based currently consists of 3,791 hedge funds (excludes funds of hedge funds) with aggregate assets under management of USD892bn.
Melanie June Miller of Mermaid Waters, Queensland, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment in the Southport Magistrates’ Court for her involvement in an international investment scam which raised almost AUD7m from Australian investors.
Upon entering into a recognisance in the sum of AUD2,000 and condition that she be of good behaviour for a period of two years Miller will be released forthwith.
Miller, 43, was charged with one count of providing financial advice without an Australian Financial Services licence under s911A of the Corporations Act. This charge followed an ASIC investigation which found Miller encouraged approximately 80 people to
Merseyside Pension Fund, one of the UK’s largest public local authority pension funds, is increasing the amount that Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company manages for it in funds of hedge funds.
Paamco has been managing assets for the fund for five years and following a recent review, the officers of the fund made the decision to consolidate their fund of hedge fund investments with the California-based firm by the end of the year.
Merseyside also has a number of direct investments in hedge funds and in addition to its enhanced asset management role, Paamco will take responsibility for conducting
Investment adviser FH International Asset Management has launched a hedge fund, the FH Emerging Markets Short Term Debt Fund.
“Superior growth and solid fiscal performance in emerging market countries, as well as high demand for income-generating products, have made emerging market debt an attractive asset class for investors,” says Steve Landis, the fund’s portfolio manager and managing director at FH International.
“We think this will be an exciting alternative for investors who are seeking yield from short duration investment funds and want to gain exposure to emerging market debt, recently one of the fastest growing and best performing asset classes.”
Managed futures gained 1.91 per cent in October, according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.
After three consecutive profitable months, the index is now up 4.53 per cent for the year.
“A depreciating US dollar and rising prices for equities and commodities in October continued to drive CTA returns for the second month in a row,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“Although QE2 has been harshly criticized at the recent G-20 meeting, judging by its stated objective to increase dollar flows into investments, the Fed’s second round of quantitative easing seems to be working for
Offshore law firm Harneys has made two appointments that aim to strengthen the firm’s litigation and investment funds practices.
Philipp Neumann (pictured) has joined the firm’s investment funds department in the British Virgin Islands while James Noble is now part of the litigation and insolvency team in the Cayman Islands.
Neumann advises on all aspects of the formation and restructuring of investment fund vehicles in the BVI. He has extensive experience in the formation and restructuring of alternative investment structures and has also advised on cross border corporate tax planning.
Ross Munro, head of BVI investment funds, says: “Neumann brings
Kevin McConnell, fund manager of Bloxham’s Midas Global Absolute Return Ucits III Fund, has revealed strategies designed to fight liquidity difficulties in the market going forward into 2011.
“Our portfolio can go up to 100 per cent in cash when markets are highly volatile and uncertain,” says McConnell.
“Over 2010 we have seen high positive correlation between stocks making it a very dangerous market-place generally – and one where many long/short equity absolute return funds have struggled.
“We believe this newer strategy will provide consistent absolute returns with lower volatility, as it can identify trends long before other established techniques
Harmonic Capital Partners, a hedge fund manager trading long/short macro strategies, has appointed Alastair Smith as a partner.
Smith joins Harmonic from Polar Capital where he was a sales director.
He was previously head of sales at Aspect Capital and formerly at GAM and Man Investments.
Richard Conyers, founding partner of Harmonic Capital Partners, says: “Alastair’s arrival is a significant development for Harmonic as we look to broaden our client base and deliver the best service possible to our investors. Alastair comes with a wealth of experience and is well known and respected in the macro community. We are
