Seven individual products managed by Salus Alpha recorded positive returns in April. The Salus Alpha Managed Futures fund returned +10.24% for the month to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index by +8.76%. The fund’s performance was 11.37% better than the performance of the HFRX Macro Index for the period, and surpassed the result of the Credit Suisse/Tremont AllHedge Managed Futures Index – which had a return of 0.30% – by 9.94%. The Salus Alpha Multi Style fund returned +4.30% for the month to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index by +2.82%. The funds performance was 3.62% above the performance of

In the first five trading days of May, Xetra-Gold achieved new records for cash inflows, order book turnover and market share. From 3 until 7 May, Deutsche Börse Commodities turned over a total of 3.7 tons of gold with its Xetra-Gold bearer bond, which is physically backed by the precious metal. As of last Friday, the gold reserve of this issuer had increased to 45.1 tons. Over the entire period, transactions conducted by Xetra-Gold investors at Germany’s trading venues have reached a volume of EUR101.8 million., with EUR95.2 million of that volume attributable to Xetra (93.6 pe rcent). Currently, 171

NASDAQ OMX and NYSE Euronext are coordinating their efforts to determine the cause of Thursday 6 May’s market plunge. In a joint statement, both have outlined their commitment to working with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), other regulators and all market participants to develop effective solutions promoting ‘greater market stability, efficiency and transparency’.   The statement says: “We commend the Securities and Exchange Commission for their continued leadership during this critical time in global markets and agree that a constructive process will promote confidence in the financial markets by investors, listed companies and market participants.”    

The Finles/IEX Dutch hedge fund index posted a +1.7% return in March, outperforming the HFRX Global hedge fund index by 0.32%. The best performing funds in march were: Aster-X  panorama Fund; IdB Alchemy; European Opportunities Fund; Fonds Bloemendaal; and EV smaller companies fund.   As of 3 May, 2010, the index had 28 constituents including the following new additions: the Aethra Global Strategies Fund, managed by Daan Potjer and Marc Vernooij; and the AEGON Global Opportunities Fund, managed by Olaf van den Heuvel   The index’s performance figures are calculated by Circle Partners, while Ernst&Young periodically verifies the index processes

The latest April 2010 estimate for the NewEdge Volatility Index (VTI) is -0.56% making this the sixth consecutive month that the index has recorded a negative return. The index, which consists of the following ten funds: Acorn Derivatives – Absolute Return Offshore; AM Investment Partners V Fund; BAM Opportunity Fund; Bay Hill Capital Fund Ltd; CAAM Funds Volatility World Equities; Cassiopeia Fund; JD Capital – Tempo Volatility Fund Ltd; KBD Capital Partners LP, Class B; MM Capital Select Fund Ltd; and Swiss Alpha – Alpha Strategies Fund Inc, is down 4.13% for the year to date.

Fortis Bank Nederland (FBN) has signed an agreement on the sale of Prime Fund Solutions (PFS) to Credit Suisse. FBN first entered into exclusive negotiations with Credit Suisse on the sale of PFS in December 2009, and the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, is now anticipated to close before the end of 2010.   “This step allows FBN to re-focus on its core banking activities," says Jan van Rutte (pictured), Vice-Chairman Fortis Bank Nederland. "We are confident that with Credit Suisse as the new owner, PFS will expand its market leadership through continued client servicing at the highest

Industry veteran Rachel SL Minard has joined Optima Fund Management, a USD3.5 billion private investment firm specializing in hedge fund investments, in the newly-created position of Partner and Managing Director. Industry veteran Rachel SL Minard has joined Optima Fund Management, a USD3.5 billion private investment firm specializing in hedge fund investments, in the newly-created position of Partner and Managing Director. Minard will be responsible for expanding the firm’s global institutional relationships across all distribution channels and will report directly to the CEO and Founder of Optima, Dixon Boardman. She will sit on the firm’s management and investment committees and will

Fitch Ratings has published its revised methodology relating to the analysis of European covered bonds secured on commercial mortgage loans. The revised approach measures more precisely the credit risks of granular commercial mortgage loan portfolios securing covered bonds. The main methodological change is driven by the type of borrower. Particular analytical emphasis will now be placed on property income information for special property companies whose only tangible asset is the actual property itself, whereas operating companies’ probability of default relates more closely to the risks stemming from their general business activities. Commercial real estate is an asset class that is vulnerable