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ESG
Hedge funds are falling behind other sectors such as private equity and real estate when it comes to integrating ESG factors into their portfolios.
FUND PERFORMANCE
Trend-following hedge funds and CTA strategies have dipped slightly in recent days after ending the first half of the year in positive territory, Société Générale’s CTA indices show, but the sector is well-placed to capitalise on commodities and equities trends going forward.
SocGen’s main CTA Index – a daily performance barometer of 20 of the largest managed futures hedge funds’ returns – lost 1.14 per cent in the opening week of July, having earlier ended the first half of 2021 up 6.51 per cent. The benchmark remains up some 5.3 per cent since the start of January.
Similarly, the SG
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If you’re a member of an LLP, you need to watch out to avoid being caught unexpectedly by the Salaried Member Rules. Stephen Kenny (pictured) from Blick Rothenberg’s Financial Services team looks at the rules in more detail and explains what you need to know.
FUND PERFORMANCE
Healthcare-focused equity hedge fund Rhenman & Partners scored a near-12 per cent return in the first six months of the year, as a number of correct calls in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals stocks drove gains in June.
SHORT-SELLING
Hedge fund short sellers continue to target global oilfield services provider Petrofac, which has suffered a USD180 million annual loss and falling revenues amid an ongoing fraud investigation.
BlackRock Investment Management has a net short position of 1.28 per cent, while CapeView Capital, Engadine Partners, and WorldQuant also registered negative wagers against London-listed Petrofac in the past week, FCA disclosures show.
The firm – which has been among the most heavily-shorted UK stocks by hedge funds in recent years – reported a net loss of USD180 million in its annual results last week, with revenues squeezed from USD5.5 billion to
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By Ben Axler, CIO and Founder of Spruce Point Capital Management – When I started my investment management firm in 2009 after a career in investment banking, I felt emboldened to fix certain structural problems in the industry I was leaving.
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Trident Trust entered the cryptocurrency sector in early 2017 as bitcoin was beginning to appreciate in value, and since then the global fund administrator – which services more than 500 funds globally, with AUM exceeding USD40 billion – has steadily carved out a burgeoning presence in the rapidly-growing digital assets sector, and now counts around 45 crypto funds among its clients.
FUND PERFORMANCE
Hedge funds gained more than 10 per cent in the six months of 2021, the industry’s strongest first half performance in 22 years, despite June seeing a shift in market sentiment which moderated the sector’s monthly returns. Now, managers are positioning for a “dynamic performance environment” heading into the second half of the year, shaped by ongoing Covid concerns, as well as energy and tech trends.
Hedge Fund Research’s main Fund Weighted Composite Index – a monthly measure of more than 1400 single manager hedge funds’ performance across all strategy types – gained 0.4 per cent in June, putting the
RESEARCH
As investors look to strengthen portfolio performance amid a shifting economic landscape, a new Barclays study suggests hedge funds now offer “a compelling alternative” to fixed income allocations, and may prove key to bumping up returns as allocators adapt to a “shifting paradigm”.
Barclays’ report – titled ‘The Alternatives’ Alternatives: Hedge Funds as Alternatives to Long-Only Fixed Income’ – analysed more than 2,000 hedge funds. It explored the role played by hedge funds within broader investment portfolios during a number of market environments.
The study found investor sentiment towards long-only fixed income products is growing “significantly negative”, adding that hedge funds offer “a compelling alternative”,
Q&A
In this wide-ranging Q&A, Arnaud Sarfati, CEO and co-founder of Paris-based quantitative asset manager LFIS Capital, discusses how the firm is tackling ESG implementation in its quant strategies, touching on portfolio constraints, evolving regulation, auditing concerns, and “data exhaustivity”.
