Newbury Partners raises $2bn for private equity secondaries... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Secondaries private equity veteran Newbury Partners closed its fifth private equity secondary fund with capital commitments from new and existing investors totaling $2 billion, exceeding its original target of $1.75 billion. According to a press release from the In

Geneva-based manager Stouff Capital to launch global macro hedge fund... [more]B. G., Opalesque Geneva for New Managers: The Swiss quantamental asset manager says it has doubled its AuM in the last 12 months, hired two managers, and it is preparing the launch of a new absolute return global ma

Hedge fund managers are in the driver's seat... [more]From Bloomberg: Managers at some big-name hedge funds are in the driver's seat, keeping client cash locked up for longer. At least five large funds have changed their terms or started new share classes this year, all extending the time it takes for investors to get out. The desire for longer

November was a tough month for hedge, Billionaire Chris Rokos hedge fund breaks five-month losing streak, Third Point posts large monthly loss, Hedge fund Cinctive sees potential bargains as volatility roils markets... [more] November was a tough month for hedge funds From Business Insider: Billionaire Chase Coleman's Tiger Global is making gobs of money in the private markets, but the tech investor's flagship hedge fund and long-only fund had a tough November. A source tells Insider the firm's flags

New Launches: Providence Strategic Growth is pitching its second European fund, WisdomTree launches new European commodity ETF for investors to hedge against inflation, Stonehage Fleming unveils multi-asset portfolio... [more] Providence Strategic Growth is pitching its second European fund From WSJ: Providence Strategic Growth Capital Partners, or PSG, has returned to the fundraising trail with plans to raise €2 billion, equivalent to about $2.26 billion, to back investments in European software and te

The $57bn+ hedge fund at the nexus of the war for talent... [more]From FT: Izzy Englander's New York-based fund made 25.6 per cent last year, its best performance in two decades, and is up more than 10 per cent through to the end of October this year. The firm's assets have grown by $20bn since the start of 2020 and, such is its position of strength, that it

Institutional Investors: San Francisco allocates $538m, CalPERS is turning to private equity and leverage to boost returns and reduce risk. Will it work?, USS makes Thames Water its largest holding, APK Pensionskasse tops investment option returns for Q3... [more] San Francisco allocates $538m From PIonline.com: San Francisco City & County Employees' Retirement System disclosed private equity and real assets commitments totaling up to $538 million in a report from interim CIO Kurt Braitberg ahead of its Dec. 8 board meeting. In private equ

SPACs: SPACs are beating out traditional IPOs in 2021, Who just gave Trump $1bn? Let's find out, UK's BenevolentAI agrees Europe's largest SPAC deal, SEC's SPAC scrutiny ensnares marquee deals, Odyssey buys drugmaker BenevolentAI in Europe's biggest SPAC deal... [more] SPACs are beating out traditional IPOs in 2021 From Axios: SPACs are outpacing traditional IPOs in 2021, according to data from Dealogic. 562 SPACs went public on U.S. exchanges between January and November, compared to 373 regular companies. SPACs raised $151 billion in their IP

People: Amundi US appoints Annie Joyce head of ESG, Cinctive Capital adds to investment team, Former State Street director James ONG appointed CEO of Value Partners Singapore... [more] Amundi US appoints Annie Joyce head of ESG Amundi US today announced that Annie Chor Joyce has joined the firm as Head of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) for Amundi US, the US business of Amundi, one of the world's ten largest asset management firms. The appointmen

Crypto: Crypto complex erased $480bn in 'cascade of liquidations', Hedge fund manager Chris Brown: Crypto speculation is headed for a 'screeching halt', Urgent call for asset managers to up their game on escalating crypto demand, Japan's financial regulators may propose legislation in 2022 restricting stablecoin issuance... [more] Crypto complex erased $480bn in 'cascade of liquidations' From Bloomberg: As Wall Street traders bedded down for the weekend after the stock volatility last week, Nikita Fadeev in London was woken up by a Bitcoin market alarm at 4:55 a.m. Thanks to the cell-phone notification o

Commodity: Oil market hit by wave of hedge fund liquidation: Kemp... [more]From Reuters: Fears over the Omicron coronavirus variant's impact on international aviation and other sources of oil demand have prompted massive liquidation of previously bullish hedge fund positions. Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 131 million barrels in the six

Currency: Investors bet on revival of the Brazilian real... [more]From Bloomberg: Money managers are taking advantage of discounted prices to take on more Brazil risk before the country's assets are hit by volatility tied to next year's presidential elections. Their top pick? The battered real. The currency, which is set for a fifth straight year of losses

Tech: Using institution-focused analytics to navigate the crypto market... [more]From Institutional Investor: Even with major innovations in market data analysis, it's not surprising that many professional investors still consider one of the most important technology platforms to be a ubiquitous, black-screened software system that is nearly four decades old. The Bloomberg

U.S.: Cracks emerge in treasury bond market as Fed starts to back away, Fund administration investors dodge tax crackdown... [more] Cracks emerge in treasury bond market as Fed starts to back away From Bloomberg: Buying and selling large quantities of U.S. government debt without substantially moving the market is about the hardest it's been since the pandemic sent markets reeling in March 2020. Volatility

Europe: Finnish pension sector still resilient in Q3 despite risk-taking, says FSA, Canceling investors won't fix the London market... [more] Finnish pension sector still resilient in Q3 despite risk-taking, says FSA From IPE: Finland's financial supervisory authority (FIN-FSA) said today that the occupational pension sector's capital position was strong at this year's third quarter, with the overall solvency ratio rising to

Asia: Emerging Asia needs dollar hedging reforms to reduce market risks, BIS says, Chinese developers' distress mounts despite Beijing assurances... [more] Emerging Asia needs dollar hedging reforms to reduce market risks, BIS says From Reuters: Asia's emerging economies should improve oversight of foreign exchange liquidity risks and make currency hedging more flexible as growing dollar investments make the region more vulnerable to curr

PE/VC: PE firms are making diversity efforts, but it will likely be a long road, Private equity finds riches even beyond the land of milk and honey, Private assets appeal to insurers but tracking down talent remains a challenge... [more] PE firms are making diversity efforts, but it will likely be a long road Recognizing social and racial inequalities that have been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and recent social justice movements, the private equity (PE) industry has set its sights on addressing diversity, equi

Study: Asset managers use more data than ever - but still struggle to manage it... [more]From Institutional Investor: While many asset managers set data strategies as their top priorities, only a fraction of them are completely satisfied with their current data infrastructure. That's why more firms are outsourcing data functions, according to the results of a Nasdaq survey expecte

Activists: Investor activism in Europe to enter 'golden age', Kohl's urged to consider sale by activist investor... [more] Investor activism in Europe to enter 'golden age' From FT: Investor activism is poised to enter a "golden age" across Europe next year, while low valuations and heightened environmental, social and corporate governance concerns mean that British companies are the most vulnerable target

News Briefs: Hedge-fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt surrenders 180 stolen antiquities valued at $70m, Manhattan DA Vance says... [more]From CNBC: Hedge-fund pioneer Michael Steinhardt has surrendered 180 stolen antiquities valued at $70 million and has been banned for life from acquiring antiquities, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said. The surrender of the items comes after a probe that began in 2017 into the bi

And, finally: Polish grandma busts another Chinese copyright infringement... [more]From CTV News: Ania Tanner, a grandmother from Ontario, Canada, found a cute singing and dancing cactus on the Walmart website and purchased it for her granddaughter, CTV News reported. The animated $26 toy sings in three languages: English, Spanish and Polish. But when Tanner, who is Polish,