Each business day HedgeCo.Net keeps you informed with the top hedge fund industry news, opinion and insight from around the globe. From the latest hedge fund launches, to the impact of regulation, competition, and investor activism - we track the topics and people that make a difference to you.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – Hedge fund risk and portfolio management service, TFG Systems, is extending its market leading, hosted platform to provide an outsourced operations service to UK hedge funds.
TFG will offer hedge funds an outsourced operations service, leveraging their industry expertise to manage fund operations, covering: trade confirmation, trade related settlements, trade feeds to relevant counterparties, reconciliation, and reporting.
Marc Sharman has been appointed to implement this new venture. Marc joins TFG Systems from Stoneworks Asset Management LLP where he was a partner and Head of Operations. Prior to co-founding Stoneworks in May 2006, Marc was head of credit operations at Caxton Europe Asset Management Ltd. He was responsible for all aspects of the middle and back office, prime broker, and liaison with broker and fund administrators.
“I found TFG Complete to be a powerful tool; at Stoneworks we used it for all aspects of fund operations.” Marc said of his new role, “It is the only system I have experienced which, for trade capture, reconciliation and position accounting right through to real time risk reporting has exceeded my expectations. I am excited to join the TFG team and build their outsourced operations business.”
Martin Toyer, CEO, TFG Systems said, “I am very pleased to welcome Marc to TFG. Combining his experiences of building an efficient operations teams with TFG’s highly regarded focus on our clients allows us to extend our service beyond software. We now provide a fully managed offering which reaches beyond the standard middle office functions enabling hedge funds to fully outsource their operations.”
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30th April 2012 – Trinity Fund Administration is partnering with eClerx, a global provider of knowledge and business process outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry and Arbour Financial Systems, a fund management software provider.
Together these three market leaders are launching TotalHedge3 a full service hedge fund and managed account platform encompassing fund administration, operations, and technology services.
TotalHedge3 is an integrated package of services and technology designed to enhance operational controls, minimize fixed costs and satisfy the needs of institutional investors for maximum transparency through a full range of services–from fund incorporation to day-to-day management–creating consistency in approach and implementation of best practices. On-boarding and implementation may be completed in record time, while guiding users through the whole life-cycle of trade processing, providing front, middle and back office support, including compliance and technology support.
TotalHedge3 is fully customisable, allowing asset managers to choose from a broad range of services and applications in order to meet their specific needs. It is designed to meet the needs of all managers, in particular emerging fund managers seeking a solution which ensures a sound operational system in order to focus their attention on trading strategy and asset raising.
John McCann, Managing Director of Trinity Fund Administration commented, “We have seen a significant rise in emerging managers this year and the launch of TotalHedge3 addresses this important and thriving part of the hedge fund market. The integrated service offering empowers fund managers with a turnkey solution, tackling intensifying cost pressures within the market-place, as well as satisfying institutional investors infrastructure requirements, allowing managers to focus primarily on investing and client relationships rather than regulatory and operational matters. We look forward to working with eClerx and Arbour Financial to offer this full service alternative investment platform”.
Key functionality includes:
Trade Processing — front to back support covering trade capture, affirmations, confirmations and settlements using workflow tools and best practices to minimize operational risk
Fund Administration — comprehensive fund administrative series in portfolio valuation, NAV calculation, fund accounting and bespoke reporting
Technology — complete and fully hosted solution including administrator and prime broker connectivity
Compliance — full service solution for both pre and post trade compliance
Tax, Audit and Regulatory Support — design robust operational and regulatory infrastructure for both start-up and established hedge funds, as well as a proactive approach to manage audit and tax process in order to fulfill various regulatory requirements e.g. Form PF.
About Trinity Fund Administration
Trinity Fund Administration Limited is a global boutique hedge fund solutions company providing middle and back office services to a wide range of investment funds and private vehicles operating predominantly in the alternative investment arena.
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Press Release – SS&C Technologies, a global provider of investment and financial software-enabled services and software, today announced that SS&C Fund Services has been recognized as “Best Administrator – Fund of Hedge Fund Provider Over $30bn”. The award which was presented at the 5th annual HFMWeekEuropean Performance Awards luncheon on March 28, 2012 in London, UK, is an annual program recognizing hedge fund service providers which are producing tangible benefits for their customers and can demonstrate revenue growth, innovation and customer satisfaction.
A panel of senior level industry representatives assessed nominations to determine eligibility and best performers in each category. SS&C was nominated in six categories: “Best Administrator – Client Service Provider Over $30bn”, “Most Innovative Fund Administrator – Over $30bn”, “Best Administrator – Small and Start-Up Firms”, “Best Administrator – Managed Account Services”, ”Best Administrator – Technology Provider” and “Best Administrator – Fund of Hedge Fund Provider Over $30bn”, the category that it won.
Accepting the award was Dave Reid, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, International. “I am delighted that SS&C has received the “Best Administrator – Over $30bn Fund of Hedge Funds Award” from HFMWeek. The award recognizes SS&C’s wealth of experience, best practices and technology, as well as our deep understanding of the EMEA’s business environment.”
“Earning this award confirms the continued strength of our scalable cloud capabilities, operational expertise and leading edge proprietary platforms,” said Punit Satsangi, Managing Director of EMEA Business Development. “This award complements our “Best Administration – Technology Provider” win at last year’s HFMWeek U.S. ceremony. SS&C continues to innovate leading-edge web portal technology, iPad applications and mobile platforms to differentiate SS&C in a rapidly changing market place. Collectively this recognition reflects our commitment to partner with fund managers while delivering mission-critical tools and transparency.”
At December 31, 2011, SS&C’s global fund administration business had US $228 billion in assets under administration and over 600 staff to service the global hedge fund, fund of funds, private equity and managed accounts industry. A full-service independent fund administrator, SS&C provides middle- and back-office services on its proprietary technology platform, among them net asset value computations, risk analytics, investor services and reporting and web services.
About SS&C Technologies
SS&C is a global provider of investment and financial software-enabled services and software focused exclusively on the global financial services industry. Founded in 1986, SS&C has its headquarters in Windsor, Connecticut and offices around the world. 5,000 financial services organizations, from the world’s largest to local financial services organizations, manage and account for their investments using SS&C’s products and services. These clients in the aggregate manage over $16 trillion in assets.
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New York (HedgeCo.net) – Single-manager hedge funds with greater than $1 billion under management account for a mere 3.9% of reporting funds, but they control about 60% of the total single-manager hedge fund assets, according to a study conducted by PerTrac.
According to the study, 322 single-manager hedge funds reported having AUMs in excess of $1 billion in 2011, for a total of $1.08 trillion in AUM. Despite their dominance, there was only a 1.40% year-over-year increase in the assets of billion-dollar-plus funds in 2011 based on those that reported their results. (Some funds do not report to any database).
“The flight to size continues for hedge fund investors,” said Jed Alpert, Managing Director of Global Marketing at PerTrac. “Investors continue to view larger hedge funds as a better, safer bet even though industry data, including our own, indicates that smaller funds have generally outperformed larger ones.”
The institutional bias towards size also applied to funds of hedge funds (FoHFs). The number of reporting FoHFs managing greater than $1 billion in assets climbed by nearly 18% in 2011. Yet overall, the number of FoHFs declined 4.80% in 2011 to 3,388.
The study also found that single-manager hedge fund and FoHF managers located in the United States manage approximately $950 billion, or 42.3% of the total reported AUM. The United Kingdom has the second highest amount, with $574 billion in assets under management, or 25.6% of the total reported AUM.
The study also found among reporting funds that:
Overall, the number of single-manager hedge funds and FoHFs increased to 13,395, a growth of 3.73% from 2010 to 2011.
The AUM of single-manager hedge funds and FoHFs expanded by 3.37% to reach $2.245 trillion at the end of 2011.
More than half of all single-manager hedge funds and FoHFs are denominated in US Dollars and 77% are denominated in either US Dollars or Euros.
The number of single-manager hedge funds increased by 6.98% in 2011, reaching 10,007 funds.
The AUM of single-manager hedge funds was $1.798 trillion at the end of 2011, an increase of 4.2% from 2010.
PerTrac provides software solutions for investment professionals at the fund-level of investing, including pensions, family offices, hedge funds, long-only managers, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, funds of hedge funds and industry service providers. More than 1,400 organizations in 50 countries rely on PerTrac software solutions to help them maximize returns, reduce risk and operate more efficiently. Founded in 1996, PerTrac is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Reno, and Memphis.
Investment News – B. Robert Williamson Jr., a money manager at Chilton Investment Co. and nephew of hedge fund pioneer Julian Robertson, for whom he once worked, died during a visit to his native North Carolina on April 22. He was 55.
His body was found in a car pulled from the Intracoastal Waterway near a boat ramp on Figure Eight Island, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Sgt. J.J. Brewer said.
Economic Times – Och-Ziff, the $30-billion New York-based hedge fund, has frozen secondary market stock investments in India due to soaring compliance costs and muddled tax policies, four people familiar with the development said.
Sumit Choudhary, the Hong Kong-based managing director of the firm who was overseeing India investments, recently left the company as it has ‘nearly shut its India desk’ said one of the persons familiar with the fund’s operations but who did not want to be identified.
CNBC – Hedge fund managers make for unlikely supporters of François Hollande, the French socialist presidential candidate, the Financial Times reports.
But it is Mr Hollande’s potential victory in the coming second round of the French elections, and with it a sharp deterioration in sentiment surrounding France’s creditworthiness in the bond market, that many hedge funds are now anticipating.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – The hedge fund division (Wells Fargo Securities) of $1.3 trillion financial services company Wells Fargo, has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Merlin Securities, a prime brokerage services and hedge fund tech provider.
“Merlin’s capabilities fill an important niche in Wells Fargo Securities’ product set and connect many activities where we already have expertise, including technology, custody, clearing, collateral management and execution,” said John Shrewsberry, head of Wells Fargo Securities. “This is a logical extension of our offering to the investment industry, which is increasingly focused on tools to enhance risk management and improve capital efficiency. In addition, it provides new cross-sell opportunities for existing customers of both Wells Fargo and Merlin. This transaction enhances our ability to meet customer needs and generate earnings for our shareholders, all while adhering to our disciplines of prudent risk management and controlled growth.”
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
As part of the transaction, Merlin’s team members will join Wells Fargo Securities. Managing partners Stephan Vermut and Aaron Vermut will continue to lead the Prime Services Offering. Merlin and Wells Fargo Securities will work closely with existing clients to continue to provide uninterrupted service and focus on clients’ ongoing needs.
“Wells Fargo is the perfect partner for Merlin and its clients,” said Merlin’s Stephan Vermut. “Together, our clients will have access to a greater range of products and financial resources that will augment the open architecture solutions that Merlin currently provides. This combination will enable us to expand our client base to a broader set of asset managers looking for the safest custodians and the best products available.”
The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close during the third quarter of 2012. Greenhill & Co. served as financial advisor and Arnold & Porter served as counsel to Merlin. Wells Fargo Securities served as its own financial advisor with Morgan Lewis as counsel.
Merlin is a technology solutions provider and prime brokerage services firm offering integrated solutions to the alternative investment industry. The firm serves more than 500 single- and multi-primed managers, providing them with a broad suite of solutions including dynamic performance attribution analytics and reporting, seamless multi-custody services, capital development, 24-hour international trading, securities lending experts and institutional brokerage. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, San Diego and Toronto. Merlin is a member of FINRA and SIPC.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – The “Open Your Heart to the Children” Benefit, organized by the Hedge Funds Care Midwest Committee of Hearts, will raffle a new 2012 Fisker Karma Sedan, the world’s first high-style, high-performance luxury electric car, at a gala celebrating HFC Midwest’s 10 years raising funds for the prevention and treatment of child abuse.
The evening will feature a host of activities, including a silent auction where attendees can bid for a paid summer internship at AlphaMetrix, a leading online marketplace for the hedge fund industry.
The 10th Anniversary gala will take place May 23, 2012, from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Central Time, at Venue One (1044 West Randolph Street, Chicago).
The Karma, which has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $107,850, was provided to Hedge Funds Care with support from Fisker of North Shore, part of the Fields Automotive Group that serves Chicago, Evanston, Lake Forest and Glencoe, Illinois. Raffle tickets cost $500, and only 750 tickets will be sold.
“Fisker of North Shore’s generosity has heightened excitement for this year’s gala because there is so much buzz around the Karma. We are also deeply grateful for the generosity of our corporate sponsors. These donations will allow us to continue supporting existing grantees while expanding to new programs in the coming year,” said Elizabeth Foster, founder of Hedge Funds Care Midwest.
Pat Hubert, general manager of Fisker of North Shore, said she was instantly persuaded to provide a Karma after learning about Hedge Funds Care’s mission from a hedge fund investor. “What better place to donate than to this charity? We are going to help sell tickets because we are very proud to be working for this cause,” Hubert said.
For Aleks Kins, CEO of AlphaMetrix, supporting Hedge Funds Care reflects AlphaMetrix’ track record of demonstrating social responsibility: “We want to be part of this organization’s longstanding commitment to implementing positive change in our communities.”
Additionally, The Kelly Lively Memorial Award, given in recognition of outstanding commitment to Hedge Funds Care, will be presented to Citadel, the Chicago-based global financial institution.
Hedge Funds Care Midwest was founded in 2002 and has awarded 141 grants totaling in excess of $4.8 million since inception. Its Committee of Hearts is co-chaired by Ron Suber, senior partner of Merlin Securities, and Benji Wolken, partner at Ernst & Young LLP.
To register for the event and to purchase raffle tickets, please click here.
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BusinessWeek – Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP co-founder Alan Howard’s personal fortune increased 44 percent over the past year to 1.4 billion pounds ($2.3 billion), putting him at the top of the annual Sunday Times list of wealthiest U.K. hedge fund managers.
His net worth was boosted by the 12 percent gain posted in 2011 by Brevan Howard’s biggest hedge fund, the $26 billion Master Fund. The investment performance helped London-based Brevan Howard generate $1.5 billion of fees, most of which went to Howard, 48, the Sunday Times said in a statement today.
Bloomberg – Gold traders are more bullish after central banks expanded their bullion reserves and hedge funds increased bets on a rally for the first time in three weeks.
Fourteen of 28 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to gain next week and nine were neutral, the highest proportion in two weeks. Mexico, Russia and Turkey added about 44.8 metric tons valued at $2.39 billion to reserves in March, International Monetary Fund data show. Fund managers raised their so-called net-long positions by 2.5 percent in the week ended April 17, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Reuters — A U.S. judge denied a motion to dismiss the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s lawsuit against Arcadia Petroleum and Parnon Energy on Thursday [April 26], saying the regulator had “plausibly alleged” the traders manipulated oil prices in 2008.
The move confirms one the largest ever oil manipulation cases will go ahead, after it was first brought by the CFTC last May. Swiss-based Arcadia and Oklahoma-based Parnon are accused of trying to fix the physical crude oil market to benefit their financial trading positions.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – Hedge fund risk and portfolio management service, TFG Systems, is extending its market leading, hosted platform to provide an outsourced operations service to UK hedge funds.
