13/07/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
The hedge fund industry recorded estimated inflows of $4bn in May, the third month of more money getting put into them than leaving in the past four months, according to TrimTabs and BarclayHedge, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, the inflow was more than offset by woes in the stock market that led to hedge fund asset levels falling for the first time since July. Funds saw their biggest loss in 19 months in May, but the drop paled in comparison to those in US equities markets. BarclayHedge chief executive Sol Waksman said that during May
12/07/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Hedge funds slashed bets that oil would rise last week to the lowest level in more than a year just before crude began its biggest advance since May, reports Bloomberg. So-called long positions on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 31% in the seven days ended 6 July to the lowest level since April 2009, according to the weekly Commitment of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Oil rose 5.5% on the Nymex last week, settling at $76.09 a barrel as of 9 July. It slipped 0.3% today to $75.89 a barrel at 6:30
09/07/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Man Group chief executive officer Peter Clarke has said the hedge-fund giant could be selling products to mainland China investors within a few years if lobbying efforts with authorities pay off, reports the Wall Street Journal. Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, Clarke said Man Group is currently looking to sign on state-run institutions as clients--a process he is directly involved in--but hopes to eventually get authorisation to sell hedge-fund products to private investors, building on its success in other parts of Asia such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. He added that he anticipates
08/07/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Hedge fund giant Man Group Thursday said its assets under management shrank 2.3% in the first fiscal quarter, as investors pulled money from its funds, says Wall Street Journal. Funds under management at 30 June were around $38.5m, the company said, down from $39.4bn at March 31. Man Group in late May said assets were still around that level. "The quarter to June 30 has seen a return to increased volatility and uncertainty in financial markets," chief executive officer Peter Clarke said in an update before the company's annual general meeting. Man Group, which is in
07/07/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Copia Capital, a utility and energy hedge fund managing $520m, is breaking away from Morgan Stanley's FrontPoint Partners unit to operate independently, according to people familiar with the matter, reports the Wall Street Journal. Since Copia was launched in 2002, hedge-fund firm FrontPoint operated Copia's back-office, trading and marketing efforts, while sharing revenues with Copia. However, FrontPoint will now invest money with Copia but no longer provide services for the fund, the people said. Though the move has been in the works for a number of months, according to people close to the matter, it comes
07/07/2010
Natixis, the French banking titan, is poised to debut a new Ucits III platform as it relaunches its former managed accounts platform as a vehicle for Ucits-compliant hedge funds, HFMWeek can exclusively reveal.
The bank has remodelled Sixtina, once the home of over 30 managed accounts, to cater for so-called ‘Newcits’ funds and is due to unveil its first Ucits manager within the next few weeks.
According to internal sources, Natixis expects to raise €350m-€500m (633m) for the new-look Sixtina within its first year of operation. As it builds out its Ucits expertise, the bank
07/07/2010
IMQubator, the hedge fund seeding platform set up with money from Dutch pensions giant APG, has completed its sixth seed deal, allocating €25m ($31m) to the new venture from Rory Passey, Commerzbank UK’s one-time head of convertible bond research, HFMWeek can exclusively reveal.
The new, as-yet-unnamed convertible arbitrage fund will be managed by Boston and Alexander, reinvigorating the investment management firm established by Passey. The fund started with €6m ($7.55m) in assets provided by parties well known to the manager.
Patrick Hall, COO of Boston and Alexander, told HFMWeek that the new fund was
07/07/2010
The deadline for US hedge fund managers to respond to a nationwide survey on market risk has been set for the end of July, as the committee investigating the effects of the global financial crisis in the US turns its attention to hedge funds.
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) issued its Hedge Fund Industry Market Risk Survey on 29 June, a copy of which has been obtained by HFMWeek. Managers are expected to respond by 30 July or risk a subpoena.
According to an HFMWeek source, the survey has been sent to a broad
07/07/2010
Operational risk remains at the forefront of managers’ minds, according to the speakers at an HFMWeek Subscribers’ Club UK breakfast briefing held earlier this month.
Following a challenging period, and renewed uncertainty within the financial markets, hedge funds are still closely monitoring levels of counterparty risk, as well as developing new procedures for emerging products like hedge fund-style Ucits III funds.
Three speakers – Malcolm Goddard, COO of Altima Partners; Hitesh Bharkhada, COO of Culross; and Tom Zdon, vice president of the event’s sponsor Advent – representing the views of hedge funds, investors and service
07/07/2010
John Doscas, co-founder of Hudson Bay Capital, has decided to start a next venture, HFMWeek has learned.
Doscas formed New York-based Chartwell Trading, a proprietary trading global event-driven vehicle. The portfolio does not have outside investors but Doscas said in the future, he might be open to taking allocations.
For his new venture, Doscas partnered with Greg Summers, who was previously at Jefferies & Co and traded for Gerber Capital. The duo also plans to hire a number of traders and support staff.
Separately, Doscas has partnered with Pearson Real Estate to take
