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What do I get as an Alternative Market Briefing Subscriber?

  • Each day you receive the most important news and developments from the global hedge fund industry. Each Briefing consists of 15 to 25 news stories, delivered to your mailbox before 6 am EST (usually about 10 am London time)
  • Access to the Alternative Market Briefing newsletter archive – a valid research resource with extensive search function.
  • Access to Recommended Reading section – a selection of the most important literature about hedge funds, risk and asset management. Subscribers enjoy a 20% discount on all books presented.
  • Access to Close-Up and Technologically Speaking sections – get insights and updates into the leading companies within the hedge fund industry, including technology firms. Learn about challenges, solutions and how technology will continue shaping the hedge fund industry.
  • A multitude of special offers and rebates from our strategic partners. Save hundreds of dollars in conference prices, hedge fund directories, research papers etc. Opalesque. has teamed up with industry leaders from all over the globe to offer you an unparalleled choice from the best of the best. Click here to learn more about our strategic partners.

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What is the added value that you provide?

What we mentioned above is what you technically get from us. However, subscribers have told us that the real benefits of Alternative Market Briefings are:

  • More time – because with Alternative Market Briefing you get the most important hedge fund update daily from a trusted source. The user-friendly layout allows you to glance over the headlines and be briefed on the most important developments in a minute or less.
  • More opportunity – because Alternative Market Briefing is independent and unbiased and most importantly covers each day multitudes of hedge fund opportunities around the globe.
  • More market intelligence – because when it comes to hedge funds, you don’t really want just news – you want market intelligence. And: the faster, the better.
  • More money – because spending less than $12 per month (special introductory offer) for all these benefits means having more in the pocket for other crucial areas of your business, such as marketing, staff or IT.

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“Alternative Investments” is a broad field. Which areas do you focus on?

We focus primarily on hedge funds and CTAs/Managed Futures, but do cover in depth important news from these areas: asset management/private wealth management, performance and index performance, risk management and research, commodities and macro economical developments, regulatory/legal, manager searches, fund opening and closures, technology updates, hires. Our focus is global, i.e. we cover the US, Caribbean, UK, continental Europe, Middle East, Asia and to some extent Australia, South Africa and Latin America. We also portray important companies and their solutions for the hedge fund industry.

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Who should subscribe to Alternative Market Briefing ?

All who follow the hedge fund markets on a daily basis. This includes investors, managers, consultants, brokers, service providers, bankers, lawyers, media, regulators, academics. Anyone who is interested in alternative investments/hedge funds.

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Who publishes Alternative Market Briefing? Who is Opalesque Ltd.?

Alternative Market Briefing is published by Opalesque. Opalesque. is a company specialized in servicing the Alternative Investment and Asset Management industry. Opalesque. is incorporated in Cyprus.

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Who is Opalesque Global Services?

Opalesque Global Services is a fully owned subsidiary of Opalesque. Opalesque Global Services has been formed to ensure the global distribution of publications published by Opalesque.

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Who is Matthias Knab, your editor?

Opalesque is led by Matthias Knab, an internationally recognized expert on hedge funds and alternatives. Mr. Knab has frequently served as chairman of hedge fund conferences in New York, Greenwich, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Miami, Bahamas, Stockholm, Dubai etc. In addition, he has presented or moderated at hedge fund events in London, Geneva, Zurich, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town, Madrid, Moscow, Sao Paolo, San Francisco, Toronto, Cayman Islands, Auckland and Bombay, and lectured at numerous universities on the subjects of hedge funds and the state of the global alternative asset management industry.

He studied computer science and psychology in Freiburg i.Br. (Germany), graduated in economy in Munich and subsequently passed exams as a FSA (Financial Services Authority, UK) Securities Representative, FSA Futures and Options Representative and XETRA trader (Frankfurt). Mr. Knab is a member of the German Association of Technical Analysts (VTAD).

Since 1989 he has been working as a consultant for major German institutions, most notably Allianz and Vereinte Versicherungen. 1998 he created and served as CEO Boersenakademie AG - the first German institution directed at offering educational services on investing themes. Matthias Knab also served as Managing Director at TradeStream Global AG, a technology firm developing trading solutions for institutions and hedge funds.

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What is the mission and the concept of Alternative Market Briefing?

Our mission is to intelligently select and timely provide the most important daily news for professionals dealing with hedge funds. Alternative Market Briefing offers both a quick overview and in-depth coverage of all subjects through the "Source" link that leads you to the news sources. Most news sources used do not require a subcription, however some may ask you to register. Once registered, you can access these news sources freely. Alternative Market Briefing follows the concept of a "clipping service" - the added value for you is that we screen, intelligently select and efficiently present the day's most important hedge fund news.

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How long have you been producing this newsletter?

The first Alternative Market Briefing, then called “Opalesque Newsletter”, was published on February 16th 2003.

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Do you have a step by step description how to sign up for an individual subscription of Alternative Market Briefing?

Click on the following link to access a step by step description on how to set up an individual/single account.

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Do you have a description to sign up how to set up a corporate account for multiple users?

Click on the following link to access a step by step description on how to set up a corporate account.

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If I set up an account for someone else using my computer, will he have problems getting the emails and newsletters on his computer?

This is no problem at all. When creating the account, you just enter his name, email and create a username (logon) and password. The invoice and confirmation email, as well as all future correspondence will be going to the email you entered. You will have to tell the person the username (logon) and password you created for his account. Please be aware that both fields are case-sensitive.

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How can I pay my subscription? Can you send us an invoice?

We accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards for online registration. With the completion of your registration, an invoice and a confirmation email with your logon will be mailed to you. We prefer credit card payments because the creation of your account data with address, logon, password and payment happens all in one go. This also holds for corporate accounts.

However if you prefer to be invoiced by us and pay by check or money transfer please email us at support@opalesque.com and state the number of accounts, the subscription period (two or one year) together with your address. We will then email you an invoice. Upon receipt of your payment we will create and email you a promotion code that will allow you free registration (to create your logon and password) using the Opalesque website. The promotion code must be entered at the bottom of step 3 of the registration process.

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Are payments on your website secure?

All credit card payments on the Opalesque site (for shop items and regular subscriptions) are being handled by our secure payment provider Worldpay, owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland - the world’s fifth largest bank - using 128-bit encryption. In detail, the payment sub-site on the Opalesque.com website is actually handled and secured by Worldpay. Opalesque cannot access, view or change your credit card/payment details.

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I have chosen the auto renewal subscription mode (subscription gets billed and extended automatically every six months). How do I change the credit card you have on file?

When you set up your auto renewal, Worldpay, our secure payment provider (owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland) sent you a logon to their site.

If you lost this (is different from the Opalesque Logon), you can reset that password hereby entering the email address that was entered on the Worldpay payment site (a subsite of the Opalesque site) together with the auto renewal / "Future Pay" ID that Worldpay assigned to you. You will find your Future Pay ID in previous billing confirmations from Worldpay (check your email In-Box), or you can also email Opalesque Support to find out that number for you.

Opalesque cannot access, view or change customer's credit card details.

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Who do I contact with subscription or any other questions?

Please email support@opalesque.com or call James Gibbs, Opalesque Support, at +1 914 619 5223.

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Do you offer discounts or corporate accounts?

Yes, we offer substantial savings for corporations that sign up multiple users. You can set up a corporate account with only 2 corporate users and start saving money. Here you can review the corporate pricing structure.

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How do I set up a corporate account for multiple users?

1. Setting up the corporate account
You can do this by choosing the second option “I am signing up a new corporate account” in step two of the sign-up process. You will have to enter the number of users you want to include in the corporate account (at least 2 users). The person who creates the corporate account becomes the admin of this account. The number of users that form the corporate account when it is being set up will share the same discount and subscription period and will be billed on the same credit card. Users who join the corporate account after the initial creation (by using option three "I want to be included in an EXISTING corporate account" in step two of the registration process) may choose different subscription periods, and they may also use a different credit card when paying for their subscription. These users will share the same or higher discount than the initially included users (see below #4).

Click on the following link to access a step by step description on how to set up a corporate account.

2. Administration of the corporate account
After having created the corporate account, the admin (i.e. the user who initially created the corporate account) can log on in "My Settings", select "Corporate Account Administration" and enter the email addresses of his colleagues he wants to include in the corporate account. These users will receive a notification email from Opalesque. They can then register on the Opalesque website using option three "I want to be included in an EXISTING corporate account". These users will not be charged, since their account is covered by the corporate account. These users must register with the same email address for signing up that the admin used for the inclusion in the corporate account.

3. Rules and restrictions of the corporate account
All email addresses to be included in the corporate account must have the same domain name, e.g. abc@opalesque.com and xyz@opalesque.com. Here "opalesque.com” is the domain name that must be identical for all corporate users of this corporate account.

4. Adding more users after the initial creation of the corporate account
After a corporate account has been set up, it is still possible to add more users that will benefit from the same discount as the other users. Even more, if by a subsequent subscription the corporate account reaches a higher rebate (e.g. a fifth person from your company signs up and thus reaching the 20% discount level), the higher rebate will be applied to that particular user as well as the full corporate account (all users previously signed up) at the subsequent renewal of the subscription.

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Are there restrictions as to how many emails can be included in a corporate account?

There are no restrictions as far as the number of users you want to aggregate under a corporate account is concerned. However, all email addresses you want to include in the corporate account must have the same domain name, e.g. abc@opalesque.com snd xyz@opalesque.com. Here “opalesque.com” is the domain name that must be identical for all corporate users of this corporate account.

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We want to set up a corporate account, but want an administrative person (not an actual recipient of the newsletter) be the administrator of the corporate account. Possible?

Absolutely! These are the steps:
1. The administrative team member can go ahead and create the corporate account, entering the number of initial corporate users (including herself).
2. After the creation of the account she can enter "My settings" and replace her email with the team member who is supposed to receive Alternative Market Briefing (instead of her).
3. Additionally, she must inform the other person on the user name and password she created for her account. The other person will then receive the emails and be able to log on.
4. In "My Settings", "Corporate Account Administration" she can now enter the emails of the other users that are part of the account. These users will get an invitation from the Opalesque system to join the corporate account by registering and creating their pre-paid logon.

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Can I use different credit cards when signing up different users for a corporate account?

When you create a corporate account, all users you include will be billed to the same credit card. Once the corporate account is created and you want to include additional users to the same account (users that have the same domain name, see above), you can use a different or the same credit card as used to set up the first batch of users.

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We have one user already on the system and want to add more, how can we now create a corporate account to get your discount?

If you want to create an additional user, this can easily be done online here http://opalesque.com/main.php?act=registration by selecting option four on page two of the registration: "4. I am the second user of my firm and thus we are eligible for a corporate discount..." The second user will instantly get 20% off and the first user will automatically benefit from the reduced rate at the time of his renewal. To create the corporate account and to tie in the first user to it, you will have to enter the email address of the first user.
If after having added this second user and created the corporate account, you would like to add further users, please use then option three when signing them up (see next question which covers this):

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We have a corporate account and want to add more users to this account. How does this work?

That’s very easy. The new user can go to our subscription site and in step two of the subscription process choose the third option “I want to be included in an existing corporate account”. The user must enter the domain name of the corporate account he wants to join. This domain name (e.g. "opalesque.com") must correspond to the domain name of the corporate account. Only identical domain names (e.g. abc@opalesque.com, xyz@opalesque.com) can be included in one corporate account. The credit card used for adding new users to a corporate account may be different to the one used when setting up the account, and the subscription period may differ to the period selected at the initial creation of the corporate account.

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We want to add more users to our corporate account. Do we get a higher rebate now?

If by the inclusion of a new user to the corporate account a higher rebate threshold will be reached, the higher rebate will be applied instantly to the new user as well as his colleagues at their subsequent renewal of the subscription.

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How do we remove or change emails included in our corporate account?

The first user that is creating a corporate account becomes the administrator of this account. In “My Settings” he can change, replace and delete emails within this corporate account.

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Why do I have to log on to the Opalesque website to view the Briefings? Can’t you just email the full Briefing out to your subscribers?

The problem is here that we have to control that only paying subscribers access the Briefings. The only choice to do this is to have the content on the web and control and monitor access. For example we had institutions with over 300 users signed up and we don't want that one of them subscribes and forwards the mail with the full content to his 299 colleagues, you know how people are! Or a firm subscribes with opalesquenews@xyz.com and all incoming mail gets bounced off to 15 other users...

As a paying subscriber, it takes just one click and you have entered the archive. The Briefings, now saved on the web, have exactly the same format as before, so it should not be that bad....Thank you for your understanding!

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I am a subscriber, my subscription is valid but I do not seem to receive your daily email alerts (Opalesque Alternative Market Briefing email)

We are sorry to hear this. If your subscription is valid then you are on our mailing list. Every day we mail out to over 40,000 subscribers without fail, also to you. If we would look into our logs, we would even be able to tell you exactly the time the email was sent to you. All these delivery issues are client based issues. Let me further explain and suggest some solutions.

Often mail or IT administrators change settings or install spam filters and emails suddenly do not get delivered anymore. This may have happened here. Sometimes a word like "offshore" (jurisdiction, hedge fund), "discount" (at discount) or "risk free" (...above risk free rate) may trigger a spam filter. Just now a spam filter has informed me with an automated message that he rejected our email because it contained the word "investment advice". During the Bear Stearns / subprime mortgage crisis in summer 2007, spam filters blamed us for carrying "KEYWORD= spam: interest rates _AND_ mortgage;spam: interest rates _AND_ real estate" - wonderful! As you can imagine, we are not a friend of spam filters and think they are vastly inappropriate for professional financial content.

Our terms and conditions specify that the CLIENT has to make sure our daily emails are received. Please check with your IT and suggest to put sender knab@opalesque.com on a "white list" or take any other adequate measure to allow this address to pass through any filtering software they may have set up.

Also, please please add knab@opalesque.com to your address book and if things still go missing also look in your "Bulk Mail" or "Junk Mail" folder. Here is how to do this in detail:

How to configure your email client or email service provider setup in order to ensure the daily delivery of Briefings. Over the next few weeks, some internet service providers as well as major email handlers (Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) are going to change their procedures and failing to configure this may result in losing our emails.

Microsoft Outlook
On the Tools menu=> click Options.
Here on the Preferences tab, under E-mail, click Junk E-mail.
Click the Safe Senders or Safe Recipients tab => Click Add.
In the "Add Address or Domain" Dialog box enter www.opalesque.com. Click OK and now all emails from www.opalesque.com (any mail ID) will directly reach your Inbox.

AOL Version 9.0:
In your mailbox, click the Add Address button (on the right) to add us to your "People I Know" list. Type @opalesque.com

Gmail top
Go to your mailbox
Click on Contacts => Add Contact => type whatever you'd like for Name and add www.opalesque.com here.
Now click Save. This will ensure that emails from us will directly go into your inbox.

Hotmail
Go to your mailbox and then click the Options link (on the right).
In the Mail Options Menu => click Junk E-Mail Protection => click Safe List.
Here Type: www.opalesque.com. and click Add button.
This will automatically add our domain in Safe List and will ensure that future mails will directly go into Inbox. Also if you see a message that should not be in your Junk Mail folder, click 'This is not Junk Mail' to avoid having e-mail from us (www.opalesque.com) sent to the Junk Mail folder in the future.

Yahoo!
Open your Yahoo! mailbox => Click Mail Options.
Then Click Filters => Click Add Filter.
In the top row, labeled 'From header:' that is selected in the pull-down menu. Click in the text box next to that pull-down menu, and then enter the address: www.opalesque.com.
Then click the Add Filter button again.
This will ensure that that emails from @opalesque.com will not go in spam/Bulk folder.

If problems persist, you can check the email format you used when signing up for Opalesque (in My Settings) - is it HTML? Sometimes administrators change settings and HTML formatted emails cannot be received anymore. You may log on to My Settings and change the format to TEXT. Note that your IT admin or even internet ISP may change settings or programs on any given day.

If your IT cannot resolve this, you can also change the email address used in My Settings. Please let us know if you need further assistance with this.

For sure you can log on any day at www.opalesque.com/main.php?act=archive

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I am not receiving the body (content) of your stories, I seem to get only the headlines in the Briefing email.

This is correct, the Briefings are now only published online on the website which can be accessed exclusively by subscribers with a valid subscription. Only an indicative email with headlines, but without news body texts is sent out to announce the new publication of the Briefing.

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Do I have to log in every morning to read the Briefing?

No, you have to log in only once. In fact the system is very comfortable. At the time when you get the Briefing, just click on logon or archive link (if you get the text formatted Briefing) or any headline (if you get the HTML formatted Briefing). You have to enter your logon and password only the FIRST time you logon (on this particular computer). From then on your computer will remember the logon and take you right away into the ARCHIVE. There you can select the current and any previous Briefing.

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Can you please email me my password?

For security reasons we save all passwords encrypted and have no access to the passwords. You can go the logon here and enter the email you used when you signed up for the Briefing, the system will then email you a new password (which you can change back to anything you like).

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I tried logging in but have not been successful.

You need to use the logon and password you used when you registered, and your subscription must be valid (begun, and not ended). Please check the following:

1. Start of your subscription: When you registered, you got an email from Opalesque Global Services (support@opalesque.com) with the subject: logon details. Check this email if your subscription period has started. Please be aware that we post dates in European format, i.e. dd.mm.yyyy: 01.12.2004 = 01. Dec. 2004

2. Use the correct logon: the email mentioned above also includes the logon (user name) you created for your account

3. Use the correct password: We cannot access your password for privacy and security reasons. In the logon-window you can request the system to email you a new password if you have forgotten your password.

4. Cookies: The "privacy” option in "internet options” of your browser must be set to allow cookies.

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When I log in, I get the message "You have successfully logged in!" but then the system routes me back to the welcome page, where in the Opalesque logo on the top right side of the screen it says "Welcome guest – login”…

This may happen when your computer does not accept cookies. The "privacy” option in "internet options” of your browser must be set to allow cookies.

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I have problems accessing the Briefings on my Blackberry.

Please make sure your Blackberry accepts Cookies. You may also check if you can log on to other sites that require you to sign in (e.g. Yahoo Groups etc.). If you continue having this problem please email us at support@opalesque.com.

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I am logged on but when I click on a date in the left column in the archive to view the Briefing nothing happens.

If everything is set up correctly, the Briefing will open up in a new window after you click on its date.
1. Please make sure you are REALLY logged on. In the Opalesque logo on the top right side of your screen the text should say "Welcome xyz (our username) – logout”, this means you are logged on.
2. If you ARE logged on and click on a date in the archive and nothing happens, you may have a pop-up blocker (Viewpoint? Ad-Subtract? Opera?) that inhibits the Briefing to open in a new window.
3. If you do NOT run a pop up blocker (however some software like Opera have this feature integrated in their software and it may be activated on the browser level), check if the Briefing is already loaded into one of the already open windows.

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I click on a headline of the email newsletter but then my Outlook freezes, I don’t seem to get into the archive.

Most likely this is an error caused by your Outlook session. You will find that if you hit other links in other emails to other websites, the Outlook and/or the browser will freeze as well. The only thing that helps here is to restart your computer.

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How do I change my personal details?

You can do this in “My Settings” in the main navigation bar “Alternative Market Briefing”.

You can change and edit the following settings:

  • change your email to which the newsletter is sent
  • temporary suspension (vacation break)
  • temporary email change (newsletter will be sent to another email address)
  • change your password
  • change your personal information (address etc.)

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How can I change my settings so that I get the Alternative Market Briefing in HTML format (or change back to TEXT format)?

You can do this in the My Settings menu, look out for the line "Your preferred format".

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I read and tried all this, how can I obtain help with my question?

Please email support@opalesque.com or call James Gibbs, Opalesque Support, at +1 914 619 5223.

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Reader Testimonials

"Many congratulations to your new publication and your acknowledgement that, to capture truly diversified returns, investors increasingly need to look for alternative sources of risk. As daily readers of your Alternative Market Briefing, we appreciate this new publication as an added value."

Wouter B. ten Brinke, CFA,
Theta Capital Management B.V.

"I think this is a truly wonderful idea and a fantastic product! I hope to find many investable ideas generated from this new publication!"

Neal Berger, Director,
Eagle's View Fund, Ltd.

"A very professionally construed manager introduction piece."

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"I enjoyed reading the first two A SQUARE Reports, and already have incorporated some of the strategies you described into the hedge fund courses I am teaching this semester. Those investors seeking the newest strategies may find A SQUARE a convenient source for staying ahead of the curve."

Leon M. Metzger,
Adjunct Professor, Hedge Funds, Columbia University and New York University

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