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.
Globe and Mail – On monday, when North American markets cratered, was not the most auspicious day to launch a closed-end fund of hedge funds, but Star Hedge Managers Corp. has been quietly trading since then.
This fund invests in the hedge funds or portfolios run by Eric Sprott of Sprott Asset Management Inc., Rohit Sehgal of Dynamic Mutual Funds Ltd. and Normand Lamarche of Front Street Capital.
Star Hedge Managers, which closed down 39 cents yesterday at $9.35 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, raised $75-million through an initial public offering of $10 a unit. It had targeted raising $500-million.
"I’m surprised" that it did raise $75-million given the tough market environment, said Phil Schmitt, chairman of the Canadian unit of the Alternative Investment Management Association. "There’s still a market for quality managers."
New York Times – The Blackstone Group may be best known as an immense private equity firm, but the firm’s earnings report on Wednesday made it clear that Blackstone has been buoyed by its hedge fund operations.
Blackstone reported $165.6 million in profit for its second quarter, excluding costs tied to its initial public offering last June. That represented a nearly 75 percent drop from the same period last year, a consequence of the troubles still plaguing the credit markets. On the basis of generally accepted accounting principles, the firm reported a pretax loss of $185.5 million.
Yet Blackstone’s results, which amount to 15 cents a unit, still beat the average analyst estimate of 8 cents a unit, according to Bloomberg News.
Other publicly traded alternative-asset managers also reported quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Och-Ziff Capital Management, a big hedge fund, said it earned $93.3 million, while GLG Partners, a large hedge fund based in London, reported profits of $44.2 million. Both figures exclude costs related to the firms’ public offerings.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.Net)- The first publicly listed fund investing in rare white and coloured diamonds, the ‘diamond fund’ is to be launched on the London Stock Exchange, according to news sources.
Diamond Circle Capital PLC hopes to raise $400 million in its initial public offering (IPO), building a portfolio of diamonds with a minimum investment of $1 million per stone, and then to wait for prices to increase.
The fund will be headed up by independent commodity asset management firm Diapason Commodities Management, which provides a range of commodity investment solutions to its institutional and high net worth clients.
According to a Reuters report, the closed-end fund will invest in the high-quality segment of the physical polished diamond market, according to a prospectus for the initial public share offer, expected to take place on June 24.
"Catalysts for growth in investment demand are in place for large high-quality diamonds, underpinned by the rising number of high net-worth individuals, especially in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Russian Federation," the prospectus for the Diamond Circle fund said.
The prospectus also said that "A steadily declining mineral reserve base, compounded by limited exploration success, suggested tight supplies would continue, which industry analysts say could mean long-term growth for the fund."
Thomson Financial- BH Global Ltd., the second fund of hedge funds feeder fund to be floated by Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP, said it has raised $1 billion from its initial public offering in London, twice the amount expected.
Lord Turnbull, BH Global Chairman said, "To have raised $1 billion in these markets is a great result and certainly beyond our initial target of $500 million… This result clearly demonstrates investor appetite for high quality closed-ended funds." The company placed 70.8 million shares and also has an over-allotment option of up to $100 million, which is exercisable until June 22.
Its IPO comprised about 36.39 million U.S. dollar shares, about 11.24 million euro shares and about 23.19 million sterling shares — priced at $10, 10 euros and 10 pounds per share.
