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ZEDRA has appointed Damien Fitzgerald as Head of Funds for Guernsey. In the role, he will lead the firm’s fund solutions offering and will be supported by the recently appointed Head of Fund Operations, John Donnelly, an industry veteran with considerable experience in client service management, financial reporting and fund accounting.
Fitzgerald has accumulated a wealth of knowledge with 23 years of fund administration, corporate governance, accounting and audit experience, including 17 years in Guernsey’s financial services industry. Prior to joining ZEDRA, he was Head of Funds at another renowned fund services administrator in Guernsey, leading a team of 70
European derivatives exchange Eurex is to launch bitcoin ETN futures, a new contract that offers clients access to the price of bitcoin in a regulated on-exchange and centrally cleared environment.
This offering will be the first regulated market in bitcoin-related derivatives in Europe.
Launch of the new contract is planned for 13 September. The futures contract is based on the BTCetc Bitcoin Exchange Traded Crypto (ISIN: DE000A27Z304), which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and has been among the most heavily traded ETF/ETN contracts on Xetra since its start in June 2020. The bitcoin ETN was equivalent to 1/1000th
Energy-focused hedge fund manager Westbeck Capital Management’s flagship strategy has suffered its first monthly loss in eight months, after surging coronavirus rates in China, Europe and North America dented oil markets – but the fund remains up more than 70 per cent since the start of the year.
The Westbeck Energy Opportunity Fund – a long/short directional hedge fund strategy which trades a mix of oil equities, futures and options – fell 5.3 per cent in July. By comparison, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP), which tracks oil services companies, lost 14.4 per cent in
UMB Fund Services (UMBFS), a subsidiary of UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF), has been selected to provide services to the AFA Multi-Manager Credit Fund—Alternative Fund Advisors’ (AFA) first registered closed-end interval fund.
UMBFS will provide transfer agency, fund accounting, tax reporting and fund administration for AFA’s fund, while UMB Bank will provide custody services.
“We are pleased to provide a suite of services to support Alternative Fund Advisors‘ first registered closed-end interval fund,” says Maureen Quill, executive vice president, executive director of registered funds at UMBFS. “In addition to accessing our award-winning fund administration and custody services, Alternative Fund Advisors
Whistleblower lawyers from Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and the National Whistleblower Center have submitted comments for a proposed rule change to the SEC Whistleblower Program. The final vote on the rules is set for September 2021.
MakerDAO’s Real-World Finance Core Unit has partnered with JST Capital, a financial services firm specialising in the digital assets market, to bring on-chain securitisation to institutional investors.
JST and MakerDAO will be working together to develop robust frameworks for bringing real-world assets on-chain.
They will also look to improve legal structures, the smart contract platform, and custody and settlement processes to allow established asset-backed participants to feel comfortable with decentralised finance.
The implementation of ESG metrics for regulated funds under the EU’s sustainability-focused SFDR framework remains a “work in progress” for many hedge funds and other asset managers, according to fund structuring and governance service provider Waystone.
Baton Systems (Baton) has completed connecting to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), a global provider of data, technology, and market infrastructure, making ICE Clear Europe the fifth major global CCP available on the Baton network.
All FCMs using Baton will now be able to automate and optimise collateral holdings and expedite the movement of cash and securities with the CCPs of greatest strategic importance to their business. These firms include the world’s largest financial institutions, responsible for managing 43 per cent of the funds held by global CCPs.
Citi recently became the first FCM to connect to ICE Clear Europe and benefit
Matrixport, Asia’s fastest growing digital assets financial services platform, has expanded its management team with recent appointments of Justin Buitendam and Omid Zadeh as Directors of Business Development & Sales.
These senior hires are part of a wider talent acquisition programme to scale-up capabilities in support of Matrixport’s global expansion.
Based in Australia, Buitendam is a senior addition to the business development team in Asia, while Zadeh will lead business development in EMEA, based in the United Kingdom.
Having held senior trading and portfolio management roles with companies including Macquarie Bank, Transmarket Group, RKR Capital and Refco, Buitendam
Global Fund Management, the asset management arm of the GDA Group, has launched its latest venture, the Avalon Fund. The fund is being launched by 12 Peers Capital, in partnership with GDA Capital, to provide a mixed asset arbitrage vehicle offering short and long exposure into digital assets, equities, and fixed income products.
“Our mission is to create long-term value for our investors through the identification of digital asset strategies that generate alpha, while also limiting potential downside by generating yields from traditional market exposure like equities and bonds,” says GDA Group COO Zachary Friedman.
“To successfully manage and grow
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