Decomposing FoHF returns
Where and when funds of hedge funds add and lose value
Read More
23/06/2010
Editor's View: 24 June 2010
Unseasonable storms created a foreboding backdrop to this year’s Gaim Conference. Following the direct lightning strike of May’s jagged-edged markets, managers must have been hoping for some respite. Instead they were hit by blinding downpours and mixed news about the future.
Conferences, isolated bubbles from the real world, are notorious for inflammatory statements, but this year seemed particularly iconoclastic and contradictory. Diverging opinions about the ongoing viability of the Euro – dead, saved and all points in between – fought for space alongside predictions for a period of disastrous performance, or, conversely, a rather better than average one.
Oddly, while the majority of managers did appear to speculate that the latter half of 2010 could presage a return to collapse and massive deleveraging, investors appeared to be a little more chipper. Actively talking up opportunities in the space, poised to allocate – and seemingly better informed about what a hedge fund can do for a portfolio.
BlueCrest’s president, Leda Braga, summed this up best on the conference’s opening day, “we’re here to monitor risk and carry on taking it,” she said. And investors are getting this point. The shellshock suffered when stellar returns were blunted in 2008 has eased, replaced by a hawkish reliance on operational due diligence, but also a growing realisation of the usefulness of the sector.
This twin track of investor sentiment was frequently expressed in Monaco, but is also exemplified by the work of HFMWeek’s own journalists. This week, we have discovered the existence of ‘blacklists’ of hedge fund board members; those deemed inadequate when it comes to representing investor interests. Mercer has also told us that it is seeing record enquiries for hedge fund education.
Against storm clouds, this latter snippet is a ray of sunshine. Managers face a challenging year and clearly will have to trade carefully, as well as work a little bit harder for their money. However, with investor interest definitely massing, 2010 could still be a year of growth.
- Share
-
Text Size
Decrease text size
Increase text size
What's in a name? Petra Capital Management
Formed in 2005, New York-based Petra Capital Management soon forged itself a reputation as one of the hedge fund industry’s best-known investors in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market.
Founder Andy Stone, an expert in real-estate debt from his time at Solomon Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston, would even go on to be described as a ‘rock star’ in the field. His choice of moniker for his hedge fund project certainly lends itself to Stone’s background – and more than just in name and reputation.
Petra is, of course, a historically and archaeologically significant city in Jordan, renowned for its architecture cut into the rock face of its central valley. The rock-carved collection of tombs, temples and waterways is one of Jordan’s most famous symbols and tourist attractions, not to mention a regular in popular culture – featuring in films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Unesco, which made the city a World Heritage Site in 1985, described it as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage”. Most pertinently though, Petra actually means ‘stone’ in Arabic.
Not quite the force he once was, Stone suffered a…
HFMWeek Daily Snapshot - 9 February
Today: Data shows hedge fund performance improving in January; Moore Capital seeds Stone Milliner launch with $800m; judge assigned in landmark insider case; Phil Falcone fund landed with high interest rate; and more...
Lazard Asset Management rolls out alternative strategies fund
Lazard Asset Management, which manages $5.5bn in alternative investments, has rolled out an alternative strategies fund, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
HFMWeek Daily Snapshot - 8 February
Today: Hedge funds gain 0.2% in January as equities enjoy strong 2012 start; Rajat Gupta could face additional charges; four men indicted in Dell insider case; Raj Rajaratnam judge steps down; and more...
Investor demand for CTAs is on the rise, says Agecroft Partners
Agecroft Partners is seeing widespread demand from institutional investors for Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs), which is a dramatic change from the historical reluctance of many institutional investors and their consultants to allocate to this strategy.
Read More29/02/2012
UK: Open Protocol: The Challenge and Opportunities of Standardising Hedge Fund Risk Reporting
Join us and our panel of experts for HFMWeek's Subscribers' Club February's UK breakfast briefing…
29/02/2012
US: Endowments and Foundations in Hedge Funds
The next US HFMWeek Subscribers' Club breakfast, will take place on Wednesday February 29. Join…
02/02/2011
European Hedge Fund Services Awards 2012
HFMWeek's European Hedge Fund Services Awards are designed to recognise companies that have outperformed...
Be the first to comment on this article!