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.
Reuters – The chief executive of Dell Inc said on Tuesday that talk of IBM possibly buying Sun Microsystems was providing an "enormous opportunity" to the world’s No. 2 PC maker in the corporate server market.
Michael Dell said such talk created uncertainty over the future of Sun’s Solaris-based servers and accelerated a customer migration to the servers based on standard industry components, known as x86 servers, which are Dell’s mainstay product.
Apart from the potential IBM-Sun union, Dell is also facing an uphill battle with network equipment maker Cisco Systems with and Hewlett-Packard. Cisco has announced a foray into the server market and HP has started to offer a more complete package of technology services to its corporate clients after its purchase of EDS.
StreetInsider.com – Former CNBC news anchor Ron Insana reportedly will be leaving Stevie Cohen’s SAC Capital. This move should all but put an end to Insana’s foray into the hedge fund world.
Ron Insana decided to leave SAC Capital only six months after he was hired as managing director, according to the NY Times DealBook. Insana’s last day at the fund will be on February 27th.
Insana came to SAC after the fund-of-hedge-funds firm he launched, Insana Capital, failed after not raising the money he envisioned and not meeting the returns Insana and his investors expected.
Globe and Mail – This is how bad things are for hedge funds right now. On the CanadianHedgeWatch.com website, a hub for the hedge business, the lead article one recent day was headlined "The hedge fund collapse."
The article, which originally appeared on the Portfolio.com website, tells us that as many as half the 10,000 hedge funds that existed earlier this year could fail or be wound up in the next 12 months. Outsmarted by the financial crisis of 2008, some prominent hedge fund managers lost 20 to 65 per cent of their assets even before October came. "The hedge fund mystique died with the crash of 2008," the article says.
The mystique is dead for sure, but hedge funds are not. The Horizons Global Contrarian Fund proves it.
What we have in Horizons Global Contrarian is a hedge fund of the old school. Rather than acting as a supercharged equity fund willing to push all risk boundaries, it tries in a measured and conservative way to make money no matter what the stock markets are doing.
Reuters UK – Robust returns for a group of powerful hedge funds that thrived for years using sophisticated trading programs may be a thing of the past after a "Black Swan" event hit global markets this year.
The carnage in financial markets worldwide, what many viewed as a so-called Black Swan event because it was out of the ordinary and had severe repercussions, has scorched returns for most of these funds. That forced them to embrace new models that place less capital at risk and employ little or no leverage.
With the failure of many investment systems that ran on algorithms created by mathematicians-turned-traders, quantitative funds, also known as "quants" are also veering away from models with longer-term horizons. They have instead focused on high-frequency strategies, or very short-term trades that often are executed in seconds.
TORONTO – Introduction Capital announced today that Horizons BetaPro ETFs, Felcom Data Services Inc. and JovVentures Inc. have signed on as the partner sponsors for its third annual forum for global sophisticated investors interested in the Canadian hedge fund market entitled “Canadian Hedge Fund Managers Speak with Investors”. Horizons BetaPro ETFs, managed by BetaPro Management Inc., are showing their support for this forum for the second year in a row.
“We are proud to associate our company with a forum dedicated to supporting the Canadian hedge fund industry,” said Howard J. Atkinson, President of BetaPro. “It is a good fit for us, given that BetaPro is a significant provider of ETFs products in Canada and that ETFs are used by both institutional and private investors globally.”
About Horizons BetaPro ETFs:
Horizons BetaPro ETFs are managed by BetaPro Management Inc., Canada’s sole provider of investment tools allowing investors to profit when the market is rising or falling, or to reduce their risk by hedging their existing market exposure. BetaPro currently manages the largest product offering of any Canadian ETF provider with approximately $1.8 billion amongst 28 ETFs.
About Felcom Data Services Inc.:
Felcom Data Services Inc. (FDS) has been providing Fund Accounting and Transfer Agency services to investment fund manufacturers since 2001, and offers a total solution to address all investment product administrative requirements. FDS has greater than $3.6 Billion in Assets under Administration for 30 Customers, and services more than 250 different products.
FDS can manage the Fund Valuation & Accounting and Transfer Agent & Registrar needs of any sized firm. Where necessary, FDS can develop customized solutions and interfaces or other technological requirements with the support of our system providers. The company also provides Relationship Management with their specialized Strategic Partner Vendors. FDS is able to provide an immediate total administration solution for established product manufacturers or a phased-in implementation approach to suit a “start-up” Customer’s growth over time.
About JovVentures Inc.:
JovVentures Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of JovFunds Management Inc., is an incubation platform for financial services companies. With a focus on Canadian private equity and emerging hedge fund managers, JovVentures has developed a robust institutional platform across an array of services and functions including on-shore and off-shore capital raising, middle office workflow, legal registration and marketing.
The forum will provide global investors with direct access to 16 of Canada’s most prominent hedge fund managers including Salida Capital, Front Street Capital and Sprott Asset Management. Managers will present an overview of their firm, fund strategy, risk management approach and market outlook to an audience of fund of funds, family offices, institutions and high net worth individuals from around the world. The forum will be held on September 25th, 2008 at the St. Andrew’s Club & Conference Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
About Introduction Capital:
Introduction Capital is a boutique firm that brokers strategic business relationships between sophisticated global investors and Canadian hedge fund managers. The firm tracks over 100 hedge funds in Canada and offers global investors the perfect place to “start” their Canadian manager search. Introduction Capital encourages offshore investors to visit Canada by creating full manager meeting itineraries on their behalf. Over $150 million in investor capital has been introduced to Canadian hedge fund managers through Introduction Capital since it was founded in 2004 by Karen Azlen. Introduction Capital is a member of the Canadian Chapter of AIMA and is registered with the Ontario Securities Commission as a Limited Market Dealer.
Attendance to the forum is by invitation only with limited seating. For inquiries, information on attending or interview requests please contact Karen Azlen, CEO, Introduction Capital Inc. at 416-849-1927 or k.azlen@introcap.com. Please visit our website at www.introcap.com.
