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.
Seattle Times – Just a third of hedge funds with assets of more than $100 million had positive returns in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Abraham Trading Diversified Program, a small operation in rural Texas, was up 30 percent in 2008.
It’s late on a Sunday evening in October, and Salem Abraham is the last diner at the Cattle Exchange steakhouse. Abraham is a businessman and lifelong resident of this tiny oasis of a town — population 2,277 — nestled among cattle ranches in the desolate Texas Panhandle, its green hills watered by the Canadian River.
New York Times – For some hedge funds, Lehman Brothers has become the Roach Motel of Wall Street: They checked in, but they can’t check out.
Two weeks after Lehman spiraled into bankruptcy, hedge funds that did business with the Wall Street bank are still fighting to get their money out of the firm. For some, it has become a life-or-death struggle.
Big funds like GLG, Harbinger, Amber Capital and Elliott Associates have varying degrees of exposure to Lehman Brothers.
But even a $6.2 million fund run by students at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia has been caught up in the bankruptcy. The fund, like its larger counterparts, used Lehman as a prime broker, and no longer has access to its money.
Bloomberg – Asia hedge-fund closures jumped 19 percent this year, with the industry set to shrink for the first time as clients withdraw more money after funds in the region underperformed rivals in the U.S. and Europe.
“It is likely that we’ll see a net reduction in the number of Asian hedge funds through this current year,” Peter Douglas, principal of Singapore-based hedge fund consulting firm GFIA Pte, said in an interview yesterday. “Almost without exception, the managers that we talk to in Asia are seeing capital outflows, some of it is minor, some of it major.”
About 70 hedge funds in Asia have shut down as of August, an increase from 59 in the first eight months of last year, according to Eurekahedge. There are 618 Asia-focused managers managing 1,199 hedge funds, compared with 1,196 funds in December. Assets under management fell to $168 billion in August, from $176 billion at the end of 2007, according to the Singapore-based hedge fund research and publishing company.
Asia’s hedge-fund managers — more than half of whom trade only equities — have underperformed their U.S. and European counterparts whose more diverse strategies allowed them to profit from turmoil in financial markets. Asia’s hedge-fund average returns fell 12.6 percent this year, compared with declines of 0.1 percent in North America and 5.8 percent in Europe, Eurekahedge said. Asia gained 18 percent in 2007, outperforming both regions.
Financial Post – The Canadian hedge fund industry has ballooned in the past few years, with some estimating annual growth at 30%. But there is still plenty of room for more, given that plenty of the strategies, such as risk arbitrage, that have proliferated in London and New York have not yet arrived here.
A near full house at yesterday’s Canadian Hedge Fund Managers Speak With Investors forum demonstrated that the industry, now pegged at about 200 separate funds in Canada, is alive and well regardless of the recent turmoil. Much of this is being driven by institutional investment.
Despite so much volatility in the markets in the past two months, and the fact that some feel fundamentals have "gone out the window," Canadian hedge fund managers at the forum, owing perhaps to having less leverage than their U. S. counterparts, remain upbeat. "The response from investors was outstanding. They are looking for some understanding and this is a perfect venue for that," said Karen Azlen, CEO of Introduction Capital, who organized the event.
The Financial Standard- The global hedge fund space is undergoing a period of radical change as large hedge funds become institutionalised, new research shows.
According to international strategy consultancy Celent, large hedge funds are undergoing institutionalisation as US pension plans and endowment funds demand players display vigorous operation capabilities to satisfy demanding due diligence requirements.
“Many hedge funds have grown to a size and scope that require managers to run their business more formally. As a result, a redesigned hedge fund organisation has emerged," said Celent.
“With substantial operation infrastructure capabilities and sound internal control and risk management practices in place, many large funds now have much in common with their asset management counterparts."
