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.
Professional Pensions – The Universities Superannuation Scheme has appointed UBS Global Asset Management – Fund Services to deliver hedge fund of funds administration services.
The country’s second largest pension fund said it had enhanced its in-house hedge fund selection capability in recent months, by implementing an absolute return strategies programme.
HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Bandon Capital Management has reached it’s 5th year for its hedge fund flagship investment strategy, ‘Directional Interest Rate Strategy’, (DIRS) producing annualized returns of +7.09% net of all fees, comparatively over the same time period the S&P 500 has lost -2.15%.
The strategy provides investors with absolute returns, uncorrelated with the equity and fixed income markets, by investing in the US Treasury Market using ETF’s or mutual funds and is available to non-accredited investors.
“We’re incredibly proud of this milestone. This is an investment area where there is a tremendous amount of product development activity and innovation." Bill Woodruff, Founder and Managing Principal said, "As advisors and their clients increasingly seek non-correlated, absolute return strategies we stand out for both the length and strength of our track record.”
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HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Swiss-based alternative asset manager, Partners Group, has been selected as the manager for a private equity secondary mandate by the sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC).
KIC aims to profit from current dislocations in the secondary market which offers high discounts to net asset value and attractive return potential. The hedge fund firm has four offices located in the Asia-Pacific region, with Singapore being the second-largest office worldwide.
”We are very pleased to launch this secondary investment mandate with Partners Group.” Dong-Ik Lee, Head of the Alternative Investment Team at KIC, said, ”We believe that leveraging a very strong and experienced manager like Partners Group is the right way to explore and profit from this market.”
Steffen Meister, CEO of Partners Group, added, ”We are extremely pleased and honored to work with the Korea Investment Corporation, which we consider to be one of the most prestigious sovereign wealth funds around the world and one of the most sophisticated investors in Asia.”
Partners Group has over CHF 24 billion ($22 billion) in investment programs under management in private equity, private debt, private real estate, private infrastructure, absolute return strategies and listed alternatives.
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HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Hedge fund manager Bandon Capital Management, LLC, has made it’s flagship investment strategy, DIRS – Directional Interest Rate Strategy – available to investment advisors through Adhesion’s WealthADV UMA platform.
The flagship strategy, celebrating it’s 5th year anniversary at the end of this month, seeks to provide investors with absolute returns, uncorrelated with the equity and fixed income markets by investing in the US Treasury Market using ETF’s or mutual funds and is available to non-accredited investors.
Bandon is focused on delivering the attractive investment characteristics of alternative investing – absolute returns with low correlations – to the mass affluent and small institutional investors while minimizing or eliminating many of the structural negatives including high minimums, high fees, long lock ups and lack of liquidity and transparency.
”Every day we hear from advisors sharing the frustration of their clients, whose account balances have been decimated and are not yet reflecting the economic recovery they keep hearing about.” Bill Woodruff, Founder and Managing Principal, said, ”Increasingly, advisors are recognizing the benefit of allocating a portion of their portfolio to absolute return strategies – just like large institutional and ultra HNW investors – and are knocking on our door. We could not be more pleased with the opportunity to be included on the Adhesion platform which has many benefits including an open custody approach that enables advisors and their clients to access Bandon’s strategies through Schwab Institutional, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Pershing”.
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HedgeCo.net (West Palm Beach) – Press Release – Hedge fund, funds of funds and managed futures funds group, the Managed Funds Association (MFA) has commended the working group paper, “Report to the Supervisors of the Major OTC Derivatives Dealers on the Proposals of Centralized CDS Clearing Solutions for the Segregation and Portability of Customer CDS Positions and Related Margin,” which was submitted to industry regulators on June 30, 2009.
"The efforts of the special working group and the Report are both comprehensive and timely." Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO, said, "MFA has been a strong proponent in advocating collateral segregation, portability of trades and direct and indirect buy-side access to centralized clearing. We remain committed to working with industry regulators, industry working groups such as the Operations Management Group, and other trade associations on the next steps toward providing such access."
The report was written by a special working group of eight dealers, four MFA members and four other buy-side market participants, addresses key concerns raised by supervisors and legislators globally, to analyze the various U.S. and European CDS clearing solutions with respect to the issues of customer margin segregation and portability of cleared customer CDS positions.
MFA fully endorses the collaborative efforts with industry regulators to support commercially viable centralized clearing platforms and to promote sound business practices.
MFA members include the vast majority of the largest hedge fund groups in the world who manage a substantial portion of the approximately $1.5 trillion invested in absolute return strategies. MFA is headquartered in Washington, with an office in New York. For more information, please visit: www.managedfunds.org
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Although confidence in the hedge fund industry has taken a hit, a large and notable UK pension fund has begun to place their trust into alternative investments. The West Midlands Local Authority Pension Fund, which manages close to $10 billion, was looking to diversify investments, and chose to allocate 8 percent into hedge funds.
In an interview with Reuters, management pointed out that although hedge funds may have had a dismal 2008, they still outperformed the equity markets. In addition, Chief Investment Officer Judith Saunders believes that hedge funds “have been forced to improve their practices and some of the weaker ones have gone.”
200 hedge funds who couldn’t withstand market conditions closed up shop last year in the United States alone, thinning out an industry that once managed close to $3 trillion. In addition, the unfavorable economic conditions exposed dozens of hedge funds that were running fraudulent schemes. Many companies feel now is the time to invest, with a number of strong funds that withstood the storm.
The Universities Supeannuation Scheme, UK’s second largest pension fund, is also pursuing diversification, confirming they would allocate 20 percent of their $32 billion in assets under management to alternative investments. Management recently told reporters “that current turmoil in the hedge fund industry represents a compelling investment opportunity for investors like USS who are able to take the long-term view.”
The West Midlands Fund chose investments that employ absolute return strategies, which are supposed to be less volatile than other strategies. Saunders has been pondering the idea of investing in hedge since late last year, when she stated the company was considering a 2 percent allocation.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@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! Be sure to check out our sister sites. www.hedgefundlounge.com, www.hedgefundtools.com, and www.hedgefundemployment.com
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – At a time when most investors are becoming increasingly weary of high risk hedge funds, public pension funds are upping their stake, hoping to make up for recent lackluster performances.
New York State has a cap that limits the amount of alternative investments in the state’s Common Retirement Fund, valued at $153.9 billion. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is urging lawmakers to increase that cap, saying that “we need more flexibility.”
The Common Retirement Fund has followed in the footsteps of other lagging pension funds, posting only a 2.6 percent gain for the year ending March 31. As of now, the fund may allocate up to 25 percent of its capital to alternative investments. DiNapoli did not state how much he wanted that number increased.
Public funds manage over $2 trillion in assets and are actively seeking ways to garner larger returns. However, some argue that market conditions are not favorable enough to start taking wild risks with taxpayer money. Alternative Investments may include hedge funds, private equity funds, or anything that invests in real estate and/or commodities such as oil or gold.
One of Amaranth Advisor’s major investors was the state of Massachusetts, who allocated a substantial amount from its Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund. When the fund imploded thanks to some bad bets magnified by massive amounts of leverage, followed by the closing of Sowood Capital Management the following summer, the state fund was out $80 million.
In Orange County, the Employees’ Retirement System has invested 7% of their assets into the reputable BlackRock, as well as to Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company. The fund of funds will handle over $200 million of assets. In addition, South Carolina may invest over $13 billion of their total assets worth $29 billion in hedge funds and other alternative investment vehicles.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@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! Be sure to check out our sister sites. For more information, visit www.hedgeconetworks.com
