| Technologically Speaking: an interview with Frank Smith, Co-Founder of Petrac | ||
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Continue reading the full story on this market leader in performance analysis software who started out never wanting to sell anything at all... |
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| Book Review: Hedge Funds - Quantitative Insights from François-Serge Lhabitant | ||
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Fresh off the press (published May 18th): “Quantitative Insights” from the bestselling author of “Hedge Funds: Myths and Limits”. This primer on the analysis of hedge funds offers investors a more quantitative understanding of this topic, providing a complete guide to portfolio techniques, asset allocation, performance measurement and product selection in the alternative investment world.
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| In spite of low interest rates, hedge funds are borrowing much less than assumed | ||
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The German Alternative Investment Association (BAI) has published some findings after having studied different hedge fund databases: According to BAI spokesman Rolf Dreisedler, 33% of all hedge funds do not use leverage, because leverage does not fit to the fund strategy. Only 28% have a leverage greater than 2:1 and 45% of all funds have a leverage lower than that. No online Source
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| CSFB sets up incubator to keep top staff | ||
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Credit Suisse First Boston has set up an internal incubator for would-be proprietary traders as a way of preventing potential stars from quitting the bank to work in hedge funds. The Alpha Generation Group, as the incubator has been dubbed, has been up and running for a couple of months within the bank's equity division. The move by CSFB is part of awider trend among banks to stem outflows of their trading talent to hedge funds, where successful bankers can earn large sums and enjoy more autonomy. Source
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| IFX creates new way to access hedge funds through CFDs | ||
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From the FT: Hedge funds, long the preserve of wealthy investors, are about to be opened up to the UK retail market through a new product that will allow investment by people with net worth of as little as £50,000. This week IFX, a financial trading business, will sell contract-for-differences (CFDs) on a small number of hedge funds, giving retail investors access to the underlying fund through derivatives. "CFDs", or "Contract for Difference", were developed to allow clients to receive all the benefits of owning a stock without having to physically own the stock itself. Source
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| Mutual funds to include hedge fund strategies | ||
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Gregg Greenberg from TheStreet.com reports the mutual fund industry has gradually been rolling out new offerings that use sophisticated hedge fund strategies. At the bottom of the page you find in the “Source link” you will see a table of what Greenberg calls “Hedge Fund Hybrids”, mutual funds using hedge fund strategies. Source
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| Lehman Reportedly Eyes Quant Platform | ||
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InstitutionalInvestor.com reports: Lehman Brothers is building its first quantitative research platform under Wai Lee , the director of quantitative analysis the firm hired from Credit Suisse Asset Management last month, in an effort to provide research-driven strategies such as hedge funds and enhanced index funds to institutional investors. Source
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| Is the hedge fund industry is prone to Texan `capsizing boat` syndrome? | ||
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From the FT: There was a rather unfortunate accident in Texas earlier this month. A boat full of party-goers capsized as it was passing a nudist beach when everyone rushed over to one side to get the best view. (Note: use this link to read that story: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_942819.html.) Perhaps the hedge fund industry is prone to the "capsizing boat" syndrome. Although there is a wide range of hedge fund strategies, most managers will occasionally be trying to make the same play.…Full article: Source
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| How the Short-Sellers Choose Their Targets | ||
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From the NY Times: Professional short-sellers use various strategies. Some rely on quantitative analysis, sifting through an array of statistics to find overvalued stocks. Others do much field research, polling suppliers, distributors, bankers and rivals for insights into a company's prospects. Here is a look at how some short-sellers hunt for vulnerable stocks, and at how some analysts disagree with their targets: Source
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| Art, collectibles may mature better than stocks, and be fulfilling, too | ||
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Putting your money where your heart is can produce favorable returns - even if you don't have a lot to invest. Alternative investments such as art, wine and antiques are becoming more mainstream, according to a report by Cap Gemini Ernest and Young. And with good reason. Art has outperformed the S&P 500 index with annual returns of 12.6 percent during the past 50 years compared with 11.7 percent for the S&P, according to the Mei/Moses All Art Index. But if you can't afford Monet or Picasso, the risks are higher because the value of lesser-known works is so subjective. Source
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| SEC Seeks Psychologist To Boost Morale, Fight Burnout Within the Agency | ||
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Analyze This: The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to hire an organizational psychologist to improve employee attitudes and job satisfaction by reducing burnout, conflict and stress. The newly created full-time position pays up to $147,978 a year. Applicants must have a degree in psychology, preferably a master's or Ph.D. The SEC psychologist is expected to make recommendations on productivity, team building and diversity, and develop "innovative solutions to complex psychological issues." Some former SEC officials find the idea of an SEC psychologist laughable. "Just one?" asks former SEC enforcement division director William McLucas, now a partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Full article: Source
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| SEC orders mutual fund managers to follow new rules | ||
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The Seattle Times reports the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered mutual-fund managers to follow new ethics rules and required funds to specify when investors are owed discounts for buying large blocks of shares. The code also requires fund managers to report internally any investments they make in their company's funds. Source
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| Derivatives explosion in London | ||
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From The Times: In the towering glass fortresses of London’s Canary Wharf, a new elite of City workers has emerged to replace the takeover kings of the 1980s and the dotcom cheerleaders of the 1990s. This new group is less ostentatious, but its pay packets trump those of almost anyone else in the City. They are specialists in derivatives — arguably the most dynamic part of the financial sector, and one in which London is becoming a world leader. Source
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| Pressure to open hedge funds directly to UK investors | ||
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From The Scotsman: THOSE crying out to be able to offer hedge funds to retail investors have long said it is unfair, if not discriminatory, that only the UK’s richest investors should have access to such investment vehicles. Evidence of a surge in hedge fund investment among the UK’s wealthy will doubtless further fuel the call. Source
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| Shell to pay e1bn into pensions this year | ||
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From IPE.com: Oil giant shell says it will pay around 1.3 billion dollars (1.06 billion euros) into its defined benefit pension schemes in 2004. Source
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| German schemes finally warm to hedge funds | ||
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Germany’s largest industry pension fund is to award five hedge fund mandates. Berlin-based BVV Versicherungsverein des Bankgewerbes, the banking sector’s Pensionskasse, is about to award up to five multi-strategy-hedge fund mandates to as-yet unnamed external managers. Source
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| Deutsche Bank faces action over IPO boo-boo (JP) | ||
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According to the Financial Times, Deutsche Post is considering taking legal action against Deutsche Bank, the lead investment bank preparing the initial public offering of its post office banking unit Postbank. People close to the group told the FT that lawyers were looking at several ways of seeking recompense for the damage done to the IPO, due to be priced next Monday, following the leak of an internal Deutsche Bank document last week, which suggested Postbank was worth up to 25 per cent less than Deutsche Post hoped for. Aside from a possible lawsuit, Deutsche Post and Postbank are considering demanding a cut in Deutsche Bank's fees. Sacking the bank is said to be "out of the question". Source
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| New CEO of Bursa Malaysia reveals his plans for the future | ||
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From FinanceAsia.com: Yusli Mohamed Yusof is the newly appointed CEO of Bursa Malaysia, the new holding company for all the stock exchanges in Malaysia, demutualized earlier this year. His task now is, quite simply, to get more investors to do more trading on the exchange. The company runs: three stock exchanges (the main board, the second board and Mesdaq); the derivatives exchange; the Labuan International Financial Exchange and also offers clearing and settlement services, as well as information services. Source
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| CME`s Donohue says derivatives key to China growth, courts Chinese exchanges | ||
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Accelerating the growth of futures and options trading could be key to continued rapid expansion of China's economy, the chief executive of the largest U.S. futures exchange said. China's exchanges can gain enormous growth and acceleration benefits by collaborating with global exchanges like CME," he said. Major derivatives exchanges offer benefits such as developed infrastructure, trading and clearing platforms and standardized business practices, Donohue said. Source
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| China`s Efforts to Curb Overheating Have Reduced Inflation Fears | ||
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RiskCenter.com reports China 's measures to cool its economy have sharply reduced fears that the country may be headed for a market crash. World Bank country director for China , Yukon Huang explained, "A month ago, people were worried about a potential hard landing. I think today they think it's going to be a potentially managed soft landing if current trends continue. China is doing the right thing to watch the situation very carefully. If more needs to be done, I think they'll be prepared to do more." Analysts say the central bank could increase benchmark lending rates for the first time in around nine years if inflation hits 5%. Consumer prices rose 3.8% in the year through April which represented the fastest growth in seven years. Source
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| Baring asset management launches China Hedge Fund | ||
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Baring Asset Management (BAM) is launching The Baring China Absolute Return Fund plc in June 2004 (subject to regulatory approval). The fund will offer sophisticated international investors access to growth in one of the world’s most dynamic economies and portfolio diversification in an absolute return focused fund. The new long/short hedge fund will invest in the Greater China region, encompassing China itself as well as companies with substantial business exposure to China. The fund has a minimum investment of €125,000 or US $150,000.
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| How to modernize the Chinese banking sector? | ||
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From the FT: China's economic future hinges, to a large extent, on the reform of its financial sector: turning its big four state-owned banks into genuinely commercial lenders, with a proper profit motive, more savvy management and modern risk management systems. That, in turn, depends on finding strong international partners for the big four and exposing them to market discipline by privatising them. Source
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| Macquarie moves to capitalise on equities | ||
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Macquarie, the Australian investment bank, is boosting the range of products it is offering Asian investors to meet what it sees as an increased appetite for alternative investments aimed at maximising returns from the region's revived equity markets. The group is looking into possible joint ventures in Japan, China and India. Source
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| 11th Annual Hedge Fund Forum New York City - Save up to $500 | ||
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June 21-24, 2004 * Roosevelt Hotel * New York City From the team that brought you GAIM USA, the only must-attend event of the summer on key regulatory and investment issues in the heart of New York City. **Register and Save up to $500**
For more information, visit: www.iirhedge.com or contact Marc Weitzman at the Institute for International Research p: 212.661.3500 ext.3092
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| NEW! : 2nd Annual Global Absolute Return Congress (‘Global ARC’) Boston | ||
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Global ARC: Where the GLOBAL Pension/Endowment and Hedge Fund Communities Meet The Grand Ballroom, Boston Sheraton, Massachusetts • 18th-20th October 2004 Featuring 25 of the World’s leading pension funds and endowments as speakers, Global ARC offers a unique investor-driven perspective on the hedge fund industry. Pension/Endowment speakers include:
For registration go to
www.global-arc.net or contact David Stewart at david@global-arc.net |
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| Alternative Investment Roundup: three concurrent conferences on Hedge Funds, Private Equity & Real Estate | ||
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July 13 - 15, 2004 Waldorf Astoria - New York, NY The Alternative Investment Roundup is three concurrent conferences at the same location covering the most important alternative asset classes-Private Equity, Hedge Funds, & Institutional Real Estate. The programs share networking events, offering you unmatched opportunities to meet a wide array of alternative investment professionals and investors. Over 750 decision makers attended last year's event.
10% discount for Alternative Market Briefing Readers for the Alternative Investment Roundup. Register by May 17, 2004 for additional Early Bird Discount. For more information, please visit www.srinstitute.com/air or contact Chris Petersen at CPetersen@srinstitute.com |
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| 7th Annual Portfolio Management Conference Frankfurt/Germany | ||
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7th Annual Portfolio Management Conference June 15 – 16, 2004, Hilton Hotel, Frankfurt/M. The Conference for Institutional Investors
Key speakers: Prof. Harry Kat, City University, London Topics include:
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| Asset Allocation Summit London - 10% discount for subscribers | ||
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LONDON, JUNE 21-22, MILLENNIUM GLOUCESTER HOTEL At this critical juncture for the development of the world's equity and bond markets, this conference will be examining strategic and tactical asset allocation, current strategy and alternative investing. Our conference in October 2003 attracted over 300 participants to the Inter-Continental Hotel. "THE BIG EVENT FOR THE BIG PICTURE" The theory and practice of asset allocation is undergoing dramatic change. The dominant position of equities in pension schemes is under question and investment consultants are putting forward new ideas regarding the structure of asset allocation benchmarks. Multi-asset mandates are coming back into fashion. Asset allocators are grappling with uncertain economic and market conditions, and the correlation between equity and bond markets has reversed. Alternative Investments are seeing record new money flows. The Asset Allocation Summit features speakers at the very heart of these key developments. For anyone involved in asset allocation, this could be the most significant investment conference of 2004. OVER 300 DELEGATES IN 2003 ASSET ALLOCATION SUMMIT 2004 features presentations on:
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| Institutional Investor invites for second annual Hedge Fund Awards Dinner in NY on June 24, 2004 | ||
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Institutional Investor News and Alternative Investment News are delighted to present the second annual Hedge Fund Awards Dinner, to be held at the Capitale Restaurant in New York City, on June 24, 2004. The evening will start with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the awards ceremony. This gala – held in conjunction with Institutional Investor’s Spring Hedge Fund Investment Roundtable, June 23-24, 2004 – will bring together the hedge fund industry to recognize and applaud the achievements of their peers. The awards dinner will include key industry players – hedge fund managers, funds of funds, endowments, foundations, and corporate and public pension funds. Nominees for the awards are selected by the editorial team of Alternative Investment News. Subscribers, readers and other industry members are encouraged to visit our website to offer their input and comments on the nominations. Winners will be selected by the editorial team of Alternative Investment News. Winners will be announced at the event.
2004 Alternative Investment News’ Editorial Advisory Board: Award Categories: Hedge Fund Leader of the Year, Fund of Funds Leader of the Year, Institutional Manager of the Year, Emerging Manager of the Year, Institutional Investor of the Year
To find out who is nominated and to register for the event contact: Nazneen Kanga nkanga@iinews.com
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| Contact / Disclaimer | ||
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Alternative Market Briefing has been called the best free newsletter on hedge funds. Our mission is to intelligently select and timely provide the most important daily news for professionals dealing with hedge funds. Alternative Market Briefing offers both a quick overview and indepth coverage of all subjects through the "Source" link that leads you to the publicly available online news sources. The concept that we follow is that of a "clipping service" - the added value for you is that we screen, intelligently select and efficiently present each day the most important hedge fund news. The majority of the news sources used do not require a subcription, however some may ask you to register. Once registered, you can access these news sources freely. Please mail us your feedback and suggestions to feedback@opalesque.com - we love to hear from you!
Opalesque Ltd.
+49-89-512668-68 This newsletter is edited by Matthias Knab (MK) for Opalesque Ltd. For more information about me and Opalesque Ltd. please use this link. Jeff Posner (JP), a Chicago based PR specialist and free lance writer focussing on the financial industry, is a contributing editor of this newsletter. He can be reached at Geoffp7@juno.com. Did you know? Opalesque is giving you free access to the newsletter archive - use this link. Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter
does not constitute an offer or solicitation to sell any security or fund
to or by anyone in any jurisdictions, nor should it be regarded as a
contractual document. Under no circumstances should the information
provided on this newsletter be considered as investment advice, or
as a sufficient basis on which to make investment decisions. The
information contained herein has been gathered by Opalesque Ltd. from
sources deemed reliable as of the date of publication, but no warranty
of accuracy or completeness is given. Opalesque Ltd. is not responsible
for and provides no guarantee with respect to any of the information provided
herein or through the use of any hypertext link. Past results are no indication
of future performance. All information in this newsletter is for educational
and informational purposes and does not constitute investment, legal, tax or
accounting advice. |
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