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 – The Galleon Group insider-trading investigation may sap investor confidence in the hedge-fund industry, already under scrutiny after Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, said Michael Coleman, chairman of the Singapore chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association.
“It’s obviously not good news for the hedge-fund industry from the top level, but it seems to be a very specific case,” Coleman said in an interview on Bloomberg Television today.
Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam was arrested in New York on Oct. 16 for alleged insider trading, charges which he denies. The U.S. government is reviewing regulation of the financial industry, including a plan that would create an agency for monitoring consumer financial products and bring hedge and private-equity funds under federal scrutiny.
Reuters – Hedge fund Avenue Capital is in the final stages of talks to buy a Chinese medical equipment company backed by a unit of Citigroup Inc in a deal worth over $100 million, sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
The exclusive talks for Shenzhen-based Landwind between Avenue Capital, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, and Citi Venture Capital International (CVCI) came after Bain Capital and other private equity funds dropped their bids, said the sources.
A deal for Landwind would mark a rare occasion whereby a hedge fund outbids a private equity firm for control of a company. Hedge funds such as Avenue, run by billionaire Marc Lasry, have built up their presence in Asia in the last few years, participating in more and more private equity-style deals.
Reuters – U.S. hedge funds and private equity firms told Congress on Tuesday that all advisers to private pools of capital should be subjected to the same level of federal scrutiny, including those managing venture capital funds.
A draft U.S. bill would require advisers of hedge funds and private equity funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, thus forcing more disclosures to regulators and investors.
However, the draft House of Representatives bill exempts venture capital funds from mandatory registration with the regulator.
Bloomberg – Credit Suisse Group AG, which sold its Japanese asset management unit in June, will offer alternative investments including private-equity funds to attract the nation’s $800 billion in pension money.
Tokyo-based Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd., the Japanese brokerage unit of Switzerland’s second-largest bank, won approval on Oct. 2 from Japan’s Financial Services Agency to act as an investment management firm, according to Akira Takahashi, the head of the brokerage’s asset management group. The unit in August hired BlackRock Inc.’s Shinichiro Sato to head a six-member investment team, Takahashi said.
Bloomberg – Brazilian money managers will open more funds targeting real estate, private equity and corporate debt as record low interest rates reduce demand for government bonds, said Jose Luiz Osorio de Almeida Filho, a former chief securities regulator.
Investors pulled 7.8 billion reais ($4.3 billion) from funds tied to interest rates this year, reducing their portion among total fund assets tracked by Brazil’s investment association to 14 percent, the lowest level on record. Hedge funds, asset-backed commercial paper funds, stocks and fixed- income funds attracted money after policy makers cut rates five times this year, according to the association, known as Anbid.
The Korea Herald – China Investment Corp., the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is continuing to shift its investments away from cash and is investing billions in hedge funds and private-equity funds, chairman Lou Jiwei said.
China Investment has invested “many times” the $500 million that CIC was reported to have placed in hedge funds and private-equity firms in June, Lou said Saturday in an interview in Beijing. He said China Investment was also investing in fund-of- funds.
Lou said Beijing-based CIC’s performance this year “has not been bad” following last year’s 2.1 percent decline in its global investments. He didn’t elaborate. China Investment Corp. had $297.5 billion in assets and had 87.4 percent of its global portfolio invested in cash and cash equivalents at the end of last year, the fund reported earlier this month.
Private equity funds General Atlantic and Fidelity, hedge fund TPG-Axon, CME, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and a group company of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek are said to be eyeing a 5% stake each in MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX), people familiar with the divestment process told ET.
Deutsche Bank, Nomura Financial Advisory and Antique Capital Markets are advising the stock bourse on the divestment. An MCX spokesperson declined comment on the development.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) - Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "High Net Worth Alternative Investments" report to their offering.
The report identifies demand for hedge funds, capital protected funds, private equity funds and real estate funds from high net worths, The scope of the report covers France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic region, Belgium/Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Includings hedge funds, capital protected funds, private equity funds and real estate funds (open ended and closed ended) thr peport shows the results of the Wealth Management Market Leaders survey of 280 wealth management companies worldwide, and on high net worths (those with more than $1m in onshore liquid assets)
HNW alternative investment asset allocations are expected to decline slightly in both Australia and France in the next two years, as high net worths reposition their portfolios. Real estate allocations and commodities allocations will decline among Australian HNWs while both hedge fund and derivative allocations will increase.
While British HNWs plan to increase their exposure to capital protected products and private equity funds, and their wealth managers will devote significant resources to the development of these product areas, they are failing to anticipate their clients demand for closed-ended real estate funds.
At the same time German wealth managers are focusing strongly on capital protected products which, while certainly in demand by most HNWs, will not see a significant increase in terms of portfolio allocations.
HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Richard Bookbinder is launching TerraVerde Capital Partners LLC, one of the first ”green” hedge fund of funds in the United States. Bookbinder is Managing Member of Bookbinder Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund of funds, and a founding Principal of Sandler, O’Neill & Partners, L.P.
TerraVerde allocates capital to hedge funds devoted solely to reducing carbon emissions through clean-tech, renewable energy and other environmental sectors such as carbon trading, energy, solar, wind, water, reforestation and more.
”We’re in the early stages of a long-term, multi-generational growth cycle for carbon reduction strategies,” Bookbinder said. ”TerraVerde is focused on those green strategies that are capitalizing on the business potential driven by the need for energy security and clean energy use.”
While managing one of Bookbinder Capital’s other hedge fund of funds, Bookbinder studied the emergence of investment opportunities in the ”green” space. After an in-depth analysis of the industry, including meeting with hedge fund managers, green private equity funds, scientists, historians, and others, he came to the realization: investment funds with an environmental focus offer sufficient, attractive long-term investment opportunities to dedicate an entire strategy focused solely on the “green” space.
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) – European hedge fund manager, NB Private Equity Partners (NBPE), and a new fund launched by Altus, ‘Altus Resource Capital,’ have been accepted by The London Stock Exchange into the The Specialist Fund Market (SFM).
As an EU Regulated Market, SFM is designed to offer access for specialist investment vehicles targeting institutional, professional and highly knowledgeable investors. It’s admission standards offer sufficient flexibility for single strategy hedge funds, private equity funds and other alternative strategies and structures. The market is open to both UK and international issuers.
"We are delighted to welcome two new funds to the Specialist Fund Market today. Altus Resource Capital demonstrates that despite the wider economic climate, London’s investors continue to be responsive to new investment opportunities, (Altus recently raised GBP26 million ($43 million) for the launch)." Tracey Pierce, Head of Equity Primary Markets at London Stock Exchange Group, said, "NB Private Equity Partners’ decision to join highlights some of the London markets’ other key strengths: the enhanced liquidity and increased investor profile that they offer to issuers on an ongoing basis."
"We are very pleased to launch Altus Resource Capital (ARC) on the Specialist Fund Market today." Marc Gordon, partner at Nimrod Capital LLP, placing agents for Altus Resource Capital, commented, "This is our second successful fundraising within 12 months on the London market. The Specialist Fund Market has provided the flexibility to bring the new fund to the attention of leading asset managers and to attract interest even in these difficult times."
Since the start of 2008, a number of specialist funds have taken advantage of new opportunities to access London-based investors through the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market and Specialist Fund Market, including: Boussard and Gauvaudan Holdings, BH Global, Castle Alternative Invest, FRM Diversified Alpha, Marwyn Value, and MW Tops. They benefit from the deepest liquidity available to publicly quoted alternative investment vehicles.
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!
Charleston Daily Mail – The Connecticut Senate has voted to require hedge funds and private equity funds located in the state and doing business here to disclose certain conflicts of interest to customers.
Supporters of the bill, which passed on a 24-12, party-line vote, say it’s needed because Congress hasn’t done enough to protect consumers and regulate the hedge fund industry.
Sen. Robert Duff, a Norwalk Democrat, says if Congress passes similar legislation before Dec. 31, the Connecticut bill would no longer be needed.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – In a white paper which was presented to high-level asset managers in New York by FinServ Consulting, ‘Preparing for Alternative Asset Management Regulation’, it is said that hedge funds should be prepared to identify, aggregate and report on counterparty risk exposures, enterprise-wide.
“The majority of hedge funds and private equity funds spent the latter part of 2008 and early 2009 instituting layoffs and shutting down projects. Now, in light of coming regulation, the heads of these funds will be faced with having to do more with less. Therefore, it is going to be critical that funds approach their compliance efforts in an organized and efficient manner,” said Howard Weinstein, Managing Partner of FinServ Consulting. “We recommend that funds identify a partner who can help them navigate these important steps. Ultimately, finding an experienced firm who has been through this process before will enable the fund to save both time and money.”
The paper outlines a roadmap for planning cost-effective, asset-building infrastructures to meet new rules, such as approaching new regulatory rules as opportunities, and facing compliance activities proactively, with a budget for meeting future requirements and exceeding investor expectations, particularly as investors return to the market.
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!
