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New York (HedgeCo.net) – Salus Alpha issued a statement regarding the reinvention of the hedge fund sector since last year’s crisis. “UCITS Hedge Funds” are known as a new and innovative concept, but the strategy actually goes back to 2002 when the first hedge fund was implemented under UCITS I.
The UCITS directive was established in 1986 but it took 16 years for asset managers to take notice of the opportunities the directive provided, Salus Alpha states. Only few tried to structure innovative hedge fund products within the UCITS directive and only one was able to successfully launch the first UCITS I Hedge Fund and expand the product range significantly under UCITS III.
“From the beginning it was clear to us that transparency, liquidity and risk management were the most important factors to secure our success in inventing UCITS Hedge Funds. We recognized the potential of UCITS Hedge Funds in 2002 and despite the complicated regulations we were able to offer the first regulated Hedge Funds already under UCITS I in 2003.” Salus Alpha explained.
Now after the financial crisis has wreaked havoc on the market everyone wants to be part of the UCITS Hedge Fund world.
“We strongly believe in investing in alpha therefore it’s a mystery to us why the majority of the market invests in beta. It is becoming clearer that the interval between crises will get shorter since the global markets are more volatile than the markets of just one country. Therefore investing in products independent from this market volatility will become more important as markets get closer connected.”
New York (HedgeCo.net) – Capstone Global Markets First Annual Charity Day, with participation of the New Jersey Nets, was a success, raising over $150,000 for The Jasper Against Batten Fund.
On October 1st, The First Annual Capstone Global Markets Charity Day supported research focused on finding a cure to Batten Disease, a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disorder affecting children. The boutique derivatives broker dealer donated 100% of its net commissions, for a total of $155,000, to The Jasper Against Batten Fund. This is the largest donation that the charitable organization has ever received. Jasper Duinstra is a 4-year old boy who was diagnosed with Batten Disease in March 2009, and has subsequently been experiencing seizures, deteriorating vision, limited vocabulary and paralysis in his legs.
Representatives of the New Jersey Nets who participated in the event included President Rod Thorn, General Manager (and former New York Knicks player) Kiki Vandeweghe, the New Jersey Nets dance team and the New Jersey Nets mascot.
Each was involved in thanking clients for their business and discussing the importance of the cause. The newly created annual event is part of the commitment from Capstone Global Markets to give back to the global community regardless of the macro financial environment. Every year, Capstone Global Markets will select specific charities to donate to, each with the common goal of helping children.
New York (HedgeCo.net) – The First Annual Capstone Global Markets Charity Day will support research focused on finding a cure to Batten Disease, a rare but fatal neurodegenerative disorder affecting children, October 1st, 2009.
The boutique derivatives broker dealer has committed to donating 100% of its net commissions that day to The Jasper Against Batten Fund. Jasper Duinstra is a 4-year old boy who was diagnosed with Batten Disease in March 2009, and has subsequently been experiencing seizures, deteriorating vision, limited vocabulary and paralysis in his legs.
After the urgency of finding a cure for Batten Disease was brought to the attention of representatives of The New Jersey Nets, the basketball team committed to joining Capstone Global Markets on October 1st to raise money for the cause.
The New Jersey Nets’ involvement at the fundraiser will be highlighted by the participation of Nets president Rod Thorn, general manager (and former New York Knicks player) Kiki Vandeweghe, the Nets dance team and the Nets mascot. Each will be involved in thanking clients for their business and discussing the importance of the cause.
“We created this event to bring public awareness of this devastating disease and the urgency of Jasper’s need for support,” said Paul Britton, CEO of Capstone Holdings Group, LLC. “We are pleased with the enthusiasm from our clients to join us in this mission to help Jasper and other children affected by Batten Disease. Capstone Global Markets is committed to helping charities dedicated to helping children.
The newly created annual event is part of Capstone’s commitment to giving back to the global community regardless of the macro financial environment. Every year the firm will select specific charities to donate to, each with the common goal of helping children.
Capstone Global Markets, LLC is an affiliate of Capstone Holdings Group, LLC. Capstone Global Markets is a boutique broker dealer specializing in volatility trading strategies.
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!
Bloomberg – Sparx Group Co., Asia’s biggest hedge-fund firm, will open its first global macro hedge fund to new investors as the company departs from its traditional focus on equities to return to profit.
Cayman Island-based Sparx Global Markets Fund began on Aug. 12 with the firm’s own capital of 900 million yen ($9.7 million), said Masaki Taniguchi, president of Sparx Asset Management Co. The fund wagers on stocks, bonds and currencies based on fundamental analysis of world economic trends in the Group of Ten nations, similar to the George Soros’s Quantum Fund, he said.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Deutsche Bank’s Alternative Fund Services, part of the bank’s Global Transaction Banking (GTB) division, has ranked second among top administrators in Global Custodian magazine’s 2009 Hedge Fund Administration Survey.
This is the first time Deutsche Bank has participated in the survey, which is published annually and includes responses from 1,370 clients of hedge fund administrators around the globe. It is intended to measure service quality and value in 12 categories including client service, fund accounting and middle office services, across a full range of fund characteristics such as size, strategy and location.
“In our first appearance in the Hedge Fund Administration Survey we are very pleased to have ranked second and scored highly in a range of categories,” said Christopher Nero, Managing Director and co-head of Alternative Fund Services within Global Transaction Banking.
In a write-up accompanying the results, Global Custodian commented, “(GTB) has a long pedigree in hedge fund administration too, with operations scattered across Cayman, Delaware, the Channel Islands, Dublin, Luxembourg, Mauritius and Singapore. But in January last year Deutsche transformed its presence in the industry by the acquisition of California based hedge fund administrator Hedgeworks. With staff in Boston and Cayman as well as the Golden State, Hedgeworks helped Deutsche double the size of its business. As it did for the prime brokerage business, the credit standing of the bank has attracted clients.”
Last month, Deutsche Bank announced that its Global Prime Finance business within its Global Markets division received 127 “Best in Class” and 16 “Top Rated and Commended” awards, the most among all global prime brokerage providers, in the Global Custodian 2009 Prime Brokerage Survey.
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!
HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Credit Suisse Tremont Index LLC released a new research piece, 1H 2009 Hedge Fund Update: Halfway There, a review of how hedge funds have repositioned themselves in the first half of 2009 to generate positive returns for five out of the first six months of the year.
The report discusses how hedge funds have generated year-to-date returns of 7.2% through June 30, outperforming, with lower volatility, both key equity and bond indices. Some key takeaways from the report include:
* The Convertible Arbitrage, Emerging Markets, and Global Macro sectors have received increased attention as investors began to regain their appetite for risk and global markets rallied.
* Performance has improved across most sectors, with the bulk of returns for many strategies moving into positive territory for the year, with 80% of all funds reporting positive returns for the second quarter.
* Overall industry assets under management have dropped approximately $18 billion since the end of the first quarter of 2009; we estimate industry assets totaled $1.3 trillion as of June 30 – down from $1.5 trillion at the end of 2008.
* As of June 30, 2009, an estimated 9.6% of funds were classified as impaired, meaning they have either suspended redemptions, imposed gate provisions or sidepocketed assets.
Credit Suisse is comprised of a number of legal entities around the world and is headquartered in Zurich. The registered shares of Credit Suisse’s parent company, Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares, in New York.
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!
Reuters – Bayswater Asset Management, a computer-driven hedge fund shut down last year after big losses during the credit crisis, has relaunched after revamping its risk management controls, its new backers said on Wednesday.
San Francisco-based Bayswater had initially been backed at its launch in 2004 with $25 million (15 million pounds) from Man Global Strategies, part of hedge fund giant Man Group.
However, its strategy of trying to exploit inefficiencies in global markets lost 12 percent in the six months to September 2007 and it returned money to investors after being caught out by a vicious circle of deleveraging in July and August that hit many computer-driven funds.
The Guardian – Bayswater Asset Management, a computer-driven hedge fund shut down last year after big losses during the credit crisis, has relaunched after revamping its risk management controls, its new backers said on Wednesday. San Francisco-based Bayswater had initially been backed at its launch in 2004 with $25 million from Man Global Strategies, part of hedge fund giant Man Group.
However, its strategy of trying to exploit inefficiencies in global markets lost 12 percent in the six months to September 2007 and it returned money to investors after being caught out by a vicious circle of deleveraging in July and August that hit many computer-driven funds. The firm has now relaunched with large-scale changes to its risk management system and added a manual override, according to Revere Capital Advisors, which has seeded the fund with an initial $10 million and also plans to buy an equity stake in the firm, a spokesman said.
Bloomberg – Kapstream Capital, Australia’s biggest fixed-income hedge fund, will almost double assets under management in the next month as pension funds seek returns in all market conditions.
The Sydney-based firm has secured investments that will take funds it oversees to A$1.2 billion ($965 million), from A$650 million, said founder Kumar Palghat, Pacific Investment Management Co.’s former head of portfolio management in Asia- Pacific. He aims to raise A$1.5 billion by end-2009 as investors switch to managers that made money even as global markets tumbled last year.
“People are recognizing that there are some opportunities in the credit space and they are more willing to start investing in them now,” said Robert Dasilva, managing director of Asia- Pacific fixed income in Sydney at Principal Global Investors, which manages $228 billion in assets globally.
Bloomberg – John Meriwether, who roiled global markets when Long-Term Capital Management LP collapsed in 1998, plans to shut his current hedge fund, according to a person familiar with the matter.
JWM Partners LLC is closing its main Relative Value Opportunity II fund after losing 44 percent from September 2007 to February 2009. Meriwether, credited with generating billions of dollars of revenue at the former Salomon Brothers in the 1980s through so-called relative value trades, returned an average of 1.46 percent a year with his new fund since opening in 1999, compared with 2.4 percent for the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fixed-Income Arbitrage Index.
HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Paul Myners, the UK Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, speaking at an Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) event this morning in London, said, “the UK is not in the business of blocking more stringent regulation, contrary to what some in Europe may say.”
Lord Myners said the UK government’s aim was “a framework which allows efficient, well run and well regulated fund managers to compete for business without restriction across the EU and to make the EU a base from which to compete in global markets.” But he said that the draft directive, “needs major surgery before this can be delivered”.
He also expressed concern about the protectionist impact of the directive and argued that, “to deny institutional investors a global choice of fund manager would come at a direct cost to pension savers and others who rely on the returns from institutional investment funds”. He said of the custody elements of the directive that “imposing strict liability for delegated custodians would impose large capital costs, make investing in some emerging markets impractical and increase costs to investors”. And on the leverage caps within the directive, he argued that “systemic risks posed by the leverage of any one fund can only be assessed in the context of wider market conditions so capping leverage on a fund-by-fund basis cannot be an effective protection”, adding that it could even be counter-productive.
Lord Myners said that the UK government was, “reaching out bilaterally to leverage natural alliances and win over others” in Europe. But he pointed out that managers threatening to quit the UK “will make my job harder” and would not be well received in Europe. And he called on institutional investors to make their voices heard on the directive. He said, “if institutional investors can make clear which regulatory safeguards they want to see applied to their fund managers and which they find to be costly and unnecessary, this will send a powerful message to policymakers”.
The UK Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury concluded by arguing that, “an open single market in fund management must be a major opportunity for Europe and we must all do our bit to ensure we deliver the best possible result for EU investors and for the future of the EU funds industry”.
Reuters – The worst of the global economic crisis is over, multi-billionaire financier George Soros told Polish news channel TVN24 on Sunday urging the creation of international regulations to oversee global markets.
"Decidedly the worst (of the crisis) is already behind us," said Soros, a 78-year-old Hungarian-born American with Jewish roots.
