Opalesque Exclusive: Former partners join again and launch global macro and digital asset hedge fund... [more]B. G., Opalesque Geneva for New Managers: Two former partners are launching a global macro and digital assets hedge fund. London-based Balliol Road Investments LLP was founded in

ESG bond issuance set to skyrocket and hit $4.5tn annually by 2025... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Global ESG-labelled bond issuance is "poised to explode" over the coming decade, with issuances potentially reaching $4.5trillion per year by 2025 alone, said a study. According to research by Pictet Asset Management and the Institute of International Fina

2021 private equity deal value crosses $800bn, breaking the 2007 record of $712bn... [more]Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Negative real interest rates bolster strong position for private equity, despite inflationary concerns, as the deal and exit values in the asset class soared in 2021, and public-to-private transactions are expected to account for a growing share of future deal flow.

Hedge fund assets surpass $4tn... [more]Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Total hedge fund industry capital rose to surpass the $4 trillion milestone to begin 2022, according to the latest asset flows data from HFR. Total hedge fund capital rose increased to an estimated $4.01 trillion to begin 2022, representing an increase of ov

Hedge fund managers bring their 2021 return to 9.49%... [more]Opalesque Industry Update - Hedge fund managers reversed losses in November and gained 1.01% in December, bringing their 2021 return to 9.49% - the second best annual performance since 2010. Hedge funds were supported by the robust performance of the global equity market as represented by the M

December outflows dampen hedge fund AUM growth, 2021 still first positive flows year since 2017... [more]Opalesque Industry Update - Investors pulled $19.96 billion from the global hedge fund business in December, bringing full-year 2021 hedge fund AUM growth to +$15.90 billion, according to the just-released eVestment December and Full Year 2021 Hedge Fund Asset Flows report. Overall AUM for the

Renaissance Technologies' reportedly sees $15bn in outflows despite double digit performance, London credit fund Ironshield reports 30% return in 2021... [more] Renaissance Technologies' reportedly sees $15bn in outflows despite double digit performance From Business Insider: Renaissance Technologies double-digit returns in 2021 weren't enough to prevent the nearly $15 billion in outflows it experienced over the past 14 months. The quant-foc

Global asset inflows up 140% to $150 billion in 2021 amid revived investor optimism... [more]From Funds Europe: Across all asset classes, net flows have soared to $150.5 billion across 52 territories, according to the latest Global Fund Flow Report from Calastone. The global funds network analysed tens of millions of buy and sell orders from 2019 to 2021 found that investors increased their

New Launches: Hedge fund arm of UBS readies $2.5bn fund for loans to disrupted companies, Andreessen Horowitz seeks $4.5bn for new crypto investments, Carlyle prepares to raise its biggest-ever European buyout fund, Summa closes massive Fund III on $2.6bn, biggest European impact fund to date, Accel-KKR on track to raise around $1.25bn for growth fund, Seed fund Cherry Ventures raises $340m fund, Ten Coves Capital closes oversubscribed 293m third fund, Israeli VC Viola Ventures pulls in $250m for early-stage investment fund... [more] Hedge fund arm of UBS readies $2.5bn fund for loans to disrupted companies From Bloomberg: The hedge fund arm of UBS Group AG has set up a $2.5 billion fund to invest in private loans to companies hit hard by the pandemic, and those affected by broader disruption in markets since 2020, a

Trump solicited hedge funds, family offices for $1bn PIPE... [more]From Bloomberg: When former President Donald Trump said in December that his nascent media company was raising $1 billion from a diverse group of institutional investors, the announcement was highly unusual in that it omitted the participants' names. A month later, no firm has announced it made

Hintze's hedge fund broadens ESG push with plan for green CLO... [more]From Bloomberg: Michael Hintze's hedge fund is mulling a green collateralized loan obligation in Europe as it expands its slate of socially responsible investments. In a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg, Hintze said CQS is investigating a European CLO aligned with environmental, social and

Investing: Hedge fund manager gives his tips for young investors and explains one major risk on the horizon, Tudor portfolio manager on where she's finding alpha in the tech sector with rising rates, Short seller Spruce Point targets moderator for controversial Facebook content... [more] Hedge fund manager gives his tips for young investors and explains one major risk on the horizon From CNBC: Hedge fund manager David Neuhauser, who has made a name for himself by betting against some of the market's most popular stocks, shared with CNBC his tips for young investors.

SPACs: Thanks, Wall Street, but we have enough SPACs now, Singapore kicks off new era of SPACs in Asia with string of listings, KKR SPAC is said to weigh deal for PetSmart at $14bn value, Ex-Daimler boss tapped for new Kensington auto-focused SPAC, Psychedelics firm Eleusis to merge with Silver Spike SPAC,SPACs considering German targets face unique challenges... [more] Thanks, Wall Street, but we have enough SPACs now From Bloomberg: Wall Street has an unfortunate habit of pushing financial innovations to such extremes that they break. This is essentially the problem facing special purpose acquisition companies: They've oversaturated the market and are

People: Former Bank of America FX trader founds asset manager in Brazil, University of Pittsburgh names new chief investment officer, Franklin Templeton nabs Anne Simpson for new sustainability role... [more] Former Bank of America FX trader founds asset manager in Brazil From Bloomberg: The former head of Brazil local currency trading at Bank of America Corp. is launching a new asset-management firm in Latin America's largest economy. Vinicius Fukushiro, together with Ricardo Fuscaldi, i

Crypto: Around 30% of the bitcoin in circulation is worth less than what holders paid for it, Glassnode has found, Hedge fund Brevan Howard enters crypto game with first crypto fund, Australia's plan to create a crypto competitive edge in 12 steps, Crypto.com, which took naming rights on Staples Center, loses $30m in hack attack... [more] Around 30% of the bitcoin in circulation is worth less than what holders paid for it, Glassnode has found From Business Insider: About 5.7 million bitcoins in circulation, or 30%, are underwater, Glassnode said this week. Twice when the demand for bitcoin was this low compared with suppl

M&A: Gibraltar bank buys Swiss wealth manager... [more]From Finews: Gibraltar's oldest lender is snapping up a small Swiss wealth manager which has spent the last 18 months revamping itself. Trusted Novus Bank is acquiring Kaleido, a Zurich-based private bank, the two said in an emailed statement on Friday. The seller, Citadele, said in a separate s

Tech: Gamestop shorting innovator explains why he launched a Defi app, Microsoft-Activision deal gives merger speculators a new darling... [more] Gamestop shorting innovator explains why he launched a Defi app From Forbes: If you recall, during the first months of 2021, traders from the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets set off a trend in which retail traders bought so-called "dead stocks" including AMC and GME. In a coordinated

U.S.: Wall Street titans support one of their own, David McCormick, in Senate bid, Billioniare Joe Tsai outed as buyer of $190m penthouse... [more] Wall Street titans support one of their own, David McCormick, in Senate bid From WSJ: David McCormick, the former chief executive of hedge fund giant Bridgewater Associates who is running for the open Senate seat in Pennsylvania, has the backing of some of Wall Street's biggest names.

Europe: Swiss National Bank against issuing retail central bank digital currency... [more]From Reuters: The Swiss National Bank does not see any overall benefit from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be used by the general public and used in day to day transactions, governing board member Andrea Maechler said on Tuesday. "We believe the risks outweigh the benefits," M

Asia: Hedge fund manager Michael Hintze warns on China's Covid policy... [more]From FT: China's zero-Covid policy is stretching global supply chains and inhibiting the energy transition, hedge fund manager Sir Michael Hintze has warned. The worldwide shift from fossil fuels to zero carbon "will be hindered by supply chain bottlenecks," Hintze, the founder of London-based C

PE/VC: 10 outrageous predictions for private equity in 2022, S.Korea's venture funds hit record high in 2021... [more] 10 outrageous predictions for private equity in 2022 From Forbes: As in past years, these flights of fancy are grounded in reality. Positive or negative - some a bit more extreme than others - they may in turn become reality, but they're principally designed to entertain. As it becom

Study: Will digital asset securities become mainstream institutional investments?, Passive strategies grew in 2020, but active fees still dominate... [more] Will digital asset securities become mainstream institutional investments? From Institutional Investor: All securities could go digital over the next five to 10 years - creating opportunities and challenges. That's one finding from a new report from Arca Asset Management. Although A

ESG: Can ESG trading and best execution coexist?, East Sussex Pension Fund says farewell to fossils, Why ESG matters in restructurings... [more] Can ESG trading and best execution coexist? From Risk: Not everyone thinks making a statement on ESG would work against client interests. Buy-side trading heads have good reason to be wary of proposals to trade only with counterparties that meet certain environmental, social and governan

Legal: Short-seller Cohodes sues MiMedx over defamation claims... [more]From Bloomberg: A short-seller who sought to expose accounting fraud at skin-graft maker MiMedx Group Inc. claimed in a defamation lawsuit that the company waged an illegal campaign to discredit him, including hiring a private investigator to dig up bogus allegations about his activities. Marc

News Briefs: Apollo at war as Leon Black accuses Josh Harris of smear campaign, Why airlines are worried about 5G... [more] Apollo at war as Leon Black accuses Josh Harris of smear campaign From PIonline.com: Beset by public scandal, his private life laid bare, billionaire Leon Black has now leveled a startling allegation: his longtime business partner Josh Harris was plotting to destroy him all along. Ev

And, finally: Killer instincts... [more]From News of the Weird: Need something to do during a snowstorm in Queens, New York? One person had an idea: Around 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 7, someone rode up on an electric bike to a speed camera in Howard Beach. The camera caught the action, Pix11-TV reported, as the person calmly stopped the bike,