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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - US-based Stream Asset Management announced the launch of a credit dislocation fund and a multi-strategy credit hedge fund, the company said in a press statement.
The move is part of Gulf Stream’s aggressive expansion strategy to capitalise on current market opportunities. To further support the firm’s growth, Gulf Stream has also opened a New York City office, the statement added.
Earlier this year, Istithmar World Capital, the private equity and alternative investment arm of Istithmar World, acquired a majority stake in Gulf Stream. Gulf Stream Asset Management is majority owned by Istithmar World Capital.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - The Energy Hedge Fund Center (EHFC) announced that it has added a ‘green’ hedge fund directory to its product inventory. EHFC’s Directory of Energy Hedge Funds was launched four years ago, but with the interest in ‘green’ hedge funds, the company has created a new green directory for investors. The directory includes carbon, renewable, cleantech, forestry, water and weather derivative funds.
"We decided that now was the time for a standalone green directory and will be offering it for prepublication in January 2009," said Peter Fusaro, co-principal of the EHFC. "The market is now large enough and growing to warrant this service with over 100 green hedge funds."
"EHFC has received innumerable requests for such a product this last 12-months or so as investor appetite for environmental and alternative energy has increased," reports Dr. Gary M. Vasey, Co-Principal, EHFC. "As a result we have complied with that demand and have now added a new directory that focuses on just the ‘green’ hedge funds."
Alex Akesson
Editor for 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!
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Brotman Capital Partners LP, based in Boca Raton, Florida, has turned in the best performance Year to Date of a Market/Trend Timing Hedge Fund according to Barclays Hedge Fund Database.
Through October, 2008 the Fund is up over 14% net of fees. The fund has a $100,000 minimum investment and charges a 2% management fee and a 20% incentive fee.
According to Dr. Randy Brotman, Chairman and CEO, the fund has remained in cash since the middle of August. He states that “in our Trend Timing Fund, cash is an option, therefore a position.”
The Proprietary Trend Timing Model that Brotman Capital Management LLC employs dictates when the Fund should be long, short or in cash. “Be are comfortable to sit on the sidelines and wait for the trend-timing model to tell us when we will reenter the market, Brottman concluded.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Alternative investor, Polygon Investment Partners LLP has agreed not to further oppose the restructuring of the company by British Energy and other shareholders, in exchange the shareholders and British Energy have agreed to stop all outstanding legal actions against Polygon.
In the circumstances, Polygon believes that there is no commercial logic in proceeding with the EGM or supporting the proposed resolutions.
Polygon has also frozen redemptions on their $4bn flagship multi-strategy fund, Global Opportunities, while it unwinds the fund and returns money to investors.
Polygon Investment Partners LLP ("Polygon") is a global private investment firm based in London and New York, investing in a wide range of publicly traded securities. The firm currently has over $1.35 billion under management.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Holiday airline Sun Country filed for bankruptcy yesterday, just 3 days after the arrest of investor Thomas Petters, founder of Petters Group Worldwide, the firm that owns Sun Country among other investments.
Petters was charged with mail and wire fraud, money laundering and obstructing justice.
"We were forced to take this action as a result of recent events at Petters Group Worldwide," said Sun Country Chairman and CEO Stan Gadek. The airline said that it would continue to fly its regular schedule.
A federal judge in Minneapolis order Petters to be held without bail after a taped phone conversation revealed that the disgraced entrepreneur planned to leave the country. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Petters has stated that he plans to fight to be released from custody and maintains his innocence.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Funds of listed hedge funds are no longer providing reliable rates of return as the credit crunch continues - despite having been marketed as risk-free investments.
Analysis from Citywire shows that the sector has declined by 1.8% in net asset values (NAVs) so far in 2008, with funds losing much of the growth they enjoyed last year prior to the onset of the financial crisis.
The news gets still worse in terms of share prices in funds of hedge funds - which are seven% down on the year.
Increased market volatility is thought to have cancelled out the advantages invested in listed hedge funds enjoy, such as having a permanent base of capital.
Speaking to the news source, Simon Elliott, head of research at Wins, commented: "Performance across the board has been disappointing this year and the difference between NAV and share price performance gives you an idea of how premiums have evaporated and discounts widened.
"They have held up pretty well in NAV terms, but investors are exposed to the share price and it makes a big difference to returns."
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Hedge funds generally are more correlated in bull market runs and more de-correlation at market downturns.
A comparison of the Credit Suisse/Tremont Broad Benchmark Index (HEDG), an asset-weighted broad benchmark of the hedge fund industry, to the MSCI World Index, a broad equity index, shows that the 12-month rolling correlation between the two has dropped from its peak of 0.97 in June 2006 to 0.61 in June 2008. The findings are given in a research report by Credit Suisse Index.
The report showed that during times of market stress sharp declines from HEDG’s previous peak levels of positive correlation with MSCI World demonstrated the ability to de-correlate from broad equity market indices.
Between July 2007 and June 2008, HEDG increased by 4.09% compared with a fall of 12.5% in the MSCI World Index and a decrease of 13% in the S&P 500.
The ability of hedge funds to maintain exposure to a range of asset classes allows them to preserve capital in down markets and, if successful, offer a more balanced investment option compared to traditional equity indices. In addition, the ability of hedge funds to monetise negative views through short selling is clearly effective during market downturns.
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.Net)- The SEC has clarified its position on the "Cash Solicitation Rule" saying that a registered investment adviser may compensate a person for soliciting investors for, or referring investors to his or her investment fund.
Usually, under the rule, it is illegal for an investment adviser to pay a cash fee, directly or indirectly, as the "Cash Solicitation Rule" only applies to solicitations of “clients.”
But the SEC has taken the position that solicitations of investors for investment funds should not fall ito that category. The determination of whether the cash payment is being made solely to compensate that person for soliciting or referring investors will depend on the facts and circumstances of each particular case.
The SEC also warned that "Despite the additional guidance provided by the interpretative letter, investment advisers will need to continue to be mindful of potential traps for the unwary when entering into solicitation agreements."
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net)- In a recent IRS Revenue Ruling addressing the tax treatment of management fees incurred in a “fund of funds” structure, the IRS’s has severely restricted UPTs (upper tier partnerships) from obtaining tax benefits from management fees.
In a typical fund of funds structure, an investment is made by a limited partner into an UTP which in turn invests in several lower teir partnerships (LTPs). Both groups pay an annual management fee to an investment manager based on assets under management. Since each LTP was, on the facts assumed by the IRS, engaged in the trading of securities, the management fee is an ordinary and necessary business expense and can still recieve tax benefits.
However, the UTP’s sole activity consisted of acquiring, holding, and disposing of interests in the LTPs while receiving a share of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit, therefore ruling these fees non-deductable in most cases.
In the ruling, the IRS examined prior cases of entitlement to deductions and these cases also viewed the partner, even a limited partner, as engaged in the trade or business of the partnership.
Editing by Alex Akesson Editor for HedgeCo LLC Email: alex@hedgeco.net
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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net)- The DMX, Directional Markets Index, heads the list of investable Alternative Investment Indices provided by Alternative-Index Ltd, with a month-to-date performance of +0.71% and a stellar year-to-date performance of +16.61%. DMX is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
The best performing sector for the DMX was the Interest Rates sector with a month-to-date attribution of +0.62%.
The DMX outperformed its peer, the FTSE Hedge Directional Index month-to-date by 2.13% (0.71% vs. -1.42%) and year-to-date by 21.42% (16.61% vs. -4.81%). The DMX also outperformed the MSCI Systematic Trading Index year-to-date by 12.17% (16.61% vs. 4.44%). The DMX’s performance surpassed the HFRX Market Directional Index’s performance month-to-date by 1.22% (0.71% vs. -0.51%) and year-to-date by 15.67% (16.61% vs. 0.94%).
Alternative-Index Ltd. is an Index specialist and provides investable Indices that represent the risk and return of investable alternative strategies and asset classes. The company is a 100% subsidiary of Swiss Alternative Investment expert Salus Alpha Group AG.
Black Enterprise- A team of young managers formerly with hedge fund Brahman Capital is preparing to launch a fund in August to focus on Western European turnaround situations, the firm’s founder said.
Cara Goldenberg, a 27-year-old former star investor and partner at the $3 billion Brahman Capital, heads the new firm, called Permian Investment Partners. She is joined by former Brahman colleagues Alex Duran and Scott Hendrickson.
New York-based Permian hopes to raise some $200 million this year, mostly from wealthy individuals and families, said Ms. Goldenberg. The firm was seeded with what it said was a "sizable" investment from Privet Capital, a family investment firm.
West Palm Beach (Hedge Co.Net)- Kirk Sean Wright, CEO of hedge fund International Management Associates of Atlanta hanged himself in a Union City jail cell Saturday night.
Wright was convicted by a federal jury on 47 counts of mail fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, stemming from a scam run through his hedge fund, International Management Associates. He collected between $115 million and $185 million for his hedge fund from at least 500 investors since 1997.
The FBI in association with the IRS, DOJ and SEC investigated why requests by current and former NFL players for their funds were ignored.
Wright maintained his innocence until the end, contending that simple mis-management was to blame for his investors’ losses.
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