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Investment managers are failing to perceive the risks associated with the European Union’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager’s directive, according to a report by BDO.
In a survey which asked investment managers in the UK to identify their top risks, only three per cent of respondents cited the AIFM directive as a key risk for 2010 due to the implementation timescales.
AIFIM is likely to be a major distraction for firms in the run up to its implementation in 2012. Analysts are concerned that the regulations are going to be so stringent on alternative investment fund managers—more so than in the
Noci Pictures Entertainment, a recently launched Chicago-based alternative investment firm, is in discussions with hedge fund investors about investing in the film industry.
Yuri Rutman, head of Noci Pictures Entertainment, says investing in 30 to 50 films over five years is no different than investing in 30 to 50 companies.
"Each film takes a life of its own," Rutman says. "Some make a little money; some make hundreds of millions of dollars. The key is to ensure distribution across all platforms including theatrical, video on demand, DVD, and branding and merchandising."
Noci Pictures has a business model that aims to
Backstop Solutions Group, a provider of software-as-a-service platforms for the alternative asset management industry, has opened its Asia Pacific office in Hong Kong.
The new office will better position Backstop Solutions to serve its Asia Pacific customer base in a marketplace where SaaS applications are in high demand.
The Asia Pacific office will initially cater to the Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japanese markets with the long-term goal of expanding to other markets in the region.
“The alternative asset management industry is healthy and growing throughout Asia. We believe the region presents an extraordinary opportunity for our business,” says Jeremie Bacon,
In January 2010, the international derivatives exchanges of Eurex Group recorded an average daily volume of 10.8 million contracts, up from 10.5 million in January 2009.
Of those 7.0 million were Eurex contracts and 3.75 million contracts were at the US-based International Securities Exchange.
In total, 140.0 million contracts were traded at Eurex and 71.2 million at the ISE.
Eurex achieved 63.4 million contracts in its equity index segment – the largest product segment, compared with 70.2 million contracts the year before. Futures on the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Index stood at 26.6 million contracts and 23.5 million on the
New figures have been released showing operating conditions for Japanese manufacturers have remained broadly stable, which could interest hedge fund managers looking at Asian investments.
Economic activity in the US manufacturing sector has expanded for the sixth month in a row, with apparel reporting the fastest growth.
Alternative investment manager Elementum Advisors has been appointed by The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation to manage a catastrophe-linked investments portfolio.
The initial size of the mandate will be USD125m and is ultimately targeted to be USD250m.
This is GNZS’s maiden allocation into catastrophe linked investments. It was attracted to the asset class because of the diversification benefits and due to its potential to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns.
“GNZS selected Elementum as its partner because of Elementum’s significant experience managing such investments and its track record of performance,” says the Guardians’ general manager, private markets, Matt Whineray.
This is one
MF Global, an intermediary offering solutions in global cash, derivatives and related markets, has appointed David P. Bolger and David Gelber to its board of directors.
Gelber will replace Lawrence Schloss as chairman of the compensation committee.
Schloss was recently appointed as deputy comptroller for pensions and chief investment officer for the City of New York and has stepped down from the board, effective immediately, to dedicate his time to his new position.
Bolger was chief operating officer of Chicago 2016, a not-for-profit entity that sought to bring the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Chicago. From 2003 to
Russian brokerage Otkritie Securities has appointed two Russia and CIS market figures to its new financing services group team.
Temo Jorbenadze and Dmitry Perman will join the firm’s investment banking financing services group as head and director respectively.
The financing services group will provide the firm’s clients with a broad spectrum of financing solutions, including access to public and private capital markets.
Jorbenadze has extensive experience in the CIS region and Russia. Prior to joining Otkritie, Jorbenadze was a director for investment banking at VTB Capital in London, where he was responsible for the development of the European financial sponsor
Eurex Repo and Clearstream have launched a new currency segment within the GC Pooling market, Eurex Repo’s secured money market.
This new segment – USD GC Pooling – comprises US dollar cash trading and extends the secured funding possibilities for the current 35 market participants already active in this market by introducing a second global currency.
Marcel Naas, managing director of Eurex Repo, says: “With our new USD GC Pooling segment, we broaden our market from a dedicated euro environment to a multicurrency environment. As in our existing Euro GC Pooling segment, we provide access to secured US dollar
