Solutions
For those wishing to set up a standalone Alternative Investment Fund, getting the right service providers in place is crucial to the manager's long-term success and reputation. The following sections detail what to look for when it comes to appointing four key service providers:
• The Fund Administrator
• The third party AIFM
• The depositary
• The Prime Broker (for hedge funds).
Onshore depositary
"An AIFMD Depositary Bank is tasked with: oversight of assets, activity, and the manager; safekeeping of assets (where required); cash flow monitoring; strict liability for restoration of lost financial assets and reporting breaches. In short,
EBS BrokerTec and ICAP Information Services (IIS) have launched the EBS CNH Benchmark, a fully electronic, trade-backed reference rate for the offshore Chinese renminbi (CNH) market.
The benchmark has been launched following considerable interest from a number of major Chinese banks and senior onshore authorities
Published daily at 16:30 Beijing/08:30 GMT, the EBS CNH Benchmark is timed to coincide with the onshore renminbi (CNY) market close. This will allow market participants a direct comparison of CNY and CNH market activity during the increasingly significant APAC-EMEA crossover. The benchmark will provide the first transparent reference rate for offshore RMB trading
The investment management industry is lagging others in exploiting the vast potential of information technologies, and asset managers are under growing pressure to be more innovative and leverage emerging disruptions occurring in other industries.
That’s the conclusion of SEI’s new white paper, “The Upside of Disruption: Why the Future of Asset Management Depends on Innovation.” The paper depicts an industry that has been supported by favourable business conditions that are now shifting, making it vulnerable to disruption by technology firms.
The demographic and regulatory tailwinds that have propelled the industry’s strong business performance are weakening or reversing, states SEI’s
ITG has launched an enhanced version of its smart order router which, in early tests, has returned 35 per cent size improvement over the displayed quantity and USD0.0015 per share price improvement if routed to dark and lit venues.
“This enhanced smart order router delivers market-leading size and price improvement, plus customisation and transparency features, giving clients more control,” says Raj Jain, head of US liquidity products at ITG. “It offers multi-broker conditional orders, on an opt-in basis, which can route outsized, trade-now orders to the largest block crossing networks, including POSIT Alert. In addition, real-time monitoring tools and detailed performance
Almost a third (30 per cent) of asset managers outside of North America continue to maintain legacy platforms despite the technology’s role in trade delays and errors, according to a TABB Group survey.
The research, “The Buy-side Legacy IT Hangover: Finding the Cure for Alpha, Compliance and Growth,” reveals trade delays caused by inadequate technology account for opportunity costs of anywhere up to 50 per cent of revenue.
The risk of not meeting the needs of both clients and regulators means loss of assets, potentially incurring large fines and not sustaining profitability and growth.
In the report, TABB
Colt PrizmNet, the financial extranet developed by Colt, has continued to grow its footprint in Asia by connecting to Equinix’s International Business Exchange (IBX) data centres in Hong Kong (HK1) and Singapore (SG1).
Colt can now interconnect with key FX centres, both globally and across Asia, including direct connectivity to Equinix’s TY3 data centre in Tokyo, the largest FX trading facility in Asia, as well as Sydney (SY2).
The move doubles the size of Colt PrizmNet’s existing footprint in Hong Kong and Singapore by making it available to financial companies located in proximity to local exchanges, in addition
City Financial Investment Company has acquired management of the Convex Strategy, with current assets of USD180 million, from Fortress Investment Group in Asia.
The strategy will be managed by chief investment officer David Dredge and the investment team who join City Financial’s regulated entity in Singapore and managing director Julian Ings-Chambers in London.
The acquisition further expands City Financial’s Asian business alongside the Asian macro team based in Hong Kong and the Japanese equities team.
David Dredge has 25 years of Asian investment experience. Prior to joining Fortress in 2011, he was a managing director and portfolio manager
Societe Generale Prime Services reports that June was a strong month for most CTA strategies, with the SG CTA Index posting the largest monthly gain since November 2014, and 90 per cent of the constituent programs contributing positive returns.
All CTA indices have finished positively in the month, and complete the first half of the year in positive territory, led by short-term strategies which have returned +5.80 per cent year to date.
The firm writes that performance figures announced last week showed that CTAs weathered Britain’s EU referendum result well, despite mid-month market uncertainty, having benefited from diversification across
FlexTrade Systems, a specialist in multi-asset execution management systems, has opened a representative office in Sydney, Australia.
With the proposed increases in superannuation contributions there will be an increase in assets under management (AUM) being handled by money managers and superfunds in Australia.
It’s likely that hedge funds, asset managers and others will be increasingly active with their investments in order to improve their returns. There is a limit to the size of potential investments in the Australian market, so traders at these firms will also be looking to trade internationally.
This is driving a growing requirement for
Wolverine Trading UK Ltd (Wolverine’ has become a Member on TOM MTF as of 23 June 2016 and will start quoting as Market Maker in options.
TOM MTF has accepted a number of new members recently and expects more in 2016. This momentum is a recognition of the significant liquidity TOM offers in Dutch options. TOM continues to connect international trading houses, diversifying and solidifying the quality of its order books.
Willem Meijer, CEO of TOM (The Order Machine), says: "Welcoming a trading house like Wolverine, means yet another established market maker with over 20 years of trading experience
