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NYSE Euronext has sold a significant minority ownership stake in its US futures exchange, NYSE Liffe US, to six firms: Citadel Securities, DRW Ventures, Getco, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and UBS.
NYSE Euronext will continue to be the largest shareholder in NYSE Liffe US, managing the exchange’s daily operations.
NYSE Liffe US will continue to operate under the supervision of a separate board of directors, chaired by James J. McNulty, former chief executive of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
"With the completion of this transaction, NYSE Liffe US is well positioned to deliver innovation, competition and value to the US derivatives
NYSE Euronext has reported strong year-over-year growth of derivatives trading volumes in February, with European derivatives volumes increasing 44.2 per cent and US options trading volumes increasing 56.4 per cent.
Cash equities trading volumes were mixed in February 2010, with European cash transactions increasing 9.1 per cent and US cash equities trading volumes declining 35.7 per cent from prior year elevated levels.
Both European and US cash trading volumes, however, remain above fourth quarter 2009 levels.
NYSE Euronext European derivatives products average daily volume in February 2010 of 4.9 million contracts increased 44.2 per cent compared to February 2009,
Deutsche Börse plans to expand the scope of tradable instruments on its pan-European Xetra International market from 86 securities at present to 1,000.
By summer 2010 the existing offering for France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Spain and Italy will be enlarged by 700 securities.
In this way all Euro Stoxx instruments from these countries and additional highly liquid ones will become tradable and will be settled in their home countries.
In the second half of 2010 Deutsche Börse plans to admit to trading securities from the Stoxx Europe 600 from Switzerland, Great Britain, and Ireland – the first two in
The Managed Funds Association has formed an alliance with the Texas Hedge Fund Association, an education and advocacy organisation that represents the hedge fund and managed futures industry in Texas and the surrounding states.
The affiliation gives THFA members a direct line into MFA communications, advocacy, education, and networking programmes, including three yearly MFA conferences and many issues-based seminars.
MFA will use the alliance to further unify the industry voice among a broad community consisting of managers, commodity trading advisers, investors, and service providers.
“MFA is continuing to forge links with regional, grassroots industry organisations and is pleased to welcome
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has obtained more than USD20.3m in civil monetary penalties and equity relief in a federal judgment order against David Michael Kogan and his company First Capitol Futures Group, both of Sherman Oaks, California, in an anti-fraud action.
The order, entered by US District Court for the Western District of Missouri, stems from CFTC charges filed against the defendants in 2009 for operating a fraudulent commodity options scheme.
Specifically, the order finds that the defendants operated a fraudulent investment scheme involving 58 customers and causing more than USD3m in customer losses.
The order requires Kogan
Early estimates indicate the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index will finish up 0.87 per cent in February, based on 76 per cent of assets reporting.
Managed futures posted the best performance among the sectors this month, rising 2.01 per cent, as managers were able to gain from long exposures to short term interest rates and short exposure to declining currencies such as the Sterling.
In response to an increase in market reversal situations and weaker overall signals, many trend followers also reduced risk allocation to equities and commodities.
Long/short equity funds performed in line with global equity markets in February,
Appleby, a provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services, has appointed five partners.
Richard Addlestone has joined the funds and investment services team and is based in the Cayman Islands office. He has over 16 years experience and was previously a partner with Walkers in Cayman. He specialises in private equity and hedge funds, and also advises on captive insurance, reinsurance and general corporate issues.
Julian Black joins the banking and asset finance team in the Cayman Islands office. He was also formerly a partner at Walkers, and specialises in debt and equity financings as well as advising on
The US dollar is the currency on which hedge fund managers are most bullish in the near term, research by TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge shows.
Six in ten fund managers cite the greenback as their preferred currency investment over the next three months.
“The debt crisis in Greece, the creditworthiness of other countries in Europe, and the US dollar rally have market participants focused on currencies,” says Vincent Deluard, global equity strategist at TrimTabs. “We think currencies will dominate other investment themes throughout 2010.”
Nearly 26 per cent of hedge fund managers expect a quick resolution to the Greek
ABC Quant, a provider of risk management analytical solutions for the hedge fund industry, has launched the Quant Suite Morningstar edition, which offers a choice of risk management and portfolio allocation tools for institutional investors and investment advisers.
Morningstar, a provider of independent investment research, is powering this new edition through access to its hedge fund database.
Morningstar has performance data for approximately 8,000 active hedge funds and funds of hedge funds in its database and tracks operational data, like fee structure and contacts.
Subscribers to the Quant Suite Morningstar edition will also have access to the Morningstar Rating for
Caldwell Life Strategies, an asset manager providing life settlement and related investing solutions, has reorganised its affiliates under a single corporation resulting in a new name and corporate identity.
The new face of Caldwell encompasses all phases of life settlement investing: proprietary actuarial and modeling analysis, origination, sales and servicing, product structuring and legal and compliance.
“As this industry matures and attracts new participants, our proven process, in-house mortality expertise and track-record will continue to differentiate us from the pack,” says Adam Balinsky (pictured), president of Caldwell Life Strategies. “It’s an exciting time for our business and the multiple benefits
