03/07/2008

HFMWeek Snapshot - 3 July

NEWSPAPERS & WIRES

Samuel Israel, the former hedge fund manager who had been on the run for almost a month since faking his own death, was yesterday taken into custody in Massachusetts. The office of Michael Garcia, US attorney, confirmed that Israel surrendered to police in Southwick, Massachusetts. Israel was charged in a criminal complaint with failure to appear in court, or bail-jumping. He could face an additional ten years in prison on this charge and was ordered to return to New York to face trial, according to various reports.

The Children's Investment Fund, the London-based activist hedge fund, is at the sharp end of the fight over disclosure of covert stakes in companies built up through derivatives. TCI, run by the secretive Chris Hohn, lost a court battle against the US rail network CSX last month, with the judge ruling that the fund should have announced a holding via derivatives that peaked at almost 14% – even though the Securities and Exchange Commission backed the fund's view that disclosure was not required under US law, reports the FT.

Hedge funds will no longer be able to build secret stakes in companies, after the UK Financial Services Authority announced it plans to introduce unexpectedly strict rules on the disclosure of derivatives. The regulator said big holdings through contracts for difference – which give investors economic exposure to share price moves but no voting rights – should be disclosed as if they were shares, the FT reports.

LAUNCHES

Fincere, an emerging markets hedge fund manager, has announced the launch of a new fund targeting global emerging markets. The fund will launch with seed capital of $20m. It has a projected soft-close target of US$250m after two years. The fund is targeting annual returns of between 15 and 20% net of fees, with a target volatility of no more than 20%. The minimum investment in the fund will be $100,000.

New York-based foreign exchange management firm, Tri Global FX, has launched a hedge fund with about $50m. The Cable Forex Fund invests in all G8 currencies, and the Australian and New Zealand dollars, as well as in cross pairs. The fund is run by head trader Greg Cotter, a former chief trader at Société Générale

PEOPLE MOVES

Gartmore is strengthening its hedge fund distribution in Europe with the hire of Ana Tomic. Tomic was named business development director for hedge funds. She joins the London firm from Gandhara Capital, a global equity long/short hedge fund, where she focused on fundraising, sales and marketing. In her new post, she will focus on building Gartmore’s alternative investment products in Europe.

Standard Life Investments, the global investment manager, has strengthened its commitment to the US market with the promotion of William Perry to Chief Executive Officer of its subsidiary Standard Life Investments Limited. Perry was previously Managing Director.

John Coomber, formerly of Swiss Re, has joined Pension Corporation’s management team as Executive Vice Chairman Pension Corporation. Coomber will be responsible specifically for managing the day-to-day operations and finances of Pension Insurance Corporation, alongside Edmund Truell, Chief Executive Officer of Pension Corporation.

Cynthia B. Walsh of Crown Point has been appointed to a two-year term on the board of trustees of the Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund (PERF). Walsh, formerly a member of the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund (TRF) board, was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels to replace Kathy Ettensohn, who announced her departure from the PERF board at its April 18 meeting.

Rachel Minard has been named President of Cogo Wolf Asset Management, a multi-asset fund of hedge funds (FoHF) firm. Minard is charged with engineering future growth at the top-performing, independent FoHF firm, which is wholly owned by the firm’s three partners.