2014 best year since 2007 for hedge funds... [more]Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Hedge funds ended the year just north of $3 trillion - a record high not matched since 2007, according to the latest hedge fund asset flows data from eVestment. The figure is notable as December saw some redemptions on the month. Investors withdrew $13.2 billion

Fund of hedge funds ALTIN closes 2014 up 5.75%... [more]Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: Swiss alternative investment firm ALTIN AG, the $250m multi-strategy fund of hedge funds listed on the London and Swiss stock exchanges, a positive return over the last quarter of the year, ending 2014 up +5.75%, clear

Anil Prasad to launch $500m macro hedge fund in April... [more]Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: Anil Prasad, the former global head of Citigroup’s foreign exchange unit, is readying to launch his own macro hedge fund called Silver Ridge Asset Management with $500m in initial assets in April,

Launches - Newalpha AM raises $250m in seed capital for long-only strategy, A new hedge fund with Duke University roots raises $7.5m, Ex-Point72 manager Gabriel Plotkin is said to raise $700m for new hedge fund... [more]Newalpha AM raises $250m in seed capital for long-only strategy In the wake of the convergence between mainstream and alternative asset management, NewAlpha AM expands the scope of its activities beyond hedge funds to Long Only Equity funds. The success of this new orientation is marked

Performance - Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio's All Weather Fund returned 8.6% in 2014, Ex-Goldman, Noble traders' macro hedge fund avoids Swiss franc loss, assets triple, Stanley Fink’s ISAM said to gain 7% day Swiss removed franc cap, China fund beating 96% of peers says rally over until July... [more]Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio's All Weather Fund returned 8.6% in 2014 From Forbes.com: It wasn’t a fantastic year for the world’s largest hedge fund firm, but Bridgewater Associates’ key All Weather fund did finish in solid positive territory in 2014, returning 8.6% net of fe

Assets - Hedge fund exit requests hit two-year low in January, IndexIQ saw ETFs asset rise 46%... [more]Hedge fund exit requests hit two-year low in January The SS&C GlobeOp announced that its Forward Redemption Indicator for January 2015 shows notifications of 2.49%. This figure is down from 5.87% in the previous month. SS&C GlobeOp’s data on the GlobeOp platform represents approxim

Hedge fund managers testing the social media waters... [more]From Investmentnews.com: Hedge funds, long known for restricting investor access to complex and secretive strategies, are ever so slowly coming out of the shadows and embracing social media. It's still a far cry from your favorite celebrities tweeting out what they had for breakfast, but it shows th

Stonehaven's top alternative investment trends for 2015... [more]From Linkedin.com: Over Stonehaven’s 14 year history we have witnessed and played a role in many shifting dynamics across the alternative investment industry. We are well-positioned in the marketplace to see trends with a 26 person platform representing over 20 asset managers to the global investmen

Institutions - Arizona Public Safety allocates $458m to five managers, Chicago Park Employees terminates K2 Advisors hedge fund of funds, CALPERS to reduce private-equity manager... [more]Arizona Public Safety allocates $458m to five managers From PIonline.com: Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, approved a total of up to $458 million in commitments, direct investments and co-investments, said Mark Steed, chief of staff and lead portfolio manager.

Manager Profile - Zach Schreiber: The hedge funds who made a killing betting against oil... [more]From Standard.co.uk: Hedge-fund tycoons aren’t known for their shy, retiring manner. So it was that, when Zach Schreiber told investors eight months ago that the oil price was about to collapse, he declared: “If you are long, I’m sorry for you,” before slapping a slide up on his PowerPoint showing a

Comment - Why invest in hedge funds if they don't outperform the market?... [more]From Forbes.com: Hedge funds have always been a bit exotic and an enigma to some, but bottom line they are supposed to produce good returns using a range of strategies including global macro, event driven and relative value (arbitrage). And, sophisticated or high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) could

Regulatory - After inspecting private equity funds, SEC examiners to broaden focus... [more]From NYTimes.com: Officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission have said they discovered numerous problems when examining private equity firms during a two-year review that ended recently. Now, a specialized group of examiners is set to train its focus on hedge funds and other funds that inve

Legal - Former Galleon trader seeks to void insider trading conviction... [more]From Reuters.com: A former Galleon Group hedge fund trader on Thursday said he will ask a federal judge to throw out his conviction and 10-year prison sentence, one of the longest imposed in a broad U.S. government probe into insider trading. In court papers, Zvi Goffer, 38, said the jury inst

Europe - Denmark ready to dump kroner on market to tame hedge funds, Stephen Schwarzman says ECB asset buying should have come earlier... [more]Denmark ready to dump kroner on market to tame hedge funds From Bloomberg.com: Denmark sent hedge funds and other speculators a clear message yesterday, daring them to test the full force of its monetary arsenal at their own peril. The central bank signaled it is ready to step up currenc

People - Most people who work at hedge funds don't make as much as you might think... [more]From Businessinsider.com.au: Hedge funds are known for pulling in the big bucks, and with that comes compensation. Lots of it. However, according to data from the online investor network SumZero, the majority of hedge fund analysts don’t actually make more than other professionals in tradition

Investing - Hedge funds limit exposure to stocks, anticipating a correction, Hedge fund manager short Bombardier, long U.S. dollar plays... [more]Hedge funds limit exposure to stocks, anticipating a correction From TheStreet.com: Hedge funds as a group under-performed the market in 2014, mainly because they were underexposed to stocks. Yet this cautious strategy, which goes against the aggressive image of hedge funds, may serve th

Activist News - Family Dollar shareholders back Dollar Tree merger after long fight... [more]From Forbes.com: Shareholders in Family Dollar Stores voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve the company’s $8.5 billion merger with Dollar Tree, ending a long-running takeover drama that drew in many of the world’s largest hedge funds. The results of the shareholder vote indicate that investors

Service Providers - Elsen has raised $400k to speed up financial computing at hedge funds... [more]From Streetwise.co: Boston startup Elsen is looking to accelerate the speed of computer processing at hedge funds and other financial institutions—and now has some funding of its own. The company, founded in 2013 by three Northeastern University grads, on Wednesday planned to announce that it’s rais

News Briefs - George Soros thinks the future of the European Union is at risk over Ukraine, At Davos, it's not all about the money...seriously... [more]George Soros thinks the future of the European Union is at risk over Ukraine Financier George Soros told guests at a private dinner in Davos tonight that the next few days were critical for the fate of Ukraine, and called on Europe to urgently provide more financial support for the count

…And Finally - Man tries crowdfunding to pay for 13 dates he thinks are needed to find true love... [more]From Orange.co.uk: A Norwich bachelor is trying to raise £1,300 through crowdfunding site Indiegogo to help him find true love. Bearded bartender Tom Packer wants to the money to pay for the 13 dates he believes it will take him to find the girl of his dreams. Mr Packer, who describes hi