11/08/2010
Acuity Capital Management, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based multi-strategy manager, has launched a
corporate opportunity fund.
The Acuity Corporate Opportunity Fund, which rolled out with $10m, is a long/short credit offering with convertible arbitrage added in. It has a total of 35 positions.
“The opportunity set right now, with respect to credit, is in corporations that have improved and strengthened their balance sheets and raised additional equity to try to take advantage of that via the high-yield credit markets,” said Howard Needle, managing member.
Needle and David Harris are the fund’s portfolio managers. Needle previously
11/08/2010
Iron Capital Advisors, an Atlanta-based manager, has launched its maiden hedge fund structure after running the strategy on a managed account basis for four years.
The Gateway Fund, which launched last month with seed investment from a US investor, is a concentrated equity strategy with a long bias.
Chuck Osborne, managing member, said he decided to launch a concentrated equity strategy since he believes the market environment from the last decade has given stock pickers ample opportunities to profit.
“Going forward, the market may provide lower returns than it has in the past
10/08/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Investors withdrew $3.7bn from hedge funds in June, after investing approximately $4bn in May, reports Reuters. Emerging market hedge funds fared the worst, with clients withdrawing $2.1bn from these portfolios, according to data compiled by BarclayHedge and TrimTabs. Conversely, managers specialising in fixed income funds attracted $1.4bn in new money, as investors sought the safety of bonds. Growing concern about the US economic recovery and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis saw hedge funds lose 3.2% in May and June, marking the first two-month losing streak since January and February 2009, the research firms said. Investors tend to
10/08/2010
Lighthouse Financial Group is continuing to shop for a buyer for its prime brokerage division following the struggling company’s decision to cease trading last week, HFMWeek has learned.
According to a source familiar with Lighthouse’s plans, there have been a number of bidders who have expressed interest in adding a prime brokerage division to existing businesses. However, it is unclear if all the units at
Lighthouse Financial Group will be taken over, or just its prime brokerage division. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. in Miami was one firm in discussions to purchase Lighthouse Prime Services, but
09/08/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
GLG Partners posted a surprising second quarter loss of $74.6m, or $0.32 per share compared to a loss of $24.38m or $0.11 per share in the same period last year, says Bloomberg. Non-GAAP adjusted net loss was $3m or $0.01 per share for the period, the company revealed in a statement, with costs stemming from the recent $1.6bn merger with Man Group resulting for a $12m reduction in earnings. The second quarter loss was largely unexpected, with three analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expecting GLG to report a profit of $0.05 per share. Assets under management
09/08/2010
Traditionally-structured hedge funds outperformed Ucits-compliant hedge funds in both July and for the year to date, according the latest market data.
Current figures from the Ucits Alternative Index Global indicated that Ucits-compliant funds were up 0.53% in July, with their year to date performance was negative, at -0.28%.
In comparison, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index, compiled by Hedge Fund Research, showed traditional hedge funds up 1.82% in July, with year to date performance at 1.52%.
The figures indicate that Ucits-compliant hedge funds still have some way to go before they are able
06/08/2010
NEWSPAPERS AND WIRES
Citi Private Bank is preparing to triple the amount of hedge funds it currently offers on its HedgeForum hedge fund platform, reports FINalternatives. The platform, which manages $2.9bn, currently offers clients access to 24 hedge funds, including Brevan Howard Asset Management and GoldenTree Asset Management, but will expand this base to 75 by the end of next year, with access to emerging markets funds. “The refocusing of the business is already being greeted with a lot of success, in terms of both inquiries and new business for Citi Private Bank,” David Bailin, head of managed investments,
05/08/2010
Deutsche Bank’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) platform, db x-trackers, has launched two ETFs linked to the DB Currency Returns Index (DBCR).
Both new funds will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, offering exposure to USD- and GBP-hedged share classes.
Demand for the tradable funds is expected to come from a broad spectrum of investors, from pension funds to retail investors.
Manooj Mistry, head of the UK arm of db x-trackers ETFs, said: “The db x-trackers Currency Returns ETF is ideal for investors who are increasingly recognising the benefits of allocating assets to investment
05/08/2010
NEWSPAPER AND WIRES
Hedge funds have been piling up their stakes in Dana Petroleum ahead of crunch talks at the end of this week over its £1.7bn ($2.7bn) approach from the Korea National Oil Corporation, reports The Telegraph. Frenzied arbitrage trading among hedge funds means that they now own more than 15% of the company – and possibly much more. Since the Koreans revealed their approach on 2 July, Dana's share price has risen from £0.45 ($0.72) to £17 (around $27). Market sources said an 11% stake built by UBS over the last few weeks was probably a position
04/08/2010
Qbasis, a Liechtenstein-based hedge fund, has gained approval from UK regulators to start marketing the Qbasis Futures Fund, the first managed futures exchange traded fund (ETF), reports the FT. Qbasis has already raised €1.5m ($2m) for the fund, which was originally launched on 1 April on the Hamburg Stock Exchange. Alistair Evans, director of UK sales, said the firm is considering listing the ETF on the London Stock Exchange. “We think there will be considerable demand in the UK for an onshore managed futures fund,” he said. Actively managed ETFs are already popular in the US but as yet
