M&G gobbles up responsAbility... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: British asset manager M&G acquire substantially all of responsAbility Investments AG, a Zurich-based impact investor focused on private debt and private equity in emerging markets. The London-based investment manager will acquire 90% of responsAbility's shares,

UBS acquires Wealthfront for $1.4bn to reach young affluent American investors... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Swiss lender UBS Group has agreed to acquire California-headquartered digital-only wealth platform Wealthfront as part of a wider plan to target scalable growth in the affluent investor space across the world. The all-cash agreement to acquire the U.S.-focused auto

Early data show January losses for stock picking hedge funds... [more]From Reuters: Hedge funds that specialize in picking stocks started 2022 with losses, investors and research firms said this week as markets went on a rollercoaster ride fueled by fears of rising interest rates and geopolitical turmoil. Data from Morgan Stanley, which works with the world's b

Hedge funds see no end to carbon rally after last year's surge... [more]From Bloomberg: The European Union's carbon price gained nearly 150% last year to a record, and some hedge funds profiting from the surge say that level will be smashed in 2022. Bullish bets from Andurand Capital Management LLP, Northlander Commodity Advisors LLP and Clean Energy Transition L

New Launches: Quintet launches multi-asset climate-neutral investment fund, Mackenzie introduces interval private credit fund, Centerbridge soars past second real estate fund target to reach $2.3bn final close, Litigation finance-focused LexShares closes $100m sophomore fundraise... [more] Quintet launches multi-asset climate-neutral investment fund From Funds Europe: Luxembourg-based Quintet Private Bank is launching a multi-asset climate-neutral Ucits fund - Essential Portfolio Selection (EPS) Quintet Earth. The fund harnesses exposure to green bonds and low-car

The rich are seen to invest $8.4tn in private market funds by 2026... [more]From Asia Asset: Wealthy investors are expected to pour as much as US$8.4 trillion into private market funds by 2026 on the back of "democratisation" of private markets, Broadridge Financial Solutions predicts. That would represent a 154.5% jump from $3.3 trillion in 2021, and a compound annua

Oaktree risks showdown with Beijing over Evergrande debt... [more]From FT: Oaktree Capital is risking a showdown with Beijing over control of one of ailing property developer Evergrande's most-prized projects in mainland China. The Los Angeles-based asset manager has a secured loan to a sprawling tourism resort on the Yellow Sea coast called "Venice" that wo

Institutional Investors: Alecta says $75m blue bond investment meets sustainability, risk/return needs, Ohio Police & Fire to put $70m in 2 buyout funds, Dallas Police & Fire gets active manager Global Alpha Capital, Baylor College of Medicine diagnoses 41.2% return for endowment... [more] Alecta says $75m blue bond investment meets sustainability, risk/return needs From IPE: Alecta announced it is investing $75m (€67m) in a blue bond that will contribute to better marine environments around Belize, and also meet the Swedish pension fund's sustainability and risk/r

Investing: Inside Bill Ackman's big Netflix buy, The manager of 2021's top-performing hedge fund on his winning GameStop trade and lessons from it, The world's largest hedge fund's chief says stocks must sink another 20% before the Fed steps in... [more] Inside Bill Ackman's big Netflix buy From Institutional Investor: When the Dow Jones Industrial Average goes from down 900 points to up 100 in a single afternoon, just who is buying the dip? Pershing Square Capital CEO Bill Ackman, for one. On Wednesday after the close, Ackman s

SPACs: SPAC wipeout spurs top sponsors to pull IPOs at record clip, Delaware Chancery Court decision highlights risks of liability for directors in SPAC deals, D-Orbit to go public in U.S. via $1.28bn SPAC deal, Crypto exchange Apifiny going public through $530m SPAC merger, Celebrity-backed beachbody is cautionary tale for SPACs... [more] SPAC wipeout spurs top sponsors to pull IPOs at record clip From Bloomberg: Some of the blank-check world's shrewdest sponsors are pulling new offerings amid miserable returns for the sector and mounting signs of investor exhaustion. Dealmakers aborted at least 14 planned listi

People: Neuberger Berman hires Ivy CIO to lead ESG team ahead of PM retirements, Standard Chartered hires Marisa Drew as Chief Sustainability Officer... [more] Neuberger Berman hires Ivy CIO to lead ESG team ahead of PM retirements Neuberger Berman, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager announced that Daniel Hanson, CFA, joined the firm today and will become Head of the U.S. Sustainable Equity team effective April 1, 2022

Crypto: Crypto infrastructure company Fireblocks nearly quadruples valuation to $8bn in six months, How the Fed's move could affect the crypto market, Flushing it: $8bn New York commercial bank to offer Bitcoin services, Cathie Wood's Ark Invest expects ether to soar over 7,000% and hit a $20tn market cap by 2030... [more] Crypto infrastructure company Fireblocks nearly quadruples valuation to $8bn in six months From Tech Crunch: Crypto custody platform Fireblocks is quite possibly "the most successful and least-known company in the blockchain space," as described by its co-founder and CEO Michael Shaul

SWF: Norway wealth fund earns second-highest return in 2021... [more]From Reuters: Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, earned a return on investment of 1.58 trillion Norwegian crowns ($177 billion) last year, the second highest on record, with the biggest boost coming from tech stocks, it said on Thursday. The $1.3 trillion fund's return on in

U.S.: US economy grew at fastest rate since 1984... [more]From Professional Adviser: US GDP grew at 5.7% last year, its fastest rate since 1984, despite two new virus variants emerging in 2021. Growth was uneven with the economy growing at 6.9% from October to December, a steep acceleration from growth of just 2.3% in the previous quarter. The growth

Europe: Russia-Ukraine tension is real but market impact could be small, Large investors drive up house prices in Europe's cities, study finds... [more] Russia-Ukraine tension is real but market impact could be small From Asian Investor: An impending series of interest rate increases and the deterioration in relations between Russia and the West over Ukraine have worried investors in recent weeks, hence the volatility in US equities i

Asia: Investors warned to take a long view as China's population declines faster than expected, ESG allocations surge as next generation takes over Hong Kong's family offices... [more] Investors warned to take a long view as China's population declines faster than expected From Asian Investor: Census experts say China's population will start to decline at least five years earlier than expected - investors are being warned to keep a weather eye on inflation and struc

PE/VC: 3 reasons why private equity will enable the post-pandemic economy, 'Big beasts' of private equity feast on UK plc... [more] 3 reasons why private equity will enable the post-pandemic economy From Weforum: As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, any meaningful and sustainable economic recovery will again be driven by small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs). SMEs were affected disproportionately by 3

Study: Background checks reveal the hidden risks at asset managers... [more]From Institutional Investor: Investing with a new manager could be riskier than one might expect. Of 3,000 background checks of individuals in the financial services industry, more than half were flagged with moderate to severe risks, which range from misrepresentation of job history to involvement

ESG: AkademikerPension blacklists over 200 utility companies using coal, Keep closer watch on corporate political activity, reports say, Fears for ESG in a hawkish world... [more] AkademikerPension blacklists over 200 utility companies using coal From IPE: enmark's AkademikerPension announced it is blacklisting over 200 utility companies, saying it is now implementing last year's decision to exclude utility companies where more than 25% of the energy mix comes

Legal: Abraaj's Naqvi fined $136m over firm's collapse... [more]From Reuters: Dubai's financial regulator has fined the founder of collapsed private equity company Abraaj Group almost $136 million and banned him from the emirate's financial centre for "serious failings" with respect to the firm. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) said Arif Naqvi

Regulatory: Hedge funds face new SEC disclosures as Gensler cracks down, SEC finds some private-fund managers mislead investors on performance... [more] Hedge funds face new SEC disclosures as Gensler cracks down From Bloomberg: Large hedge funds and private-equity firms may soon have to start reporting steep losses, major redemptions and other extraordinary events in near real-time to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission -- a

Activists: Alden hedge fund appeals to investors in news publisher Lee, Kohl's CEO finds her credibility under fire with predators circling, Pushy 7-Eleven investors are welcome inconvenience... [more] Alden hedge fund appeals to investors in news publisher Lee From AP: The Alden Global Capital hedge fund is sending its own appeal to shareholders of newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises as part of its campaign to acquire the company. The New York-based hedge fund, which is alrea

News Briefs: BlackRock's active strategies threaten to steal the show, Volatility, leverage dominate Miami hedge fund week... [more] BlackRock's active strategies threaten to steal the show From FT: BlackRock's stockpickers are accustomed to toiling in the shadow of the group's exchange traded fund business, which last year sucked in more than $1bn a day on average from investors. But as its index-tracking bu

And, finally: That's a lot of frozen water... [more]From Bizarrenews: A Wisconsin attraction featuring ice-sculpted tunnels, slides, fountains and other structures opened to the public after about 4,000 man-hours of preparation. The Ice Castles attraction, which has become an annual tradition in Lake Geneva, features towering structures created from