In the high-octane world of cryptocurrency, there are a few hard and fast rules. Markets are volatile, regulatory guardrails remain embryonic, and new digital coins are being minted and launched virtually every day. Alkemi Network, an institution-grade liquidity network, is one of a new breed of companies seeking to build this brave new world from the ground up. Its goal? To tackle two fundamental problems in finance, which are becoming increasingly acute as digital assets creep ever further into the mainstream.

As the world clamours for more digitalisation and the investor appetite for crypto currency and digital assets continues to rise, The Bahamas has been working hard as a jurisdiction to provide the financial services industry with a robust legal framework and remain competitive on an international dimension. 

This report details the consistent regulatory updates The Bahamas has undertaken in its efforts to support product development and innovation. It outlines the impact of the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges (DARE) Act, 2020 which regulates the fintech sector and the role it plays in attracting crypto players to the jurisdiction. The report also details the outlook for the industry as the Covid years persist. 

The management company concept was first created to provide assurance of good governance and control with self-managed fund entities and vehicles. As funds proliferated and as the industry matured, the management company concept was born as an entity that would provide the necessary governance, oversight and services.

Since that time, the industry has matured with an increased move towards the provision and use of third-party ManCo services and the establishment of ‘Super ManCos’ – a service offering comprising both UCITS and AIFMD funds.

This report looks at developments in third-party services, Super ManCos, and drivers and challenges in different jurisdictions to consider the current situation of the market and future opportunities.

Singapore continues to make significant efforts to further promote the appeal of the Lion City to hedge funds, private equity and other alternative investment managers, and it seems that its strategy is working. Last year’s unveiling of the Variable Capital Companies (VCC) Act has widely been seen in the investment industry as a game-changer, while Singapore’s financial regulator, MAS, recently announced a new partnership between it and the private sector to burnish Singapore’s reputation as a leading full-service asset management and fund domiciliation hub.

This report delves into the impact of these measures on Singapore’s burgeoning reputation as the financial hub for Asia, shining a light on its role in creating a sustainable ecosystem, the growth of its secondaries market, and its position as an asset management and fund domiciliation hub.

Despite the push to increase automation across the financial services industry in recent years, manual processes continue to create operational risk and maintain unacceptable high costs, an issue which was brought to the fore once again by the recent pandemic.
 
This report, produced in conjunction with AutoRek, investigates the resistance to change in the hedge fund industry so far, the drivers to automation, and the benefits to be gained across the industry by moving away from manual processing.