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The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Topix futures will be listed on the NYSE Liffe market from summer 2010.
The Topix index futures contract is the benchmark Japanese stock price index already traded on the TSE.
Topix futures are actively traded by investors worldwide, who use the instrument as a way to invest in Japan’s largest stocks. Listing the contracts on NYSE Liffe will increase the number of customers who can trade the contract, and enable trading in the Topix future while the Tokyo market is closed.
The contract specifications for Topix futures traded on NYSE Liffe will be fundamentally the same
The National Futures Association has accepted a settlement offer from Blue Sky Capital Management Corp and its principal, Gregory M. Schneider, to permanently withdraw from NFA membership.
Blue Sky Capital Management Corp is a commodity trading adviser and commodity pool operator located in Lebanon, Tennessee.
The decision is based on a complaint filed in August 2009 and a settlement offer submitted by Blue Sky Capital Management and Schneider.
The complaint charged that Blue Sky and Schneider provided false and misleading information to NFA regarding the number of and total assets in accounts managed by Blue Sky and the beginning date
European equities investment specialist SAM Capital Partners has appointed Andrew Kennedy as its chief operating officer.
Kennedy (pictured) assumes responsibility for the firm’s day-to-day business management and expansion of the firm’s investor base.
He joins from Dresdner Kleinwort in London, where he was a senior member of the alternative investments group. Prior to this, he was a principal at Onda Capital and a senior member of the equity capital markets group at JPMorgan in London.
SAM Capital was established by former Cheyne Capital senior portfolio manager Dietmar Schmitt in September 2007, when the firm launched its flagship European equities long/short
Insparo Asset Management has stepped up the marketing and investment strategy of its Insparo Africa & Middle East Fund with the appointment of Jamie Allsopp.
As well as contributing to the research and investment decisions of the fund, Allsopp (pictured) will primarily be responsible for marketing the fund in Insparo’s target markets.
He will use the experience gained from launching, managing and marketing a previous Africa targeted fund to build Insparo’s profile among new investors.
Allsopp has a strong background in fund management and African markets, garnered during eight years with New Star Asset Management. He joined New Star
Hong Kong-based asset management firm Enhanced Investment Products has opened its Aleph Fund to investors.
EIP’s Asia (including Japan) multi-strategy, volatility and event driven fund was up 2.43 per cent in October 2009, while the MSCI Far East was down 5.79 per cent.
The Aleph Fund launched at the end of April 2009 with a combined seed investment of USD20m from CLSA, Iveagh Trust and Triple A Partners. Since launch, Triple A Partners has worked alongside EIP to position the Aleph Fund with potential investors.
The fund combines event driven strategies, such as relative value, share class arbitrage and merger
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have issued two joint orders related to security-based futures contracts that clarify each commission’s respective jurisdiction and allow additional products to underlie security futures.
The first joint order excludes certain foreign and domestic volatility indexes that are based on broad-based security indexes from the definition of “narrow-based security index”.
As a result of the joint order, futures on foreign and domestic volatility indexes that meet the criteria contained in the joint order are treated as “broad-based security indexes” and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC.
Options on
Paladyne Systems, a provider of technology and services to the global hedge fund Industry, has opened a Hong Kong office in response to an increasing demand for hedge fund technology and services in the Asia Pacific region.
Paladyne has appointed Eric Royer as the new regional director of Paladyne Asia with responsibility for managing all aspects of Paladyne’s Asian business operations.
Paladyne provides alternative asset managers in Asia Pacific with a standardised and integrated front, middle and back office solution.
The Paladyne suite is available either as a local install or as a hosted application service provider solution.
“The Asia
PineBridge Investments is the new brand name of the asset management and investment advisory business that is being sold by American International Group.
The re-branding marks the beginning of a new era for the firm as it transitions into an independent business.
PineBridge Investments will continue to offer broad capabilities in alternative investments, listed equity and fixed income to a diverse group of institutional and individual clients.
The firm will maintain its global footprint that currently includes operations in 32 countries, with headquarters in New York.
The firm says the brand embodies its primary goal of bridging clients
The fund of hedge fund sector experienced strong net inflows during the third quarter, with positive absolute returns in each of the individual months, according to a report by Standard & Poor’s.
The report, by analyst Randal Goldsmith, says funds of hedge funds returned over four per cent in the third quarter and are up over eight per cent during the year to date, with funds that focus on emerging markets leading the recovery.
Gross and net exposure remains below historical levels, but net market exposures increased in the third quarter because hedge fund managers held in fund of hedge
Almost 80 per cent of institutional investors believe hedge fund fees are too high, according to the 2010 Preqin Hedge Fund Investor Review.
Several prominent hedge fund investors, notably Calpers, have publicly called on hedge fund managers over the course of 2009 to reduce their management and performance fees.
According to Preqin, just 24 per cent of institutional investors feel that hedge fund fees at their current level are justified. Approximately 60 per cent of institutional investors feel that hedge fund fees are too high with a further 17 per cent of investors surveyed stating that although fees are coming
