Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Hedgeweek end of year editorial report: Reflections on 2015. We are excited to bring to you, our readers, what we hope will be the first of many such annual reports. In this first edition you will find a wide selection of some of the most important articles that Hedgeweek has put together throughout the year, which best serve to illustrate key developments shaping the global hedge fund industry; all neatly packaged and presented. Xmas has indeed come early!

In this exclusive excerpt from Preqin's forthcoming 2016 Global Hedge Fund Report, due out in January, we take a closer look at how the hedge fund industry has changed over the course of 2015.

Over the last few years the FTSE 100 has gained 26 per cent, while the S&P 500 Index has gained approximately 65 per cent. The impact of quantitative easing has led to unparalleled growth in equity markets, to such an extent that hedge funds have largely lagged behind. This "raw" underperformance, in risk-adjusted terms, has led investors to question why they are invested in hedge funds. 

Servicing approximately 113 liquid alternative funds that operate under the '40 Act banner, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services (`UBSFS') is ideally positioned to understand the complexities of administration and compliance involved in with these vehicles. USBFS opened its doors in 1969 and since that time, the firm has been servicing these funds for over 20 years; although, back in the 1990s the term "liquid alternative" didn't exist. 

By Geoff Ruddick (pictured), IMS Fund Services – There has been an extraordinary focus on and trend towards `split boards' in the last few years. For most people the accepted definition of a `split board' is having independent directors from different fiduciary firms. It is considered by some to be the best way to construct a board. In reality this is an overly simplistic definition and assessment of how to recruit and construct an effective and diverse board. 

New York-based Imagineer Technology Group offers award-winning solutions to help hedge fund managers address the transparency and workflow demands necessary to stand out and succeed in today's marketplace. 

The RiskAPI service, developed by PortfolioScience, is a fully hosted and customisable risk solution that integrates seamlessly with existing applications and programming frameworks to generate risk calculations for multi-asset, multi-currency portfolios and individual positions. It is available as both an Enterprise software API and an Excel Add-In.

Risk managers are making a more conscious effort to not only understand the virtues, but also the limitations, to risk models as they adjust to life under greater regulatory scrutiny, in particular the AIFM Directive in Europe.

Luxembourg-based Fuchs Asset Management is not your typical AIFM provider. Its heritage is firmly rooted in wealth management. Having now grown into a team exceeding 100 people, it took the decision to diversify its offering and set up an AIFMD-compliant management company, receiving its license from the CSSF last June. 

The emergence of complex rules and regulations such as AIFMD and FATCA means that any new manager with visions of running their own hedge fund business must think carefully about the best route to market. 

Despite Malta introducing a legal framework for securitisation in 2006, the financial crash meant that it was rarely used until around 2012. But there are signs that securitisation is gaining some momentum locally. This is being helped by a dedicated regulated market for wholesale securities, the European Wholesale Securities Market (`EWSM'); a joint venture between the Irish Stock Exchange and Malta Stock Exchange established in 2012 that allows the listing of wholesale-denominated debt securities to trade on an EU-regulated market. 

By Ilario Scasascia (pictured), Harcourt – A well-diversified portfolio should include investments that offer alternative sources of returns, which can be found outside the world of conventional, long-only, bond and equity strategies. Sophisticated investors know this and understand, that when it comes to investing in non-traditional assets, hedge funds represent an important building block.

Publishing has undergone a significant metamorphosis since the turn of the century. As the power of the internet has grown year-after-year, with Google's search engine shaping the way we navigate it, publishing companies have needed to evolve their business models accordingly. 

This summer, to further enhance the strength of its global network, BNP Paribas Securities Services) (BNP Paribas) chose to integrate EY's Global Fund Distribution (GFD) product into its wider Fund Distribution Services (FDS) offering. This gives clients access to a comprehensive range of information to help them determine which product to distribute, which jurisdiction(s) to choose, which investors to target and the most appropriate distribution channels. 

The Portfolio Amalfi™ platform by Nedelma Inc. offers multi-asset, multi-language and multi-currency dynamic reporting and data visualisation and analysis capabilities to the asset management industry. The platform also offers data aggregation tools as well as portfolio management solutions and a calculation engine. 

DMS Offshore Investment Services (‘DMS') Limited was established in the Cayman Islands by Don Seymour in 2000. Over the past 15 years it has grown into one of the industry's leading fund governance firms with over 200 people.

These are exciting times for the financial technology sector. In the last few years, market complexity has grown in response to increased regulatory demands, increased investor due diligence requirements, more complex fund strategies and even how hedge funds manage their balance sheets with their prime brokers. 

The threat of cyberattacks is growing within the hedge fund community, requiring managers to put in place policies and procedures that address the cybersecurity risks unique to their firm. This goes beyond merely acquiring technology and hoping for the best. 

Last May, MS Management Services SA, a Luxembourg-based subsidiary of the Maitland group, received authorisation from the CSSF to act as a third-party AIFM to alternative investment funds. At the same time, it established its own umbrella fund platform, MS SICAV SIF, to support managers wishing to fast track the process of launching an AIFMD-compliant fund in Europe. 

MultiConcept Fund Management SA ("MultiConcept") is an AIFM and UCITS IV fund Management Company. Established in Luxembourg in 2004, MultiConcept has approximately CHF10.7 billion in assets under administration. It currently has 20 umbrella structures with 89 sub-funds.