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.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Morningstar presented their monthly analysis of hedge fund performance for November and asset flows through October.
"Hedge funds have a long path to recovery ahead of them," said Hedge Fund Analyst Nadia Papagiannis. "November was a better month than the last two, mostly because hedge funds hoarded cash, but they are still losing money on their investments and facing the ongoing challenge of funding investor redemptions."
Hedge funds slid again in November, as the Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index lost 2.5% for the month and 23.7% year to date. Hedged against the appreciating U.S. dollar, the asset-weighted Morningstar Composite Hedge Fund with MSCI Index fared better dropping only 0.8%. Hedge funds charge performance fees on any new profits earned, but those have been scarce since November 2007.
Compounding the funds’ pain, investors have responded to the lackluster performance by pulling more than $20 billion in October, which accounts for the bulk of the $29 billion withdrawn over the last 12 months from hedge funds.
Hedge funds of funds performed better than multi-strategy hedge funds this month, as the Morningstar Hedge Fund of Funds and the Morningstar Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund Indexes dropped 2.3% and 3.0% respectively.
November returns and October asset flows for the Morningstar Hedge Fund Indexes are based on funds that reported as of Dec. 16, 2008. Returns for the Morningstar Hedge Fund Indexes with MSCI are based on funds that reported November performance as of Dec. 14, 2008.
As announced in September 2008, Morningstar is also now calculating hedge fund indexes by applying the MSCI Hedge Fund Index Methodology and Hedge Fund Classification Standard to Morningstar’s hedge fund database. These indexes demonstrate the performance of hedge funds to investors who have hedged their currency exposure back into U.S. dollars. The MSCI Hedge Fund Index Methodology classifies hedge funds by investment process, geography, and asset class.
But the news was not all doom and gloom. Once again, the Morningstar Global Trend and Global Non-trend Hedge Fund Indexes performed well, funds in these categories experienced outflows during October, global trend funds saw overall inflows of $9 billion for the first 10 months of the year, more than every other category. Emerging markets fared poorly, as dwindling demand for commodities depressed the equities in commodity-based economies. The Morningstar Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Index lost 5.1% in November.
The Morningstar Developed Asia Hedge Fund Index’s relatively small loss of 0.3% was bolstered by the Bank of Japan’s interest rate cut and stimulus package announcement. The Morningstar Japan with MSCI Hedge Fund Index gained 0.5%. U.S. equity hedge funds performed among the worst this month, small capitalization equities took a beating in November, but most hedge funds hedged, as the Morningstar US Small Cap Equity Hedge Fund Index ended down only 4.6%, as compared to the Russell 2000 Index’s almost 12% decline.
The Morningstar Security Selection with MSCI Hedge Fund Index, with component funds that also take directional bets on equities, lost 2.7%. For the year to date through October, directional Europe and U.S. equity funds experienced significantly more outflows than other categories. Funds that kept a lid on market exposure fared relatively well this month. U.S. Treasuries across the board showed the largest monthly gain in decades amid poor economic data, fears of deflation, and a government plan to buy U.S. mortgage-backed securities.
The Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index, a global, broadly representative benchmark for hedge fund performance, has return history from January 2003.
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West Palm Beach, Dec 15, 2008 – Adding to its array of new and interactive features, HedgeCo.Net has unveiled the Hedge Fund blog platform, which provides both accredited investors and the general public the rare opportunity to view the world of hedge funds through the eyes of the industry experts themselves.
The HedgeCo.Net blogs provide a much anticipated compilation of expert analysis and opinion, while giving the user a detailed look into the minds and biases of industry gurus, which are all too often absent in mainstream media.
HedgeCo has already gathered a group of experts who will be contributing their timely knowledge to HedgeCo’s audience through the blogs. Topics will include everything from regulation issues and political influence, to due diligence procedures and tips on investing.
"Over the years HedgeCo.Net has worked towards promoting transparency in the Hedge Fund industry," explains HedgeCo Co-Founder Evan Rapoport. "The HedgeCo.Net database has gone a long way to provide simple communication between accredited investors and hedge funds. The Hedge Fund blogs further promote this idea by providing a way for the general public to get a glimpse into the lives of hedge fund professionals. The traffic and response we have gotten so far has been very positive."
To peruse the blogs or post a response, visit http://www.hedgeco.net/blogs.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – FactSet Research Systems Inc. announced the first quarter results ending November 30, 2008, showed revenue increase to $155.6 million, an increase of 16% compared to the prior year.
Operating income for the first quarter advanced to $51.3 million, up 21% from $42.5 million in the same period of fiscal 2008. Net income rose to $35.6 million as compared to $29.4 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share increased to $0.73, up from $0.58 in the same period of fiscal 2008. Included in the just completed first quarter were income tax benefits of $1.4 million or $0.03 per diluted share related to the reenactment of the U.S. Federal R&D credit in October 2008, retroactive to January 1, 2008. The first quarter of fiscal 2009 marked the first full quarter of operations for FactSet Fundamentals. FactSet Fundamentals increased revenues by $0.8 million and reduced diluted earnings per share by $0.03 per share.
Philip A. Hadley, Chairman and CEO said, "Our earnings results in the first quarter clearly demonstrate the strength of FactSet’s business model. In the most turbulent three moths for our clients in decades, FactSet was able to find productivity solutions for them and grow both our ASV and EPS."
ASV increased $7.0 million when excluding currency effects during the first quarter and rose 14.5% or $78.4 million over the prior year. Including foreign exchange, ASV increased $5.2 million during the quarter.
ASV was $620 million at November 30, 2008. Of this total, 79% of ASV is derived from buy-side institutions and the remainder derives from the sell-side firms who perform M&A advisory work and equity research. Many sources are predicting that the current market turmoil will result in a reduction of the number of hedge funds. The contribution from hedge funds to FactSet’s total ASV is 6%. ASV at any given point in time represents the forward-looking revenues for the next 12 months from all annual subscription services currently being supplied to clients.
The company will host a conference call today, December 16, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. (EST) to review the first quarter fiscal 2009 earnings release. To listen, please visit the investor relations section of the Company’s website at www.factset.com.
About FactSet
FactSet Research Systems Inc. combines integrated financial information, analytical applications, and client service to enhance the workflow and productivity of the global investment community. The Company, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, was formed in 1978 and now conducts operations from more than twenty-three locations worldwide.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Alternative money managers and hedge fund restructuring advisers, Grisons Peak and IGS, have formed a joint venture to launch the Alternative Investment Merchant Banking (AIMB). The AIMB is to advise on M&A and restructuring deals for firms in the alternative assets industry, the business will be co-led by Paul Sullivan, Partner of Grisons Peak, and John Godden, CEO of IGS Group..
“With a 30% decline in AUM and an expected 50% decrease in the number of Fund managers and no incentive fees for 2008," John Godden, CEO of IGS Group, said, "we will see a continuing surge in merger and acquisitions activity as the Hedge Fund industry goes into an accelerated Darwinian phase. The alternative assets industry has traditionally been formed of boutiques which make for particular and complex merger issues requiring specialist knowledge of both Hedge Funds and M&A expertise.”
“The reduction in AUM in 2008 and the expected continuation of this trend in 2009 will increase the pressure on the owners and managers of alternative investment firms. Many of these firms will seek partners in order to improve profitability and increase their attractiveness to investors.” Paul Sullivan, Partner of Grisons Peak, concluded.
The 50:50 joint venture AIMB targets UK and European deals deal involving single fund managers with AUM of between $250m to $750m or Fund of Hedge Fund managers with AUM of between $400m and $1bn.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - In the monthly report from Dow Jones Indexes on the performance of Hedge Fund Strategy Benchmarks, only one of four strategies, merger arbitrage, posted net-of-fee gains in November.
After hedge funds experienced two of the most volatile months in market history, merger arbitrage emerged with a small positive net-of-fee gain in November, returning 0.15%. The small gain held YTD performance for merger arbitrage at approximately the same level as last month, down about -9%.
Convertible arbitrage was hit the hardest with a loss of -4.80%, followed by event driven and distressed securities, which were down -6.35% and -7.47%, respectively, for November.
The equity market neutral and equity long/short benchmarks were suspended at the start of the month as a result of the temporary risk mitigation measures taken by the investment manager of the managed account platform that supports the Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy Benchmarks. It has not been determined when calculation of these benchmarks will resume.
On a float-adjusted basis, the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, the only broad measure of the domestic equity market, lost -8% (-8.15% on a full-cap basis) in November decreasing its YTD return to -38.30% (-38.37% on a full-cap basis).
The fixed income asset class, as measured by the Dow Jones Corporate Bond Index was up 4.88% this month and its cumulative return is down -5.99% for the year. Finally, the Dow Jones Wilshire Global Index, the broadest measure of global equity market, lost -6.73% for the month decreasing its YTD return to -44.68% for 2008.
November 2008 figures for the Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy Benchmarks are based on daily estimates net of fees.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Vienna based hedge fund manager Salus Alpha Group Services GmbH said that any exposure to Madoff funds were systematically prevented by the proprietary investment approach of their funds at all times.
"I am not shocked that Madoff did blow up but I am shocked that so many obviously unqualified naive fund of hedge fund managers who are obviously doing no due diligence nor do they understand hedge fund strategies do manage so much amounts of money and wonder why this happened to them" said Oliver Prock, CIO of Salus Alpha.
"We never invested into US and UK hedge funds which work under the rules of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’," the hedge fund manager said, "We always scrutinized this model by one simple question to the biggest hedge fund manager?. A ‘No’ always meant that there are problems behind such as in the Madoff situation."
The investment approach of Salus Alpha consists of state of the art due diligence and executing investments as managed accounts only, which the fund manager says has prevented and will prevent the company at from investing into Illusion Alpha.
"We did not get any inquiry form existing investors since they know that all funds Salus Alpha manages are fully regulated under UCITS III and do invest in liquid alpha strategies through managed accounts only and are therefore protected at all times," Salus Alpha concluded.
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Forbes – In the December issue of Dan Wiener’s newsletter, "The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors," Wiener interviews James Barrow, lead manager for $31 billion Vanguard Windsor II, and learns that the venerated value manager believes that hedge fund liquidations should cease by the end of the year, taking a good deal of volatility and downward pressure out of the markets.
Barrow told Wiener that: "All of that money the banks loaned the hedge funds is getting called in. They are selling these guys out. Not only are these guys getting redeemed by their investors, they’re getting redeemed by their lenders. I don’t know how long this has to go on–it’ll obviously be over by the end of the year, but it could be pretty bloody between now and then."
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - US-based Stream Asset Management announced the launch of a credit dislocation fund and a multi-strategy credit hedge fund, the company said in a press statement.
The move is part of Gulf Stream’s aggressive expansion strategy to capitalise on current market opportunities. To further support the firm’s growth, Gulf Stream has also opened a New York City office, the statement added.
Earlier this year, Istithmar World Capital, the private equity and alternative investment arm of Istithmar World, acquired a majority stake in Gulf Stream. Gulf Stream Asset Management is majority owned by Istithmar World Capital.
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Seekingalpha.com - Moore, named after Bacon’s middle name, is a $10 billion global macro set of hedge funds. The next few funds we will be covering are global macro oriented funds, which is a switch from some of the more value oriented funds we’ve been covering, like the ‘Tiger Cub’ funds including Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital, Lee Ainslie’s Maverick Capital, John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital, and Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global.
Global macro funds seek to find investments in whatever market they can gain an edge, whether it be equities, bonds, currencies, debt, commodities, and more. So, keep in mind that these equity positions only represent a portion of the fund’s overall holdings. They are not required to disclose holdings outside of equities, notes, and stock options.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - The Opalesque South Africa Roundtable was held November 10th 2008 in their Cape Town Office. There, the participants also discussed the particularities of investing in Africa (ex-South Africa).
South Africa’s equity and fixed income markets displayed exemplary robustness during 2008. Many global allocators may not be aware that the South African financial market infrastructure matches or exceeds its "first world" counterparts in many respects.
The equity and fixed income markets demonstrated exemplary robustness throughout the turbulences of 2008: no short-selling ban, no trading halt and no failed trades. Offshore investors can benefit from efficient and proven ways to get pure South African alpha without taking currency risk.
During the Roundtable, portfolio managers explained new ways to construct hedges, and informed on new and upcoming products. How global investors can benefit from the "Africa story", which is probably the largest opportunity set in the new investment paradigm called "frontier investing"? How do you deal with restricted liquidity, and is Africa really uncorrelated?
The following experts participated in the Opalesque South Africa Roundtable: James Gubb, Founding Partner of Clear Horizon Capital St. John Bungey, Partner, Praesidium Capital Management James Addo, Portfolio Manager, Finch Asset Management Simone Lowe, Portfolio Manager, Thames River Capital Andy Pfaff, Founding Partner of Trendline Funds Ian Hamilton, Founder, IDS Group Ryan Proudfoot, Co-Head RMB Prime Broking Warren Chapman, Head of Peregrine Prime Broking Kevin Ewer, Portfolio Manager, Blue Ink Investments.
South African hedge fund managers and hedge fund investors share surprising insights. For example, – South African single strategy hedge funds offer transparency "far superior to anything anywhere else", according to investors – South African hedge funds suffered their first – and only until that point – net redemptions in October 2008, but only 2.5% of total assets – South Africa is the first country in the world that actually distinguishes between normal fund managers and hedge fund managers, with higher criteria required for hedge fund managers.
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Gold Seek – Risk has quickly regained its status as a four-letter word.
No one wants to hear about it and no one wants to think about it. But those willing to take it on (pragmatically, mind you) will likely earn greater rewards than they would have at any other point in the past twenty years.
Right now, the herd is absolutely afraid of any risk at all…even good risks. My case in point is when the bond market went upside-down again yesterday. Investors were buying up the “safest” assets in the world as fast as they could.
At one point in the day, T-bills were yielding less than zero. Essentially, someone was willing to lend the government money for nothing, absolutely zero, in return.
It’s like selling dollar bills for 99 cents. It just doesn’t make any sense, but it does prove one thing; practically no one is willing to take on any risk right now. No one knows what’s going to happen next and the sidelines are a cozy, warm, and safe place to be. I can hear the beaten down hedge fund managers (that still has a job) now, “I may not get ahead, but I’m not going to fall behind either.”
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Hedge fund manager OakRun Capital announced the appointment of Rolando Hermoso as director of funds. Their newly launched Short Term High Yield Fund also delivered November annualized yield of 9.58%.
Hermoso has over 27 years in the investment banking industry at various senior executive levels specializes primarily in the structuring, marketing and the execution of structured finance products. With 10 years at the Bank of America he was also Head of the Investment Bank for Citicorp for Venezuela and the Antilles. He holds Masters degrees in Management and Operations Research from Stanford University and B.S. degrees in applied mathematics and physics.
The Cayman Islands exempted fund launched on October 1st and came in at 9.48% annualized in its first month. The fund’s objective is to generate above average current income with a lower overall credit risk profile and maintain a stable NAV.
"We do not believe that simply managing for relative performance is satisfactory to our clients or ourselves." says Scott Rhodenizer, Founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer, "While we work to outperform the markets, we strive to do so without excessive risk."
HedgeCo.Net is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
