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 – Thames River Capital is hoping to launch two investment grade credit strategies later this year and is looking at how best to target the U.S. institutional market, chief executive Charlie Porter told Reuters.
The independent fund house, which manages $11.5 billion (6.9 billion pounds) in traditional long-only and hedge-fund-style products, has been adding to its investment team to support new products, and hopes to scoop up rivals weighed down by the financial crisis.
Reuters UK – Thames River Capital is hoping to launch two investment grade credit strategies later this year and is looking at how best to target the U.S. institutional market, chief executive Charlie Porter told Reuters.
The independent fund house, which manages $11.5 billion (6.9 billion pounds) in traditional long-only and hedge-fund-style products, has been adding to its investment team to support new products, and hopes to scoop up rivals weighed down by the financial crisis.
"Whenever you have periods of turmoil and tumult, interesting opportunities are thrown up," Porter said in an interview.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Arden Asset Management LLC, a leading independent fund of hedge funds manager, and J.P. Morgan today announced an agreement under which Arden will manage a $1.1 billion proprietary hedge fund of funds portfolio for J.P. Morgan’s investment banking division, effective July 1, 2009. J.P. Morgan’s investment bank has agreed to seed several new Arden funds and invest in one of Arden’s current flagship funds with these assets.
As part of the agreement, a team led by Shakil Riaz, Chief Investment Officer of J.P. Morgan’s proprietary hedge fund of funds program since inception in 1995, will join Arden. Mr. Riaz will become a member of the Arden Investment Committee and continue his investment leadership role for new funds seeded by the J.P. Morgan assets. The existing Arden funds and customized accounts will continue to be managed by Arden senior investment professionals and Investment Committee members: Averell H. Mortimer, Chairman; Henry P. Davis, Managing Director and Head of US Manager Research; Ian P. McDonald, Managing Director and Head of European and Asian Manager Research; and Matthew Bianco, Managing Director and Head of Risk Management.
“Arden’s high quality institutional infrastructure and well-established investment processes were important in our decision to select the firm to manage these assets,” said Robert Case, head of Principal Investment Management for J.P. Morgan’s investment bank. “Partnering with Arden, which has a proven track record of managing absolute return programs through many market cycles, enables us to continue participation in this attractive asset class, while better managing our overall capital commitments.”
Averell Mortimer, Arden President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased to partner with J.P. Morgan on this unique venture, which we believe will create significant value for both Arden investors and J.P. Morgan in the years to come. Importantly, this initiative further strengthens our organization and brings additional specialization and expertise to Arden’s global investment program. We warmly welcome Shakil and his colleagues to Arden and believe investors will benefit from their market experience and long-term investment record as we develop new strategies to meet the expanding needs of our sophisticated institutional clientele.”
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Boston Globe – State Street Corp., which specializes in serving institutional investors and wealthy customers, said Thursday it has been selected to provide hedge fund administration services for about $6 billion in assets advised by Caxton Associates.
State Street’s hedge fund administration company International Fund Services will provide accounting, fund administration, tax and risk services to five master-feeder fund structures managed by New York-based Caxton Associates and affiliates.
"Our decision to select IFS as our independent fund administrator was based on their long and significant experience servicing highly sophisticated and complex hedge funds in the industry," said John G. Forbes, chief operating officer of Caxton Associates.
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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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Millennium Management LLC, a global multi-strategy investment management firm with over $11 billion in assets under management, has outsourced fund administration to hedge fund manager GlobeOp Financial Services.
GlobeOp became administrator of record for all three Millennium funds on January 1, 2009 (Millennium USA, LP, Millennium International, Ltd., and Millennium Global Estate, LP).
“We are sending a strong signal about our commitment to transparency and the independent validation of Millennium’s portfolio positions, asset pricing and expense allocation by appointing GlobeOp as an independent administrator, and by increasing our online investor portfolio reporting,” said Terry Feeney, co-president and chief operating officer of Millennium. “This is also consistent with our strategy of enabling our fund investment professionals to concentrate their energies on what they do best – managing portfolios – supported by the trading, operational, technology and risk management infrastructure which is essential in this industry. The quality of the services GlobeOp has provided since 2006 was key to our appointing them as our independent administrator.”
“We welcome this opportunity to strengthen our relationship with Millennium by providing independent fund administration services,” said Vernon Barback, GlobeOp president and chief operating officer. “We will quickly demonstrate to Millennium’s investors the value of our robust and scalable technology platform, 24/5 global support network, and process controls affirmed by SAS 70 Type ll certification.
Established in 2000, GlobeOp serves more than 180 clients worldwide, representing $95billion in assets under administration. As an independent financial technology specialist, GlobeOp provides automated, integrated middle and back-office administration to hedge funds and asset management firms—including banks, insurance companies, mutual & pension funds and proprietary traders.
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 is a premier hedge fund database and community for qualified and accredited investors only. Membership on is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
