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Threadneedle plans to launch the UK Absolute Alpha Fund in quarter four, reinforcing its absolute return fund range.
The Ucits III fund will give co-managers Mark Westwood and Chris Kinder increased flexibility in strategy and fund positioning.
Westwood says: “This is an exciting time to leverage our expertise in delivering absolute returns for our clients. With the dislocations of the past few years still fresh in investors’ minds, the opportunity to add value through fundamental and valuation analysis on a long/short basis remain considerable. The Threadneedle UK Absolute Alpha Fund will use the process and techniques that we have
Stenham Asset Management has expanded its investment team with the acquisition of Montier Partners, a discretionary investment management provider.
The deal was completed on 1 September 2010.
Dominique Montier, founder of Montier Partners, with 33 years’ investment experience, and Jeremy Alun-Jones, chief investment officer of Montier Partners with 26 years’ investment experience, will join Stenham’s investment committee, which will now comprise nine investment professionals.
Alun-Jones will assume the role of managing director, which will allow Kevin Arenson, currently managing director and chief investment officer, to focus exclusively on investment management and risk control.
The rest of the Montier team
Westcore Capital, a brokerage service firm, is set to launch managed futures products and services that will cater to the cash and derivative markets via its alternative investment strategy division.
The division provides services to both retail and institutional investors with full access to the managed futures sector through a direct placement of assets through managed accounts.
In addition to direct placement access, the division will also enter the fund management business in other financial hubs such as that of US and other key cities in Asia.
“By way of this normal expansion of our business, we are benefiting our
Gad Capital, an investment fund and beneficial owner of 6.5 per cent of the common stock of Paragon Technologies, has launched a proxy contest to elect a new board of directors at Paragon’s 15 December 2010 annual meeting.
Gad Capital has nominated the following candidates:
• Sham Gad (pictured): the founder and managing partner of Gad Capital Management and the author of the internationally published book, "The Business of Value Investing."
• Jack H. Jacobs: a principal of The Fitzroy Group, a real estate development firm, and former managing director of Bankers Trust and founder of AutoFinance Group. He is on the
Dutch hedge funds gained an average 0.2 per cent in July, as measured by the Finles/IEX Dutch hedge fund index, despite their very cautious positioning.
Most quantitative strategies and macro funds showed losses due to the sudden positive momentum in the markets.
Most equity related fund benefited from stock market gains.
The five funds with the best July performance were: Trade Wind Equity Fund; Fonds Bloemendaal; Aster-X Panorama Fund; Branta Solutions Fund; and Henderson Global Currency Fund.
The five funds with the best year-to-date performance are: Trade Wind Equity Fund (+23 per cent); QTR Fund (+16 per cent); HIQ Invest
UK asset management firm City Financial has launched the City Financial Asian Absolute Growth Fund, its first foray into the Asian fund of funds market and its first fund primarily targeted at institutional investors.
Capitalising on the strong maturation of the Asian hedge fund market in recent years, the fund is designed for investors seeking hedged exposure to Asian markets, with low fees and a high degree of transparency. In contrast to many of its peers, the performance fee only applies once 10 per cent performance has been delivered, with no catch up. This, coupled with a management fee of
Chi-X Europe, the pan-European stock exchange, has started trading international depositary receipts.
The new market segment covers 50 stocks from some 12 countries, including Eastern and Southern European states such as Russia and Cyprus, as well as stocks from Asian countries such as India and South Korea.
International depositary receipts form Chi-X Europe’s 16th market segment. The exchange already offers trading in over 1,200 of the most liquid stocks from 15 European countries, plus exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded commodities.
There will be continuous trading in the IDR securities from 08.15 to 15.30 UK time. IDR securities will be cleared
Nigel Strachan (pictured), head of business development at Kleinwort Benson’s corporate services business in Jersey and the new chairman of the Jersey Funds Association, sees new opportunities for mezzanine finance to pick up the slack where leverage from traditional sources is thin on the ground.
“Mezzanine finance is essentially a type of finance that provides a solution between bank debt and equity,” he says. “It is a solution that is a hybrid in that it is debt in nature, but it also in some instances has warrants attached to it, so there is an equity element.”
The economic crisis
ABN Amro Clearing is relocating Chris Lee, global head of market access and brokerage, from London to Hong Kong.
Whilst continuing his global role, Lee will be focused on building the profile of the ABN Amro Clearing business in the region.
Marcel Jongmans, chief executive of ABN Amro Clearing, says: “We as a global management team strongly believe that Asia Pacific will play a major role in our growth over the next few years. Chris will be the first member of our global management team to be located in Asia, and will add depth and specific DMA skills to
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