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Ozannes and Mourant du Feu & Jeune, two law firms in the Channel Islands, are planning to merge.
The merged firm, to be known as Mourant Ozannes, will bring together two law firms in Guernsey and Jersey to create a firm with industry knowledge across the Channel Islands.
Mourant Ozannes will also be one of the world’s largest offshore law firms with more than 200 fee-earners and 50 partners, practising from offices in the Cayman Islands and London as well as Guernsey and Jersey.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, will be structured as a full economic merger
BNY Mellon has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PNC’s global investment servicing business, a provider of custody, fund accounting, transfer agency and outsourcing solutions for asset managers and financial advisers.
The purchase price of USD2.31bn includes the purchase of USD1.57bn of stock and repayment of inter-company debt from PNC.
BNY Mellon plans to raise approximately USD800m in equity as part of the transaction.
The all-cash acquisition, which will be accretive in the first year, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, subject to necessary regulatory approvals.
"This acquisition significantly strengthens our service offering and market
Gain Capital, a provider of online trading services, has opened an office in Hong Kong, further extending its presence in the Asia Pacific region alongside offices in Tokyo and Seoul.
The company received regulatory approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in 2009.
"Hong Kong is a key global financial centre in Asia with a robust regulatory framework," says Glenn Stevens (pictured), chief executive of Gain Capital. "Our Hong Kong office will act as a regional business development hub and help us reach and address the needs of our clients and partners locally."
Gain’s office, located in the
The electronic trading revolution that brought the buy-side desk from telephones and working order to algorithms and smart order routing is effectively in place, says Tabb Group in an industry benchmark research study.
However, buy-side assets are down, the commission wallet is smaller and for 2010 the number one goal for the buy side is to rebuild assets and performance.
At the same time brokers are pressed to increase margins but differentiate their mix of services and generate the alpha that head traders need.
US equity managers have watched years of performance-track records go up in smoke and billions
There is a good deal of optimism about prospects for the Chinese economy, a major organisation has asserted.
Hedge funds should not be put off by the 45 per cent fall in profits of BP, an expert has advised.
Based on the January performance for the Credit Suisse Long/Short Liquid Index, long/short equity funds posted negative returns in January but outperformed global equity indices.
The LAB Long/Short Liquid Index was down 1.46 per cent for the month as managers struggled to find profitable positions amid falling equity markets.
Despite overall negative performance, long/short equity hedge funds outperformed major global equity market indices in January.
On the other hand, the Credit Suisse Global Macro Liquid Index finished the month up 1.18 per cent in January as many macro managers removed some of the risk from their books in the New
The Cumulus team at PCE Investors has reported a 2009 full year return of 68.58 per cent for the Cumulus Energy Fund.
This follows a return of 26.64 per cent for 2008.
Cumulus’ chief investment officer Peter Brewer says: “We continue to see strong opportunities for the fund – for example, the current market conditions are similar to those which allowed a 20 per cent gain in the first quarter of 2009.”
The Cumulus Energy Fund concentrates on near term power and gas futures in Europe. The fund’s strategy arises from Cumulus’ knowledge of weather forecasting.
Chief meteorologist Warwick Norton
Managing Partners, an investment company that manages funds investing in life settlements, says it is encountering a groundswell of investor interest in Asia after becoming the first company to have a life settlement fund authorised for distribution to institutions in South Korea.
Managing Partners’ Traded Policies Fund has been filed with the Financial Services Commission in South Korea and was registered as of December 2009, authorising it to be distributed to institutions.
Managing Partners is also in advanced discussions with two asset management companies in Korea with a view to launching feeder funds into the fund.
Jeremy Leach, Managing Partners’
SmartPool, the European dark liquidity pool created by NYSE Euronext in partnership with HSBC, J.P. Morgan and BNP Paribas, had record trading volumes in January and compound growth following its migration to NYSE Euronext’s Universal Trading Platform on 23 November 2009.
SmartPool’s matched volume of EUR310m in January represents compound growth of 33 per cent since the end of November, making SmartPool one of the fastest-growing dark multilateral trading facilities over the period.
The number of trades also increased by 51 per cent compound to over 47,000 in January.
According to the Thomson Reuters Equity Market Share Service, SmartPool reported
