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.
Bloomberg – Asia has been good to hedge funds this year. The Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index climbed 4.2 percent in July, while funds in North America and Europe rose 2.1 percent and 1.9 recent, respectively. Preliminary reports show Asian funds are up 18.7 percent this year, compared with 13.7 in North America and 11.8 in Europe, according to Eurekahedge Pte.
The Singapore-based research firm’s findings may not be the tonic they appear — not if Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing has anything to say about it.
Globe and Mail – The ranks of the world’s millionaires shrank at the fastest rate in 2008, with North America suffering the biggest wealth loss worldwide, according to a survey by Capgemini SA and Merrill Lynch & Co.
The global slump in property and equity markets last year cut the number of millionaires by 15 per cent to 8.6 million, wiping out two years of increases, the firms said in their 13th annual World Wealth Report published Wednesday. The value of the world’s millionaires’ assets slid 20 per cent to $32.8-trillion (U.S.), after a 9.4-per-cent increase the previous year, the survey said.
Zawya.com – Although nearly half of all sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are based in the Middle East and North Africa region, only 32 per cent of them invest in Mena-focussed hedge funds, new data has revealed.
Almost all of the SWFs known to be investing in hedge funds pursue a global investment strategy.
North America, as a mature and large hedge-fund market, is also a popular destination for investments in this asset class, with most of the larger SWFs, including the large Mena funds, targeting hedge funds there, a report by Preqin said.
Business Times Malaysia – Hedge funds posted their biggest decline on record last year, losing US$350 billion globally, as the credit crisis crippled returns and forced investors to pull money out, an industry report showed.
About 90 per cent of the money was lost in the three months to the end of November, according to a preliminary report published on Monday by Singapore-based data provider Eurekahedge.
Funds that invested in North America declined the most, posting a drop of US$183 billion for the year, the report said.
The hedge-fund industry shrank by about a fifth to US$1.5 trillion at the end of the year from a peak of US$1.9 trillion, Eurekahedge said.
Daily Telegraph – Lawyers are being galvanised on behalf of a raft of hedge funds which claim the financial watchdog has illegitimately extended its powers and caused "wide-spread capital destruction."
One said: "The FSA’s remit is to maintain orderly markets – the markets were working fine, only the banks were going bust. With one swoop, the regulators have wiped out perfectly legitimate businesses and have cost some funds millions. They have gone for the big political hit without a thought for the damage they are wreaking. There may be unintended consequences but it’s outrageous and illegal."
The backlash follows a week in which the multi-billion pound hedge fund industry has been plunged into crisis. Prime brokers in London estimated that 35 per cent of European hedge funds were organising emergency measures to avoid closing funds as a ban on short-selling has hamstrung managers at a time when they need flexibility to survive.
Independent- The UK’s financial watchdog has targeted hedge funds for the second time this month, demanding more disclosure for those trying to build anonymous stakes in companies using a complex derivative, in a bid to combat market failure.
The move to force disclosure of contracts for difference (CfDs), which comes just weeks after the regulator brought in disclosure rules for short positions in certain circumstances, will leave some hedge funds "fuming", according to one market expert. CfDs and shorting are tactics predominantly used by hedge fund investors.
The Financial Services Authority outlined plans yesterday for investors to disclose their positions if they have built up more than 3 per cent in a company through CfDs. Under the new rules, investors must disclose a position, whether held through shares or CfDs or a combination. Previously there had been no requirement to disclose any CfDs positions other than when the target was in a takeover process.
