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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Pharos Financial Advisors Limited, a specialist emerging markets fund manager, announced that it has been granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an authorised firm within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Founded in 1997 by US national, Peter M. Halloran, with seed capital from Soros Fund Management and CS First Boston, Pharos Financial Group currently runs three funds – the Pharos Russia Fund, the Pharos Small Cap Fund, and the Pharos Gas Investment Fund.
"We are delighted to receive a license from DFSA, particularly as the first ever fund manager with a Russian/CIS focus to join DIFC," Halloran said, "Pharos intends to fill the niche as the market leader in emerging markets fund management. Already we have seen tremendous appetite from GCC investors for our Russian-focused investment opportunities."
Prior to founding Pharos Financial Group, Halloran was the principal contributor toward building the #1 ranked CS First Boston equity and fixed income brokerage businesses in Russia and the CIS. He has been a leader in the development of the Russian capital markets since their inception in 1994, bringing more than $8 billion to the markets through debt, equity and private placements including Russia’s first local IPO and more than $2 billion of privatisation initiatives.
Welcoming Pharos to DIFC, Nasser Al Shaali, CEO, commented, "We welcome Pharos Financial Group to the Dubai International Financial Centre. DIFC will provide Pharos with a supportive environment to advance their business growth in the Middle East. The world-class regulatory framework in DIFC will give them additional credibility as a specialist emerging market fund manager."
The Pharos investment team brings more than 90 years of combined expertise in emerging markets to its new operations in DIFC. Moreover, Pharos has sat on 40 seats of Russian company boards. Two Pharos Funds were ranked among the top 15 hedge funds globally by Bloomberg and Eurohedge. Currently, the three Pharos funds are ranked 1-2-3 among best performers in Russia this year.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services. In just three years, over 700 firms have registered at the DIFC.
Pharos Financial Group ranks as the world’s leading fund manager having a focus on Russia and the CIS with a successful track record of over 11 years. With offices in Moscow and now Dubai, Pharos Financial Group has produced superior absolute returns over the years while providing institutions and private investors an opportunity to gain exposure in the emerging markets of Russia and the CIS.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – The Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index lost 3.12% in August, significantly underperforming U.S. and global equity and bond markets.
August, like July, was characterized by a large drop in emerging markets and commodities. "Even though commodity prices have started to descend, their lofty valuations slowed growth and demand, especially in emerging markets,” said Morningstar Hedge Fund Analyst Nadia Van Dalen. "It was only a matter of time before hedge funds riding these waves crashed."
The Morningstar Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Index lost 7.13% in August while the Global Trend Hedge Fund Index, which profited from a previous upward trend in commodities, lost 5.35%. Both of these indexes experienced similar losses in July. Through July however, these funds continued to receive the largest inflows of assets this year, approximately $10.9 billion.
Unlike emerging market hedge funds, U.S. equity hedge funds fared relatively well. The Morningstar US Equity Hedge Fund Index earned 0.47% in August. Even though these hedge funds performed better than those in other equity categories, they still underperformed the markets—the S&P 500 Index gained 1.45% in August. Similarly, the Morningstar US Small Cap Equity Hedge Fund Index lost 2.81% while the Russell 2000 Index gained 3.61%
The U.S. equity markets were propped up for most of the month by the rising dollar and weakening Euro. Morningstar calculates its hedge fund indexes by converting hedge fund returns into U.S. dollars using the spot rate at the end of the month. This methodology does not hedge U.S. dollar exposure, and reflects the negative impact of Euro-denominated funds.
Along with the Euro, European equity markets dropped in August, reacting to weak economic data. The Morningstar Europe Equity Hedge Fund Index dropped 3.33%. Year to date through July 31, funds in this index have seen the largest outflows, approximately $9.6 billion. Despite the appreciation of the Yen, developed Asian equity markets followed that of emerging markets in general. The Morningstar Developed Asia Equity Hedge Fund Index lost 3.10%. Currency traders on the right side of the dollar, Yen, and Euro trades helped to cushion the blow for the Global Non-trend Hedge Fund Index, which lost 1.63%.
Global bonds, as measured by the Lehman Global Aggregate index ended the month in the red, and the Morningstar Global Debt Hedge Fund Index and the Morningstar Debt Arbitrage Hedge Fund Index both experienced losses of 3.64% and 1.33%, respectively. During the month, credit spreads widened amid financial distress at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, hurting funds in these indexes. Volatility in the credit markets also affected funds in the Morningstar Convertible Arbitrage Hedge Fund Index, which lost 1.08%.
Distressed securities funds and corporate event funds continued to wait for a market turn around. The Morningstar Distressed Securities Hedge Fund Index and Corporate Actions Hedge Fund Index dropped 1.28% and 2.34%, respectively. Multi-strategy funds outperformed hedge funds of funds. These indexes fell 2.40% and 3.99%, respectively. Read Complete Article
Reuters Tokyo- Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance plans to invest about 30 billion yen ($282 million) in Russell Investments and form a business alliance with the U.S. investment and index group, sources familiar with the matter said.
Nippon Life, Japan’s top life insurer with about 46 trillion yen of assets, hopes the tie-up will help it bolster its ability to manage a broader range of assets including emerging market shares, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Russell Investments is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, and is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. It had $211 billion of assets under management as of June 30, according to its website.
Zurich – Harcourt Investment Consulting AG (Harcourt) is pleased to announce the launch of Belmont (Lux) Global Emerging Markets, a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds dedicated to harnessing the unique opportunities presented by hedge funds focussed on emerging markets. Through a well diversified portfolio of managers and strategies, the fund affords efficient exposure to emerging markets globally.
The growth outlook for emerging markets countries remains strong; the well publicized decoupling story is real. Consequently, local hedge funds are able to generate returns which are largely decorrelated to other regions. At the same time, the inefficiencies which characterize emerging markets generate ample opportunities for hedge funds to create superior risk adjusted returns.
Harcourt has been actively investing in emerging markets for 10 years. The launch of the new fund is a further step in the evolution of Harcourt’s product offering. Belmont (Lux) Global Emerging Markets joins a range of funds focussed on specific geographies, which today comprises Belmont Asia Ltd, Belmont Europe Ltd and Belmont Latin America Ltd.
Belmont (Lux) Global Emerging Markets seeks to derive attractive returns and reduce risk by investing in multiple strategies associated with emerging markets. With its broad diversification between asset classes, emerging markets regions and hedge fund strategies, Belmont (Lux) Global Emerging Markets aims for an overall low risk profile, and to generate far less volatility than is common with long only emerging market investments. Market risk as well as other inherent risk factors, such as liquidity risk, are minimized through careful selection of high quality managers. The fund’s targeted annualized return of Libor + 400 bps net of fees, with 6% annualized volatility. Currently, there are 29 hedge funds in the portfolio.
The fund was launched on 01 June 2008.
For further information please contact: Margaret Gouthier, Marketing, gouthier@harcourt.ch.
About Harcourt:
Harcourt AG is a global leading provider of alternative investment solutions for institutional investors. Founded in 1997, the company is headquartered in Zurich with offices in New York, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Madrid, Geneva and Cayman Islands. Harcourt is majority owned by strategic partner Vontobel Group. The company manages USD 5.5bn and employs a staff of 90 professionals. Harcourt is exclusively focused on alternative investments and has an excellent track record of superior risk adjusted returns. For further information, please visit: www.harcourt.ch
