Ian Hamilton

This column is authored by Ian Hamilton, who is the founder of IDS Group. IDS provides fund administration services in Africa and Europe through Malta. He is also the founder of Scotstone Investments, a company that has fund structures and services for global emerging new managers.

I was recently banging the drum at the Swiss Opalesque Roundtables on the sovereign debt drawdown. The reaction was generally a blank response from the participating hedge funds.

A smart hedge fund manager should try and compile a composite of investment holdings across the sovereign wealth funds. There are large equity holdings and they are the most liquid assets in these portfolios.

A shorting opportunity for the New Year?

Another drum I need to bang on again is about soft (i.e. agricultural) commodities. El Nino is now definitely starting to affect food production. Africa is experiencing severe droughts in many regions. This will mean that the continent will be a net importer of commodities such as maize and wheat.

India has been experiencing severe flooding which in turn has resulted in crop failures in drowned fields. Rice is an important staple food for the third world.

Yes, hard commodities such as iron ore, copper, coal and other mineral and mining products can at this stage be avoided given the slowdown in China and other industrialized economies. But there needs to be a distinction given to the different types of commodities.

But now on a lighter note - my real wish for 2016. The words of a song that I used to love as a student. Some of the words may not be that that politically correct today. But what the hell!

Take a pinch of white man Wrap it up in black skin......................

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This article was published in Opalesque's New Managers a top-down monthly analysis, news and research publication on the global emerging manager space.