Editor's view: 29 July 2010
Like Paris in the spring, the lure of the Ucits space is proving a heady experience for many managers. First Europe fell for the charms of these onshore products, now the Americans are joining in a communal swoon.
17/02/2010
Greece crisis raises question of systemic risk in CDS trades
Suddenly, politicians' talk of hedge funds as systemic risk concerns doesn’t sound so far-fetched. All the noise this week, before the safety net was pulled in on Tuesday in the shape of a bailout for Greece, had been about credit default swaps (CDS) spreads on sovereign debt.
The trouble started with Greece, but both Spain and Portugal got in on the act and by the middle of last week were crying foul over alleged manipulation by Brevan Howard, Paulson & Co and Moore Capital.
CDS spreads went through the roof, and showed no sign of coming down. More worryingly for the Greeks was news that both Deutsche bank and Unicredit pulled out of the repo market last week, taking another liquidity provider out of the survival equation.
Not only have hedge funds allegedly taken the attack to beleaguered eurozone countries on the issue of sovereign debt but also, as part of the same problem, politicians will always find it easier to blame hedge funds than their own fiscal policy.
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Comment: Amy B Hirsch
"It is imperative that investors of all types ensure they understand the relationship between the introducing party and the manager"
Investors sit tight on impaired assets
Playing the ‘what if’ game can be fun but, depending on the number of variables in question, it can get a little out of control. Apply this conceit to the hedge fund sector's performance during the financial crisis and the possible permutations become legion.
Hedge fund inflows in Q2
Hedge inflows have slowed as volatile markets made sitting on the sidelines the safest option in Q2. According to figures from HFR, the quarter’s $9.5bn - a 30% drop from Q1’s $14bn – reflected the 'wait and see' policy of many investors as the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite dropped -2.5%. With nerves setting in, recent predictions of a boom of interest in the alpha potential of smaller managers also fell flat, with the lion’s share of money going to large $5bn-plus managers.
Read MoreFunds of hedge funds fall out of favour
A growing number of institutional investors are now opting to invest directly into hedge funds instead of allocating to the space via funds of hedge funds.
Read More
22/09/2010
UK: Ucits IV
This month’s HFMWeek Subscriber Club breakfast will take place on Wednesday 22 September. Join us and…
30/09/2010
US: topic to be confirmed
The next HFMWeek Subscriber Club breakfast will take place on Thursday 30 September. Topic and…
19/07/10
HFM Week US Performance Awards
Following the success of the last year’s HFM US Hedge Fund Performance Awards we...
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