17/02/2010
Global Evolution, the Denmark-based emerging markets asset manager, is to launch two new funds next month.
One will be an emerging markets Ucits III fund with an FX strategy, similar to the Deutsche Bank FXSelect product that Global Evolution already manages. The Ucits fund will follow a discretionary macro trading strategy with an absolute return target. The new fund has been created for distribution by parent company Saxo Bank and is aimed primarily at private hig-net-worth investors. Saxo Bank will launch their marketing for this fund within the next few months.
The other offering is
17/02/2010
Balyasny Asset Management (Bam), a $2bn Chicago-based multi-strategy hedge fund manager, expects to add portfolio managers in its Hong Kong office.
Barry Colvin, vice chairman, said the hedge fund hopes to hire between two and four managers to eventually increase its investments in Asia.
“It's much more opportunity-driven,” he said. “The idea is that we have a pretty broad net we have cast looking for portfolio managers that have historically been successful in managing a book in the style of Bam and all our current portfolio managers. There’s a common thread that runs across our portfolio
17/02/2010
Quinten Stevens and Amy Stevens, who previously worked at Wachovia Securities and Lazard Asset Management, respectively, have set up their maiden hedge fund.
After forming Connecticut-based Stevens Asset Management, they launched the flagship SAM Partners Fund 1 last month. The fund has an initial capacity of $250m and implements a long/short strategy primarily focused on US equities, but with the potential to invest in international equities, commodities and fixed income. With 40 to 100 positions, it spans all market capitalisations.
Stevens hired Ed McCormick, managing director and research analyst, from Myca Partners and Andrew Atha,
17/02/2010
John Cravenho, the former director of hedge fund strategies at ING, who forayed into private equity late last year, will launch a consulting business as part of his new venture, Green Power Funding Group (GPF).
HFMWeek previously reported that GPF was set up to source and manage superior clean energy private equity investments in Brazil, India and the US.
GPF's new initiative, Confluenze Business Consulting, will focus on carbon management and technology and is expected to launch in May.
Cravenho said: “Clients will be able to effectively report on regulatory or voluntary emission
17/02/2010
Weston Capital Management has relocated its headquarters to Palm Beach, Florida from Westport, Connecticut.
The move forms part of a broader office reshuffle for the fund of hedge funds (FoHF) and incubation manager. The Palm Beach move follows last month’s relocation of Weston's Connecticut employees to the firm’s New York office.
HFMWeek reported late last year that Weston was looking to expand its sales and marketing team following its joint venture with Harcourt Investment Consulting. Among the recent hires were Paul Radley to sales in London and Luke Imperatore to New York.
17/02/2010
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
17/02/2010
January’s returns have started rattling in, which gives us all a chance to take a look at how the great and good of the hedge fund industry have started the year.
It was once the darling of the hedge fund set, but Rab’s star well and truly plummeted, along with its assets, over the last year and a half. Assets in its flagship Rab Special Situations Fund were a little over $500m in November last year, following a 76% drawdown peak to trough from July 2007 to March 2009. But January has started well, the fund is up
17/02/2010
The $9.18bn School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (Sers), which invests in 32 hedge fund managers as part of its portfolio, has plans to step up allocations this year and possibly hire more managers.
The Ohio Sers board conducted a global hedge fund review at the end of 2009.
“In 2010, Sers’ investment staff expects to allocate additional capital to existing funds, trim allocations to balance target manager weights of 3.5‐5%, and seek board approval for new hedge fund managers (if needed),” stated Sers in a memo.
The pension does not have a target
17/02/2010
The New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (ERB) allocated $50m to a collateralised loan obligation (CLO) fund managed by Goldentree Asset Management, at the end of 2009.
ERB, which so far has almost 7% of its portfolio allocated to absolute return, made the investment with the manager in a separate account. ERB has a 10% allocation to hedge funds which is yet to be fully funded, and according to a fiduciary review by Ennis Knupp issued early last month, ERB’s alternatives allocations are expected to be funded over the next few years.
As at 30 September
17/02/2010
The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), one of the largest Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) in the UK, continues to lag behind its peers when it comes to hedge fund investing, although it is showing an early interest.
The pension, which had £3.6bn ($5.61bn) as at March 2008, has yet to make any hedge fund investments, although its investment staff and board continue to research and be educated on them.
In December, LPFA discussed the benefits of hedge funds during an investment committee meeting and showed interest in investigating in “a Brevan Howard-type fund”, according
