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.
HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Swedish hedge fund manager, Brummer and Partners, is expanding its offering of hedge funds by launching Karakoram, a new long-short Asia fund today.
The new hedge fund will take both long and short positions in liquid equities on Asian markets such as Hong Kong, China, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The Fund will base its positions on fundamental equity research, complemented with transaction-focused macroeconomic-analysis.
The fund’s aim is to consistently deliver a positive return for its unitholders, regardless of stock market performance in general, with a better risk-adjusted return than that of traditional equity portfolios.
Domiciled in Singapore, Ee Toh Chia is the Managing Director and a Partner of the hedge fund management company and is responsible for the management team. Ee Toh has 15 years of experience from Asian capital markets and has been involved in the management of the Zenit Fund’s Asian holdings since January 2008.
Karakoram has approximately SEK 300 million ($39 milllion) in assets under management. As Karakoram is a Bermuda-based fund a minimum investment of one million kronor ($131,000) is required. Brummer Multi-Strategy will initially invest a small proportion of its fund capital in the Karakoram Fund.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Renaissance Institutional Futures, a $3 billion futures fund run by hedge fund management company, Renaissance Technologies, has waived all it’s management fees for 2009, even if the fund delivers good results in 2009, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Renaissance told investors in a end-of-year letter that the futures fund was waiving it’s 1% fixed management fee following poor performance in 2008. The discount is estimated by the Journal to save investors $30 million.
Renaissance Technologies was started in 1982 by James Simons, Renaissance currently has approximately $20 billion in assets under management. The company operates in East Setauket, Long Island, New York, near Stony Brook University. Administrative functions are handled out of offices in Manhattan.
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Times Online – A French investment manager who entrusted $2.1 billion (£1.42 billion) with Bernard Madoff was found dead in New York yesterday.
Thierry de la Villehuchet is thought to have committed suicide. He was found early yesterday morning in his office on Madison Avenue by a security guard.
He was found at his desk with both wrists slashed, with a box cutter (similar to a Stanley knife) and a bottle of sleeping pills on the floor, according to the Associated Press, citing NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Mr Villehuchet, 65, was the co-founder and chief executive of Access International Advisors, a fund management company.
The Independent – Since the credit crunch began, hedge fund managers have become one of the most maligned sections of society, held responsible for the economic pain which all of us now feel. Never mind a row of shrubs, they should probably start managing a line of sandbags and an air-raid shelter.
So it is not surprising that Christian Smith, editor of a journal dedicated to this indescribably wealthy and secretive group, informs its readers that Hedge magazine is intended to be their "safe haven". In a letter from the editor, he writes: "If there’s one thing everybody needs right now, it’s good news and plenty of it, and we’re here to serve it up in spades."
Alongside articles about art collecting, fine wines and cricket, are full-page advertisements for Pershing yachts, luxury watches and Australian pink diamonds. The cover star is the usually reclusive, Mike Platt, the CEO of Europe’s thirdlargest hedge fund management company, BlueCrest, who the magazine has persuaded to give an interview about his interest in cutting-edge art. That’s quite a scoop.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Fulcrum Group, a leading global administrator for hedge funds and the alternative asset management industry, backed by global private equity firm, 3i, and Butterfield Fund Services (BFS), a top-twenty provider of administration services for investment and pension funds and part of The Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son Limited (Butterfield), today announced, subject to regulatory and governmental approvals, an agreement to merge the two businesses to create Butterfield Fulcrum Group (BFG).
Headquartered in Bermuda, BFG will have approximately 400 employees in 10 locations across 9 countries. The firm will have close to $100 billion in assets under administration from nearly 1,000 hedge funds, fund of funds, private equity and institutional investment management clients. BFG is expected to rank amongst the top 10 independent alternative asset fund administration companies in the world.
Butterfield will retain a substantial equity stake and 3i, an existing shareholder in Fulcrum Group, will own a majority interest in Butterfield Fulcrum Group.
“This is an enormous win-win for both companies that will leverage sales and operational capabilities of Fulcrum Group, and the tremendous customer relationships and global reputation of Butterfield Bank Group.” said Akshaya Bhargava, Chief Executive Officer of Fulcrum Group. He added, “Our vision is to create the best fund administration company in the world.”
Alan Thompson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Butterfield, echoed Mr. Bhargava’s sentiments, saying “We believe that the merger of these two highly successful businesses will result in significant business growth, more services for fund administration customers and career opportunities for employees. In BFG, Butterfield and Fulcrum are creating a company that will have a powerful presence in fund administration globally.”
Mr. Bhargava will become the Chief Executive Officer of BFG and Jill Considine, current Chairman of the Fulcrum Group, will be the Chairman of the BFG Board. Mr. Thompson and Graham Brooks, Executive Vice President, International at Butterfield will also join the BFG Board, along with other representatives from Fulcrum and 3i.
“This merger brings together two highly complementary fund administrators to offer a full-service platform of significant scale that has a business model and operational structure to achieve industry leadership,” said Ms. Considine. “BFG will be able to leverage the market reputation of one of the world’s premier banks, a very efficient operating platform and a highly talented and motivated management team.”
Both companies share common corporate values and bring significant strengths to BFG, in addition to sharing a highly customer centric and a high touch personalised service approach. BFG’s global operations model and use of many industry best practices is expected to significantly enhance the company’s ability to meet increasingly complex demands from its customers.
Commenting on the synergies to be realised through the formation of BFG, Mr. Brooks said, “In Fulcrum’s management team, we have found a like-minded group of fund administration professionals who share our focus on customer service and a desire to be among the top global providers of services to alternative investment strategies. We are excited about the growth prospects of BFG.”
Representatives of both Fulcrum and Butterfield noted that ensuring seamless delivery of client services during the integration is a top priority for BFG. “Clients will continue to receive the same high levels of service and from the same relationship centres while the two companies are being integrated,” said Mr. Bhargava. “We expect integration to be completely seamless from a client point of view.”
Whitney Bower, 3i Partner, added of the merger "We are proud to have been a part of Fulcrum’s growth and believe that Butterfield Fulcrum Group will be a major force in the global fund administration industry. Our industry knowledge and strong global network have enabled us to support Fulcrum’s international expansion, particularly in Europe and India, and we very much look forward to accelerating this growth through the partnership which this merger of Fulcrum and Butterfield brings. The merger of Fulcrum and Butterfield is also a testimony of 3i’s partnership style focused on driving growth."
Merrill Lynch acted as a third-party adviser to Fulcrum Group on the agreement, while UBS Investment Bank advised Butterfield.
BloggingStocks- With the plunge in the equities markets, there are certainly some compelling opportunities. Just look at Napster Inc., an online music operator. The company has $69.8 million in the bank and a market cap of $66.4 million. Yes, Wall Street is valuing the business at below zero.
Well, hedge funds are taking notice (this is a according to Bloomberg.com). For example, Eminence Capital LLC has increased its equity stake to a cool 9%. This is usually the first step in forcing a company to sell out.
One possibility is for Napster to go private. However, this will probably not carry much of a premium.
