Other Voices: The IRS goes after crypto holders with John Doe summonses... [more]By: Joshua Smeltzer The IRS has several tools in its arsenal to encourage compliance and audit and enforce those it believes are failing to comply. One of the most powerful tools is the John Doe summons. A regular IRS summons seeks information on a specific taxpayer. However, a John Doe summon

Park Square Capital raises $2.6bn for its latest subordinated debt fund... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The private debt manager Park Square Capital closed its latest subordinated debt fund at €2.2 billion ($2.6 billion) including committed leverage. Park Square Capital Partners IV (PSCP IV) raised €1.8 billion of equity commitments, exceeding its target of EUR1.5 bi

Audax collects $1.85bn for new mezzanine fund fund... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The alternative investment manager Audax Private Debt has closed on $1.85bn for its fifth mezzanine fund to target private equity-backed mid-market businesses. The closing of Audax Mezzanine Fund V (Mezz Fund V) well exceeded its original fundraising target of $1.5

Impala rides rotation into value stocks, Sculptor hedge fund begins recovery with first inflows since '14... [more] Impala rides rotation into value stocks From Institutional Investor: Impala Asset Management is on a roll. The firm founded by Tiger Cub Robert Bishop is already up nearly 44 percent in one of its hedge funds. Through April, the hedge fund firm headed by Tiger Cub Robert Bishop has p

New Launches: Argentium launches new systematic crypto arb multi-strat hedge fund, Veritas Capital takes just two months to hit $1.8bn hard cap close for debut mid-market fund, Aviva Investors launches climate transition credit fund, North Sky Capital targets $350m for fourth infrastructure fund, BlueBox launches Ucits version of flagship fund... [more] Argentium launches new systematic crypto arb multi-strat hedge fund A senior markets executive who spent time at JPMorgan and Credit Suisse is preparing to launch a crypto hedge fund in London called Argentium Digital Asset Management. FCA regulated platform AK Jensen is providing infras

Institutional Investors: Texas Teachers discloses $391m in commitments, LACERA picks PineBridge for $1bn in high yield, slates $555 million for alts... [more] Texas Teachers discloses $391m in commitments From PIonline.com: Texas Teacher Retirement System, Austin, disclosed five commitments totaling $391 million in April, according to a transaction report from the $176.9 billion defined benefit plan. For its real estate portfolio, TRS comm

Investing: Loeb's Third Point took new position in CoStar in first quarter, Avoid naive trades in crypto and 'meme stocks' and buy these instead, hedge fund manager says, Carnival Stock - Hedge funds make $1bn from bets against travel companies... [more] Loeb's Third Point took new position in CoStar in first quarter From Reuters: Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb's hedge fund Third Point made a new bet on real estate information company CoStar Group during the first quarter and continues to back ride hailing giant Grab Holdings, which w

SPACs: SoftBank-backed Alto is in talks to merge with Gores SPAC, SPAC frenzy holds valuable lessons for the UK, NH SPAC 19 to become Korea's first SPAC IPO on Kospi in 11 yrs, Navitas Semiconductor agrees to Live Oak SPAC merger... [more] SoftBank-backed Alto is in talks to merge with Gores SPAC From Bloomberg: Alto Pharmacy, a startup that specializes in same-day delivery of prescription medications, is in talks to go public via a blank-check firm affiliated with Alec Gores, according to people with knowledge of the matt

People: David Swensen, architect of the Yale model, has died, NTAM selects first global head of sustainable investing and stewardship... [more] David Swensen, architect of the Yale model, has died From Institutional Investor: David Swensen, the legendary investor who led Yale University's endowment for over three decades, has died, the university's president announced Thursday. "I write with profound sadness to share the new

Crypto: Goldman Sachs offers bitcoin derivatives to investors, Digital Currency Group backs South Korean crypto exchange operator, Crypto now viewed by some as a threat to financial stability, Fed survey finds... [more] Goldman Sachs offers bitcoin derivatives to investors From Reuters: Goldman Sachs Group Inc is allowing Wall Street investors to trade with a derivative tied to bitcoin prices, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Goldman, the fifth-largest U.S. bank, has opened up trading with non-deli

Commodity: From corn to copper, these 10 commodities have surged in 2021 amid an unprecedented economic recovery... [more]From Business Insider: After holding at an annual rate of 1.4% in January and 1.7% in February, inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, surged to 2.6% in March. Inflationary pressures have been the talk of Wall Street for some time amid a resurgent economy and a record influx of cash

Archegos Saga: Banks are making it harder for hedge funds to leverage their bets after Archegos, Fed warns of hidden leverage lurking in financial system... [more] Banks are making it harder for hedge funds to leverage their bets after Archegos From Bloomberg: The dust hadn't yet settled on Archegos Capital Management's implosion, when hedge funds started shifting their bets toward banks that avoided getting hurt, hoping to keep leveraging up just

U.S.: US Federal Reserve warns of peril for asset prices as investors gorge on risk... [more]From Mint: A rising appetite for risk across a variety of asset markets is stretching valuations and creating vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system, the Federal Reserve said in its semi-annual financial stability report. "Vulnerabilities associated with elevated risk appetite are rising,"

Europe: U.K. dishes out first fine to broker linked to Shah in tax scandal... [more]From Bloomberg: The U.K.'s financial regulator handed down its first penalty over the Cum-Ex tax scandal, fining a broker 178,000 pounds ($248,000) for failings regarding its relationship with hedge-fund manager Sanjay Shah. Sapien Capital, which executed more than 6 billion pounds of trades in

Middle East: Mubadala achieves record investment gain in 2020, Biggest Middle East PE firm targets larger North American deals... [more] Mubadala achieves record investment gain in 2020 From Reuters: Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala's total income rose nearly 36% to a record high last year, driven by growth in its public equities portfolio and funds while it accelerated investment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mubada

Asia: More of Asia's wealthy to invest in alternatives by 2024, Billionaire Li Ka-shing bets on Southeast Asia's tech startups, Asia is the exception as emerging markets start to look fragile... [more] More of Asia's wealthy to invest in alternatives by 2024 From Asian Investor: Rising interest rates and access to alternatives such as digital assets are driving the trend, as China's wealthy show the most interest in ESG. The proportion of Asia Pacific's wealthy who invest in altern

PE/VC: Private equity and venture capital fundraising falls in 2020, $48bn in funding marks another banner month for VC investments, VC funding in Southeast Asia set to see record year in 2021... [more] Private equity and venture capital fundraising falls in 2020 From PIonline.com: Private equity and venture capital fundraising in Europe in 2020 hit €100.5 billion ($123.4 billion), down 12.2% vs. 2019, due to the coronavirus pandemic. A report by Invest Europe, a trade associat

Study: The pandemic caused a 'major step back' for women in financial services, Stocks and bonds have moved in opposite directions for decades. Here's what could change that... [more] The pandemic caused a 'major step back' for women in financial services From Institutional Investor: For women in the financial services industry, the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the challenges they face in their jobs, resulting in a significant exodus from the field. In a survey

Family Offices: Greater Bay's Wealth Connect to draw family offices to Hong Kong... [more]From Asian Investor: Wealth experts believe the rollout of Wealth Connect could help to entice wealthy individuals and then family offices to establish operations in the city, especially if initial quotas are raised. Hong Kong is expected to receive a fresh injection of interest from family offi

ESG: Brunel commits to net-zero portfolio by 2050, Leading higher-education institutional investors to guide new initiative for net zero endowments... [more] Brunel commits to net-zero portfolio by 2050 From PIonline.com: Brunel Pension Partnership, Bristol, England, improved the carbon efficiency of its portfolio vs. its benchmark to 22% in 2020 from 15.4% a year earlier, as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions by half by 2030. The

Regulatory: SEC chair Gary Gensler hones in on trading behemoth Citadel... [more]From Institutional Investor: Citadel Securities' outsize role in the capital markers has gotten the attention of regulators. Gary Gensler, the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, honed in on Citadel in prepared remarks delivered to a Thursday hearing of the House Financial Servic

News Briefs: Demand for alternatives rises in Latin America... [more]From PE News: Institutional investors in Latin America are showing increased appetite for alternative assets, and global private equity firms are taking notice. Alternative investments now account for roughly 5% to 7%, or as much as $30bn, of nearly $450bn in assets held by pension funds in Chil

And, finally: Gaming the System... [more]From AFP: In Taiwan, where companies are required to give newlyweds eight days of paid leave, an unnamed bank employee in Taipei used a loophole in the law to claim 32 days of leave over 37 days last year, reported Agence France-Presse on April 21. The man and his wife got married four times an