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 – Hedge fund firm Polar Capital reported a fall in assets but has seen net inflows in recent months and said on Wednesday it was looking "more aggressively" at buying firms in distress.
Polar said assets under management fell to $1.54 billion at end-May from $3.1 billion at end-March 2008, although there has been a small rise since the end of March this year.
Chief executive Mark Kary told Reuters the firm had seen "small net inflows" since end-March, particularly into its global macro strategy and European long/short equity funds.
Norwalk Advocate – Crisis can create opportunity, and for the smart hedge fund operator, the downturn gripping the global investment community is a chance to build a respected reputation in the industry.
While the financial crisis has been unprecedented, so will be the opportunities for firms that have superior compliance and risk management capabilities, said Walter Zebrowski, chairman of the Regulatory Compliance Association, which co-hosted the Hedge Fund Leadership Thought Summit this week at the Stamford Marriott.
"What it’s going to take is your leadership to act as the brake pedal when people want to take risks," he said, adding that the government plans on putting regulations on the hedge fund industry. "What does this mean for us? Everyone’s going to have to step up their game in terms of risk management."
Zebrowski is also chief investment officer for Hedgemony Partners, a Manhattan-based global private equity firm.
MSN UK News – Business leaders around the world back greater regulation in response to the global financial crisis, a survey showed on Wednesday, with support strongest for curbs on credit rating firms, hedge funds and structured finance.
Responses from more than 700 chief executives, chairmen, partners and directors across Asia, Europe and the United States were received between November 4th and 6th.
The survey, conducted by international law firm Allen & Overy, was timed ahead of this weekend’s Washington DC summit on the deepening crisis between the leaders of the Group of 20 leading world economies.
More than three-quarters of those polled agreed that more regulation of credit rating agencies was necessary, while two thirds supported greater regulation of hedge funds.
Reuters – Traditional long-only mutual funds are set to dominate shareholder registers again as the hedge fund industry shrinks and retail investors continue to stay away, according to Morgan Stanley.
Meanwhile, with institutions, including hedge funds, deleveraging aggressively, emerging markets equity issuance is set to fall to 10 percent of total volume in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2009 from one quarter this year, the bank told the Reuters Global Finance Summit.
"Traditional classic long-only funds, which used to be the main part of shareholder registrar in the 1990s, will become more important," said Emmanuel Gueroult, head of EMEA equity capital markets.
"The hedge fund industry is deleveraging…Access to credit is difficult."
Interactive Investor - Man Group aims to win more business from big Asian investors such as pension funds and insurers even as global financial turmoil spurs some existing clients to redeem holdings and seek safety in cash.
The world’s largest listed hedge fund group recently hired an institutional salesperson in South Korea because of the potential it saw there and was studying the long-term opportunity in China, said Tim Rainsford, managing director, Asia Pacific for Man Investments.
"It’s certainly a challenging time. At the same time, the brakes are not on in the business. We will launch products when they’re appropriate," he told the Reuters Finance Summit on Monday.
Reuters- Some of the world’s biggest property fund firms could eventually be tempted to trade property derivatives in a material way as long as the young market continues growing.
However, listed property firms such as real estate investment trust (REITs) could be a tougher nut to crack, leading industry figures at the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit said this week.
Matthias Danne, who sits on the board of DekaBank, Germany’s biggest operator of open-ended property funds, said he was interested in putting investor money to work quickly using property derivatives.
Reuters- Some of the world’s biggest property fund firms could eventually be tempted to trade property derivatives in a material way as long as the young market continues growing.
However, listed property firms such as real estate investment trust (REITs) could be a tougher nut to crack, leading industry figures at the Reuters Global Real Estate Summit said this week.
Matthias Danne, who sits on the board of DekaBank, Germany’s biggest operator of open-ended property funds, said he was interested in putting investor money to work quickly using property derivatives.
"I would use them if the market was liquid enough so I could invest my liquidity and I have a lot of that," Danne said.
