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 funds are well positioned for a good year in 2010 and are likely to continue their momentum into the end of the year. This should lead to additional gains for investors during the month of December, Hennessee research shows. Because of this optimistic forecast, hedge fund managers are ramping up their fund raising efforts.
In an effort to match up investors with hedge funds looking for new allocations, HedgeCo held the Fall 2009 Capital Introduction Round Tables. The event attracted 65 investors and 6 hedge fund managers. The investors were separated into 6 groups, while the hedge fund managers rotated at 20 minute intervals, enabling the investors to address each manager individually.
“Unlike other capital introduction events where the ratio of managers to investors is small, we take pride that our events have a substantial qualified investor turnout.” Evan Rapoport, co-founder of HedgeCo Networks, said, “As a result of our conferences, investors have reported notable asset increases.”
“I’ve been to a lot of capital introduction events, and as a veteran hedge fund manager I can say that this has been the best event so far.” Kurt Hovan, manager of Hovan Capital Management, said of the event, “The HedgeCo team did a terrific job in putting together a group of high quality investors, and giving the managers a format which enabled direct interaction with every investor. I look forward to attending future events.”
The next event will be held mid-to-late January in NYC, it will also be a Round Table format and HedgeCo is currently accepting applications for new managers to present their funds to members of the alternative investment community.
Recognized as having the largest attendance for any type of event in the hedge fund industry, the HedgeCo Networking Events have quickly become the top destination for generating new business and meeting new industry contacts. “We hope to continue having these events and keeping the hedge fund community well networked.” Andrew Schneider, co-founder of HedgeCo Networks, said.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – According to investors, hedge fund manager John Paulson, who through Paulson& Co., has raised over $1 billion for clients, has plans to launch a fund dedicated to buying up shares of bullion-related investments.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the gold fund will aim to outperform gold prices, by investing in gold-related shares and derivatives. Paulson currently has more than 10% of his $30 billion or so under management in gold-related investments, according to his investors.
“Gold has gone up 10% since the start of the month,” Andrew Schneider, co-founder of HedgeCo Networks, said, “Investors may also see gold as a hedge against US dollar fluctuations.”
John Paulson is best known for his bet against financial companies before the credit crisis which some have speculated earned his firm as much as $15 billion in 2007.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – At a seminar held yesterday, Starting A Hedge Fund In The Post-Madoff Era, organized by Andrew Schneider and Hedgeco Networks, 220 managers, investors and service providers came together at the U.S. Trust Building to hear Joe Goldstein, Ron Geffner, Ron Suber, Merlin Securities and others discuss the future of startups in the hedge fund industry.
“As a presenter I was very happy to see many start up funds in the audience as well as investors and service providers.” Joe Goldstein from G&S Fund Services said, “I think it was a good environment for someone looking for the right information to plan and succeed in establishing a a start up hedge fund. It is typical that in post-Madoff period fund managers embrace the importance of a good infrastructure in gaining investor confidence and building a good fund.”
After the speeches were drinks and networking, where the guest speakers mingled with investors. The general feeling among attendees was the the importance of knowing top of the line service providers, ones that stand out and have a prominent reputation.
“After the collapse of Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme, hedge fund infrastructure has come to the forefront in the industry.” Andrew Schneider, founder and co-principal of HedgeCo Networks said, “Investors are performing in-depth due diligence and looking for robust infrastructure before committing their capital. This is especially true for new hedge funds. Potential investors are relying heavily on the reputations of a hedge fund service providers including third-party administrators, auditing firms, prime brokerage houses, and legal counsel to prevent fraud and massive failures like never before.”
New York (HedgeCo.net) – Hedge fund manager Paulson will own 9.9% of private health insurance company Conseco’s common stock after a private share sale, buying $77.9 million in stock and warrants.
Paulson & Co. Inc., on behalf of several hedge funds and accounts he manages will also have certain registration rights in connection with its acquisition of the common stock and warrants.
“This is a bold move,” said Andrew Schneider, founder and co-principal of HedgeCo Networks. “With the current healthcare debate in full swing, the timing is everything. But then, this is the kinds of risk we’ve come to expect from Paulson.” Paulson made $2.5 billion last year, hedging against the U.S. housing market.
Paulson’s warrants will also convert to common stock at $6.50 a share. Conseco rose 78 cents, or 16%, to $5.77 at 7:47 p.m. in late New York trading. The shares have dropped about 68% in the past two years.
Conseco, run by Chief Executive Officer James Prieur, will also file for a public offering of $200 million in new common stock and will sell $293 million in convertible notes. The bond proceeds will be used to repurchase existing notes, the company said. The new debt, due in 2016, will pay investors 7%.
Paulson earned an estimated $2.5 billion last year, according to Institutional Investor’s Alpha Magazine. His Credit Opportunities Fund soared almost sixfold in 2007 on bets that subprime mortgages would plummet. Last year, his flagship fund returned 37 %, compared with a loss of 19% for hedge funds on average.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – HedgeCo Networks announced the creation of a new Hedge Fund Calculator Professional Services team. The team consists of experienced graphic designers, hedge fund marketers and consultants, CAIAs and CFAs.
The HedgeCo Hedge Fund Calculator has been in use by HedgeCo.Net for over 7 years, creating tens of thousands of hedge fund performance reports. In the first ninety days after its inception, the HedgeCo Hedge Fund Calculator gained widespread recognition and attracted hundreds of hedge funds who generated thousands of analytical reports.
"The addition of our Professional Services team will make our offering incredibly compelling, especially for managers aiming to save time, cut costs and produce high quality performance reports for their investors and prospective investors," stated Aaron Wormus, Managing Director of HedgeCo Networks. "The combination of ground-breaking technology and relevant expertise enables us to create reports with a lead time of as little as 24 hours. Managers no longer need to spend countless hours and thousands of dollars on complicated software. We consult with each client individually to produce personalized reports at a fraction of the price of other solutions in the marketplace."
HedgeCo Networks LLC manages HedgeCo.Net along with a portfolio of nine other websites devoted to alternative investments. With over 25,000 active members, HedgeCo.Net offers a vast array of hedge fund services, including website design, consultation, and third-party marketing and seeding. The Company has consulted or helped to launch over 500 new hedge funds, both onshore and offshore. HedgeCo Networks was founded in 2001 by Evan Rapoport and Andrew Schneider.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – The recent wave of scandal related to hedge funds and funds of funds has made investors think twice about investing in self-administrated funds, see ‘Andrew Schneider on Nadel Funds’.
Dermot Butler, Chairman of alternative fund administrator, Custom House Group, said, “In today’s new investment environment, more than ever hedge funds and funds-of-funds must have independent outside administrators as a foundation to help rebuild investor confidence and attract new investment capital.”
Fund administrators, such as the $35 billion Custom House Group, provide a range of services to funds and fund-of-funds including (but not limited to), fund accounting, portfolio valuation, NAV calculation and shareholder services as well as anti-money laundering services and reconciliation services and record-keeping functions.
“In anything less than an independent fund administration relationship, there is at the very least a perception that a conflict of interest may exist that could prevent objective verification of a fund’s investment activities and even the existence of underlying assets in a given fund, let alone an objective and accurate valuation of the fund’s assets,” Butler said. “This perceived conflict may occur when an outside administrator is affiliated with a financial institution, with an investment manager, or when the administrator is associated with a hedge fund itself.”
“As stand-alone companies, independent administrators have no affiliations to any outside financial entities, et ergo, no such conflicts exist,” he concluded.
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