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) – Northern Trust has been named the Best Overall Hedge Fund Administrator by HFMWeek in the magazine’s inaugural U.S. Service Provider Awards. The awards recognize companies that have outperformed their peers during 2008-2009 and demonstrated financial progress, growth and genuine innovation.
“Northern Trust was recognized for the strength of its service offering and for demonstrating business momentum and product innovation during a challenging period for the hedge fund industry,” said Lucy Guest, senior publishing executive for HFMWeek.
“The importance of a Third Party Administrator is now being disseminated throughout the industry so that all funds, including start ups, are embracing the need for the service.” Joe Goldstein, Managing Partner at G&S Fund Services, said. “Prior to Madoff, start up and smaller funds were reluctant to use third party administrators even though we provided them with a higher quality of financial management at a lower cost.”
What Goldstein sees as a change in the industry is that the necessity of a hedge fund administrator is now understood by investors. “This change is contributing to the growth of the hedge fund administration business, as funds who were reluctant to use hedge fund administrators are now either turning over their financial administration to a third party, or at very least using them to review and confirm their NAV calculations.” Goldstein said.
Northern Trust has a growing hedge fund servicing business, with assets under administration of $75.5 billion as of June 30, 2009, an increase of 54 percent over the prior year. Northern Trust services nearly 300 hedge funds worldwide as of June 2009, and in the previous 12 months had provided global operations services to more than 120 new fund launches and transitions.
“We’re delighted to be recognized as best overall administrator as it validates our approach of blending innovative technology, strong process and automation with the exceptional service standards that set Northern Trust apart from our competitors,” said Matt Ward, Head of Fund Administration-North America for Northern Trust. “Ultimately this is a service business and our experienced and attentive people are the real strength of our offering.”
Bloomberg – Hedge-fund assets increased by about $34 billion in September, a fifth straight monthly gain, helped by improved investor confidence and global stock market gains, Eurekahedge Pte said.
Net inflows into hedge funds totaled $15.1 billion in September, while performance-based gains made up $18.7 billion, bringing total assets under management to $1.43 trillion, the Singapore-based research firm said in a report posted on its Web site today. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, tracking more than 2,000 funds globally, gained 2.6 percent in September, bringing its year-to-date advance to 16 percent.
Reuters – Francois Barthelemy has had a tough year. The F&C Partners manager saw assets under management in his hedge funds slump by 80 percent as the financial crisis gripped, and revived performance is yet to bring new inflows.
Speaking to Reuters in his office high above the railway tracks into London’s Liverpool Street station, Barthelemy is hopeful for a market recovery which lasts into 2010, but still rails at the knee-jerk response as markets were jolted.
“People panicked and started to leave this space in droves,” Barthelemy said.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – Global fund of hedge funds group, Financial Risk Management and its seeding arm, (FCA), has entered into a strategic relationship with an Asian hedge fund expected to launch at the beginning of December with between $50 and $75 million in assets under management.
The FoHF group will make a significant investment in the first fund to be launched by Isometric Capital Management, owned and managed by Sanjiv Bhatia, the former head of Deephaven Capital Management’s Asia office. The fund is
The fund will use a fundamental research strategy to identify investment opportunities in Asian companies where it can identify a catalyst which will drive investment returns. The fund will invest predominantly in equities although positions will range across the capital structure.
“This deal reinforces the global nature of FCA’s business and is the first investment we have made outside of the US and Europe.” Neil Mason, CIO, FCA says, “Asia is an important focus in our manager research. Asian economies have shown their strength and there are numerous market inefficiencies that hedge funds can profit from. The industry has grown significantly in recent years and there are a number of high quality managers with interesting investment strategies.
Isometric is the third seeding deal announced by FCA in the past four months having previously agreed strategic relationships with JD Capital and WestSpring Advisors.
Guardian – RCM, Allianz’s equity fund management unit, is launching two new hedge fund products aimed at increasing its assets under management in the sector by more than 50 percent, its Chief Investment Officer said. Andreas Utermann told Reuters that RCM will launch, in the next few weeks, a new Luxembourg-domiciled cross-border UCITS equity fund, and will launch a new vehicle which invests across its existing long-short funds within the next two quarters.
He said RCM found that clients — including family offices and private wealth managers — were happier with a Luxembourg UCITS structure than with Cayman Islands-based funds.
Blomberg – Hedge-fund assets increased by $21.4 billion in August as managers completed their best year- to-date return in almost 10 years, driven by rising stock markets amid signs of economic recovery, Eurekahedge Pte said.
Assets grew for a fourth straight month, adding about $100 billion, the largest sustained growth period since the end of 2007, the Singapore-based research firm said in a report posted on its Web site. Net inflows into the industry totaled $12.6 billion in August, while gains through performance were $8.8 billion, bringing total assets under management to $1.38 trillion, the firm said.
Bloomberg – Hedge funds assets increased by $21.4 billion in August, rising for a fourth straight month, as managers investing in Europe outperformed, Eurekahedge Pte said.
Assets grew for a fourth straight month, adding about $100 billion, the largest sustained growth period since the end of 2007, the Singapore-based research firm said in a report posted on its Web site. Net inflows into the industry totaled $12.6 billion in August, while gains through performance were $8.8 billion, bringing total assets under management to $1.38 trillion, the firm said.
Guardian – French Bank Societe Generale’s Lyxor Asset Management expects to double the assets under management in its managed accounts platform to about $25 billion by the end of the year, reclaiming ground it lost in 2008′s wave of redemptions, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
Inflows into Lyxor’s managed account platforms have risen more than 50 percent so far in 2009, taking its total assets under management to $20 billion after they halved in 2008, Antoine Broquereau, head of structuring and alternative investment solutions at Societe Generale Corporate Investment Banking.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – Scandinavian fund of hedge fund manager, Swedbank Robur announced that it is lowering fees by .2% to .4% on its 5 funds, effective October 1st.
“These reductions are in line with our ambition to offer an attractive product range with competitive prices.” Mats Lagerqvist, President of Swedbank Robur, said, “We are always looking for improvements and when it comes to these funds we have identified an opportunity to adjust the fees. It is our strong belief that this new fee structure will be more distinct for our customers since it is easier to understand the relationship between the fund fee and the risk level of the fund”.
Swedbank Robur offers fund of funds under the product name Access. This product category is specifically developed for customers who do not have the time to change their fund portfolio from one day to the other.
“These products are highly appreciated by customers who want a well diversified portfolio. The customers also get access to markets which are otherwise rather inaccessible. The funds deliver not only diversification but also an active reallocation of the underlying funds. Altogether Swedbank Roburs Access funds are an attractive investment alternative for many of our customers and through the reduction of fees we will be even more competitive in terms of pricing”, Lagerqvist said.
Swedbank Robur is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swedbank. Founded in 1967, Robur was one of the first fund managers in Sweden. Managing the capital of 3.1 million investors, in the Swedish mutual fund market, Swedbank Robur has approximately 27% of the assets under management.
Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo.net alex@hedgeco.net 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!
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Third Avenue Management LLC, the investment adviser to the Third Avenue Funds has launched the Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund, capitalizing on credit, distressed and value equity investing.
“The current market environment provides attractive opportunities for experienced credit pickers like Third Avenue Management to generate meaningful returns,” David Barse, Chief Executive Officer of Third Avenue Management, said, “Portfolio Manager Jeff Gary and Senior Research Analyst Thomas Lapointe will lead the effort of managing the new fund.”
Prior to joining Third Avenue, Gary was at BlackRock Financial, which he joined in 2003 as the Portfolio Manager and head of the high-yield and distressed investment team which managed approximately $17 billion in assets in various mutual funds and institutional accounts.
Lapointe will focus on identifying and researching opportunities in high-yield and bank loan investments. Lapointe has over 17 years of investment experience and was previously responsible for managing approximately $6 billion in high-yield assets, as Co-Head of High-Yield Investments for Columbia Management.
“Third Avenue’s style emphasizes credit selection, total return and a deep value approach,” Gary said, “Our opportunistic mandate allows us to invest in a wide range of credit securities – including bank loans, high-yield and convertible securities – that have the best risk-adjusted return potential which distinguishes the Fund from typical high-yield funds.”
The fund will offer two classes of shares, Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund Investor Class, and Third Avenue Focused Credit Fund Institutional Class.
Third Avenue Management has approximately $14 billion in assets under management and offers value-oriented strategies through mutual funds, UCITS, separate accounts and alternative investment vehicles.
Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo.net alex@hedgeco.net 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!
Forbes – Hedge fund managers Lloyd Khaner, Stephen Roseman and Ken Shubin Stein discuss changes in the industry post-Bernie Madoff.
The next video will include a discussion between three hedge fund managers and Intelligent Investing assistant editor David Serchuk. In the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal, hedge funds remain a charged topic among investors. Often considered secretive investments for the super wealthy, there is no doubt hedge funds wield enormous influence on our financial markets. Currently there are some $1.8 trillion in assets under management at hedge funds, as more and more investors scramble back in. But why should anyone invest in them? What value do they offer?
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – RBC Capital Markets today reported that for the month of July 2009 the RBC Hedge 250 Index(R) had a net return of 2.10 percent. This brings the year-to-date return of the Index to 13.04 percent. These returns are estimated and will be finalized by the middle of next month. The return for June 2009 has been finalized at 0.33 percent.
Comprised of approximately 250 actual hedge funds, the RBC Hedge 250 Index is positioned as a diversified and representative investable index. The Universe on which the Index is based currently consists of 5,242 hedge funds (excludes funds of hedge funds) with aggregate assets under management of $952 billion.
Since its inception on July 1, 2005 through the end of June 2009, the RBC Hedge 250 Index has had an annualized net return of 2.56 percent. In comparison, over the same period, other investable indices have averaged -1.44 percent while non-investable indices have averaged 4.25 percent, according to information reported by the sponsors of those indices.
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!
