Latest News
Mag Consultancy, a managed account consultancy, has restructured the joint venture between MSS Capital, part of the WHL Group, and IGS Alternative Investment Solutions, part of the IGS Group.
From 8 September 2010, Mag Consultancy became 100 per cent owned by MSS Capital and an integrated member of the WHL Group of companies.
As a consequence of the restructuring, both the IGS Group and John Godden have ceased to have any partnership interest or role in Mag Consultancy.
Simon Hookway continues in his capacity as managing partner.
The strategy and purpose of Mag Consultancy will not change as consequence
Hedge fund industry liquidations returned to pre-financial crisis levels in the second quarter, according to data released by Hedge Fund Research, a provider of hedge fund industry data.
Led by steady performance, a return of new investor capital and greater clarity around financial reform legislation, hedge fund liquidations fell to 177 in quarter two, bringing the total number of fund closures to 417 in the first six months of 2010.
For the quarter, the fund attrition rate, defined as the number of liquidations as a percentage of the overall number of funds, dropped to below two per cent.
Funds of
The RBC Hedge 250 Index rose by 0.17 per cent in August, bringing its year-to-date return to 0.38 per cent.
These returns are estimated and will be finalised by the middle of next month. The return for July 2010 has been finalised at 0.86 per cent.
The best performing strategy in August was managed futures, which saw a rise of 3.40 per cent. This was followed by macro, up 1.36 per cent.
The worst performing strategy was equity long/short, down 0.75 per cent.
The RBC Hedge 250 Index is an investable benchmark of the performance of the hedge fund industry.
Credit Suisse’s asset management division has agreed to acquire a minority interest in York Capital Management, a hedge fund manager based in New York.
York will continue to operate independently and will continue to be led by Jamie Dinan, founder and chief executive officer, Dan Schwartz, chief investment officer, and the firm’s senior management team.
Under the terms of the transaction, Credit Suisse will pay an initial USD425m for its interest in York. The transaction will also provide for earn-out payments based on five-year financial performance by York. The transaction will provide retention arrangements for the chief executive officer, chief
The Newedge Volatility Trading Index rose by an estimated 1.33 per cent in August, following an estimated increase of 2.58 per cent in July.
Since inception, the index is up 5.52 per cent.
The number of constituent funds is nine. They are: Acorn Derivatives – Absolute Return Offshore; Amundi Funds Volatility World Equities; BAM Opportunity Fund; Bay Hill Capital Fund; Cassiopeia Fund; JD Capital – Tempo Volatility Fund; KBD Capital Partners, class B; MM Capital Select Fund; and Swiss Alpha – Alpha Strategies Fund.
Newedge VTI is a performance measure for the volatility trading and arbitrage style within the hedge
Macro Risk Advisors, an equity derivatives strategy and execution firm, has hired George Lam, a former risk analyst at Marathon Asset Management, and Jarret Christie, a former sales executive at Omnium, a subsidiary of Citadel Investment Group.
The appointment of Lam and Christie is part of an ongoing expansion effort at Macro Risk Advisors to further support its growing client base.
“We are fortunate to be able to attract top talent to MRA through our commitment to advanced, high-level strategy and execution services,” says Dean Curnutt (pictured), founder and chief executive of Macro Risk Advisors. “At a time when investment
Equinox Capital Markets, an alternative investment marketing and business development firm, has appointed Michel Serieyssol as managing director.
Serieyssol joins a team dedicated to marketing, sales, and business development solutions for alternative investment managers both in the US and internationally.
Serieyssol will be responsible for marketing a select group of hedge funds, commodity trading advisers and other specialised asset managers including Equinox Fund Management, an affiliated company, to institutional investors in Europe and the US.
Among his first priorities will be to help launch the forthcoming Ucits business of Equinox Fund Management.
John Gallagher, president of Equinox Capital Markets,
Terra Partners Group, the investment manager of the frontier market-focused Worldwide Opportunity Fund (Cayman), has retained SS&C Fund Services to administer the fund’s A and CEF classes of shares.
In the past 12 months Terra Partners has witnessed an increase in institutional interest in the frontier space and Worldwide Opportunity Fund’s A and CEF classes in particular.
However, the fund’s self-administered status has become an obstacle for new investors given the market’s preference for independent administration. Terra Partners has decided to outsource certain administrative functions to SS&C Fund Services.
Terra Partners opened its Worldwide Opportunity Fund in March 2003.
"At
The Cayman Islands are still the predominant domicile for hedge funds, according to a survey of European hedge fund managers by Citigroup.
There is no widespread move to re-domicile funds onshore ahead of final clarity on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.
Onshore Ucits launches are prevalent among the larger managers, but still account for a small portion of overall hedge industry assets.
There is ongoing demand for managed accounts, particularly from large institutional investors. Operational complexity is increasing as hedge fund managers offer a variety of products spanning traditional offshore domiciles, managed accounts and onshore domiciles.
The managers interviewed
Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking is continuing its expansion into the Asia equity space with a series of senior appointments across its trading desks.
Akihiro Ohara has been appointed head of sales trading for Japan. Ohara joins from Nomura Securities where he occupied the same role for the last seven years. He will focus on servicing key institutional accounts for all their trading needs.
Lloyd Michaels has been appointed as head of 1 Delta products sales for Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong. Michaels has been in the industry for 14 years and has been working with Morgan
