17/01/2012 Author: Will Wainewright

HFMWeek Daily Snapshot - 17 January

NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Hedge fund lobbyists have petitioned the US Securities and Exchange Commission to repeal the rule that lies behind one of the industry’s most notorious traits: its secrecy, writes the Financial Times. The Managed Funds Association, which counts George Soros, John Paulson and Louis Bacon as members of its founding council, has implored the SEC to eliminate rule 502(c) of Regulation D – an arcane piece of Depression-era legislation that defines how the modern hedge fund industry operates.

A hedge fund lobby group has added its voice to those opposed to a proposed EU tax on financial transactions, writes FINAlternatives. The Alternative Investment Management Association, which counts about 1,300 corporate members worldwide, said in a statement that the European Commission proposal - which would impose a tax of 0.1% on equity and bond transactions and 0.01% on derivatives - could lead to a “significant decrease in cross-border trading of financial instruments in the EU, undermining the single market.”

Switzerland-based Varus Capital Management saw its returns slip 0.20% in December but Varus’ euro share class was up 20.7% for the year, writes FINAlternatives, citing Bloomberg. The Varus Fund was ranked in the 99th percentile of its peer group in 2011. The fund enjoyed nine positive months and even its down months weren’t so very down – its biggest loss came in April, when it slipped 0.4%. Its biggest gain, on the other hand, in January 2011, was 7.38%.

100 Women in Hedge Funds, a non-profit organisation for professionals in the alternative investments industry, will partner with SkillForce during the third year of the Duke of Cambridge’s patronage of 100 Women in Hedge Funds’ philanthropic initiatives, the group announced today. SkillForce is a leading education charity in the UK that works with 10,000 young people in 150 schools who are in danger of leaving school without skills or qualifications.

PEOPLE MOVES
Newedge, the multi-asset brokerage and clearing firm, has appointed Andrew Roper as director on the foreign-exchange (FX) sales desk, the company has announced. He will be responsible for providing cross asset sales solutions, while supporting the existing client base and introducing related products to institutional clients. Roper will work from Newedge’s London office, reporting directly to Michael Bailey, head of FX.