21/07/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Investments in hedge funds slowed by 30% in the second quarter, according to Hedge Fund Research, as stock markets fell on concerns about Europe’s debt crisis and the possible slowing of global economic growth, reports Bloomberg. Investors added a net $9.5bn to hedge funds in the three months ended June, the Chicago-based research firm said today in a statement, down from $13.7bn in the prior period, and the industry’s assets declined 1.2% to $1.65trn in the second quarter. Hedge funds posted an average decline of 2.5% in the three months ended June as the Standard &
21/07/2010
US hedge fund luminaries John Paulson and Barton Biggs are poised to launch Ucits-compliant versions of their main funds, HFMWeek can exclusively reveal, joining a wave of recent activity in the Ucits space, confounding fears of a tail-off following May’s performance dip.
As well as the two new funds from Paulson and Biggs, expected to go live in the next few months via Deutsche Bank’s increasingly popular Platinum Ucits platform, HFMWeek has also learned that US investment bank Morgan Stanley has opened up its own Ucits offering to external managers.
Despite recent troubles for the
21/07/2010
UK pension funds remain wary of investing into hedge funds, despite a marked increase in institutional allocations to the space, an ongoing HFMWeek survey has revealed.
In a poll of 60 public and private UK pension funds, only 11% of schemes not currently investing in hedge funds described their trustees’ attitudes towards the sector as ‘positive’, with the majority classifying their stance as either ‘negative’ (37%) or as ‘wary / uncertain’ (25.9%).
The perceived risky nature of hedge funds and potential for big losses was one of the main reasons given for lack of trustee
21/07/2010
Thomas de Garidel-Thoron and Herve Gallo, who previously worked together at Goldman Sachs in London as senior equity derivatives traders up until their departure in early 2007, have reconnected to set up their maiden hedge fund manager.
According to a capital introductions document, the duo formed London-based Occitan Capital Partners and expect to roll out the firm’s flagship offering, the Occitan Fund, in November. It is a European-focused strategy combining directional and arbitrage opportunities in equity and derivatives markets. It is also made up of liquid strategies, combining top-down and bottom-up approaches.
Although a dollar
21/07/2010
Fund of hedge funds (FoHFs) are holding steady, even as hedge fund managers rein in their gross exposure. The view of a leading FoHF manager who talked to HFMWeek was one of stolid pragmatism, as the industry responds to the ebb and flow of the market. “Cash levels are normal across the fund range, although emerging markets is perhaps a little higher than usual, but not surprising given the market conditions,” said the manager.
Pauline Modjeski, president at Horizon Cash Management, sees very little difference in FoHF demands, with no out-of-the-ordinary build up in cash positions.
21/07/2010
James Orme-Smith, the director responsible for driving new business to Deutsche Bank’s hedge fund-compliant Ucits platform, has left to join Bank of America Merrill Lynch, becoming the German banking giant’s second senior figure to switch to the rival prime broker in the last eight weeks, HFMWeek can exclusively reveal.
According to sources with knowledge of the move, Orme-Smith, who joined Deutsche as a director in 2007, is to take up a senior role within Merrill Lynch’s synthetic sales division, where he will work closely with Eric Personne, the architect of the firm’s Ucits platform, and the
21/07/2010
What started off as another round of positive earnings statements has ended up as more of the same consternation about the stability of any recovery, exacerbated by none-too-sanguine economic growth numbers and, more worryingly, a dampened growth forecast issued by the US Federal Reserve.
Uncertainty over the strength of the recovery has sent investors scrambling for the apparent haven of money market funds and a build up in cash positions. The move away from directional strategies is ongoing and long/short exposure is being pared down.
Fund of hedge funds (FoHF) offer insight into the mindset
21/07/2010
The scourge of hedge funds reared its head once again last week, when one time darling of Gartmore, Guillame Rambourg, finally decided to walk away from the recently listed asset manager. Earlier in the year, the key-man syndrome afflicted Horseman when, following the departure of its star manager John Horseman, investors pulled $2.5bn in capital.
Aside from lost assets, what effect have the departures had on performance? So far, not great. Horseman Global is down four of the six months of trading and is at -9.5% for the year. Horseman European Select fund has fared a little
21/07/2010
US institutional investors are set to increase allocations to alternatives as they seek to reduce exposure to actively managed equities, according to new research conducted by analysts at investment banking firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
The survey of 51 chief investment officers at US pension funds, endowments and investment advisers revealed that around half of the respondents expect to invest in the hedge fund sector while around 40% plan to allocate to private equity and real estate.
“Assets seem poised to continue to flow to alternatives and passive strategies, as well as fixed income products,”
21/07/2010
Black River Asset Management, a Minnesota-based $5bn alternative asset manager independently owned by Cargill, has launched its long/short equity commodities fund to outside investors, HFMWeek has learned.
According to a source familiar with the firm, which manages $4.6bn in hedge funds, the Commodity Equity Long/Short Opportunity Fund, initially rolled out in September with $60m, will target institutions worldwide to reach its $250m capacity.
The offering trades global equities involved in commodity chains which Cargill operates in, including fertilizer, grains, meat and food distribution, along with the industrial chains, including steel, transportation and energy.
